In times of conflict and crisis, access to a caring and predictable learning space, combined with a safe home environment, will have a profound impact on a child’s well-being. The Safe Healing and Learning Spaces (SHLS) Toolkit was developed by the International Rescue Committee and USAID to help child protection and education teams facilitate spaces in emergencies where children can learn, grow, and feel safe. The toolkit prepares practitioners to set up a safe and healing learning environment and includes targeted training to deliver social and emotional learning, foundational academic skills, and promote positive parenting.

The SHLS Toolkit is comprehensive and contains all materials needed for implementation in an emergency setting. The guide is evidence-based; it has been tested in crisis situations in Nigeria, Chad, and Iraq, and has been further refined through feedback from academic professionals.

The SHLS Toolkit contains four components:

Safe Healing and Learning Spaces Approach

Social-Emotional Learning Intervention

Reading and Math Intervention

Parenting Skills

A growing selection of content is available in French and Arabic, translations are to be found on the launch page of each component.

The Safe Healing and Learning Spaces Toolkit was made possible by the generous support of the American people through the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA).

The IRC is eager to learn from the experience of organizations using these tools. Please reach out to children@rescue.org for more information and to share your feedback!