Humanitarian Academy

Education

Education in emergencies: ensuring access, safety and quality learning

INEE Standards, learning spaces, teachers, psychosocial support, safe schools and the Education cluster: keeping every child safe and learning at the heart of the crisis.

  • 4 days · 24 hours
  • 3 levels · 3 certificates
  • 3 scenarios
  • Verifiable certificate
Start the course
  • Free, unlimited access
  • 4 one-day modules
  • 3 scenarios and 12 quiz questions
  • 3 graded case studies and 3 exams
  • Certificate in your name, verifiable online

What you will learn

  • Explain the protective role of education in emergencies, the five domains of the INEE Minimum Standards and needs analysis methods.
  • Organise access to safe and inclusive learning spaces and manage a teaching workforce that is recruited, paid, trained and supervised according to good practice.
  • Ensure the quality and protection of learning: psychosocial support, safe schools, learning assessment, coordination and funding.

Course information

Level
Beginner → Intermediate → Advanced (one certificate per level)
Study time
24 hours over 4 days (lessons, case studies, exercises)
Format
Online, at your own pace, free and unlimited access
Assessment
Per level: graded case study + 20-question exam (30 to 40 min, pass marks 70%, 75% and 80%)
Credential
Named, numbered certificate of achievement, verifiable online (QR code)
Reference frameworks
Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) · Sphere Association · Global Education Cluster (UNICEF and Save the Children)

💼 Education jobs

Put this course into practice: the latest jobs in this field.

See all 87 Education jobs →

Prepare for the written test and interviewA model written test in this field, interview questions with sample answers and the STAR method.See the model test →

A 3-level certification pathway

Progress from Beginner to Advanced. Each level ends with a graded case study and a timed exam, and leads to its own verifiable certificate.

Level 1Beginner

Exam: 20 questions · 30 min · 70% to pass

Beginner certificate

By the end of this level, you will be able to:
  • Explain the protective role of education and the five INEE domains.
  • Identify barriers to access for girls and children with disabilities.
  • Apply the code of conduct and refer a child at risk.
  1. Day1Understanding education in emergenciesWhy education cannot wait · The INEE Minimum Standards · Barriers to access and learning · The Joint Education Needs Assessment (JENA) · Running a JENA from start to finish: method, timeline and roles · Estimating children in need and severity: method and full worked example · Analysing barriers group by group: tools and reading the data · The INEE Minimum Standards as a diagnostic and accountability tool · Adapting the analysis to the context: sudden-onset emergency, protracted crisis, urban setting, restricted access · Interview questions and key references Scenario: Back to school under a tent
  2. Graded case study : First learning space on a displacement site Spontaneous site on the outskirts of a town, three weeks after an influx · 20 questions including a case study · 70% to pass
Level 2Intermediate

Exam: 20 questions · 30 min · 75% to pass

Intermediate certificate · Opens after the Beginner certificate

By the end of this level, you will be able to:
  • Open and equip a temporary learning space according to Sphere and INEE benchmarks.
  • Organise teacher recruitment, harmonised incentives and training.
  • Monitor attendance, retention and learning with disaggregated data.
  1. Day2Access, learning spaces and teachersTemporary learning spaces · Access and retention of girls and children with disabilities · Recruiting and paying teachers · Training, supporting and protecting: the code of conduct · Opening a temporary learning space: a step-by-step 45-day method · Full worked example: sizing the TLS at the Kalbé site · Managing the teaching workforce: incentive scale, payroll, transition · Training and supporting teachers: from initial training to in-class coaching · Code of conduct, PSEA and complaints mechanism: the procedure that works · Interview questions and key references Scenario: The worried head teacher
  2. Day3Quality, protection and coordinationPsychosocial support and social and emotional learning · Safe schools: attacks and risks · Monitoring learning · The Education cluster and Education Cannot Wait · Integrating psychosocial support and SEL into the classroom: method and referral protocol · School safety: safety plan, incident management and documentation · Monitoring learning: a complete system and a worked example with figures · Working with the cluster and preparing an ECW application: a practical method · Common mistakes and adaptations by context · Interview questions and key references Scenario: The end of funding
  3. Graded case study : Emptying classrooms Conflict-affected rural area, 18 supported schools · 20 questions including a case study · 75% to pass
Level 3Advanced

Exam: 20 questions · 40 min · 80% to pass

Advanced certificate · Opens after the Intermediate certificate

By the end of this level, you will be able to:
  • Conduct a JENA and translate the analysis into a response plan.
  • Protect education from attack and document incidents.
  • Coordinate with the cluster, prepare the transition and mobilise funding (ECW).
  1. Day4Advanced module Protracted crises, transition and education financingProtracted crises and inclusion in national systems · Accelerated and non-formal education · Transition, certification and continuity · Financing education in crises · Including displaced and refugee children in the national system: analysis method and roadmap · Designing an accelerated education programme in line with the AEWG principles · Full worked example: the concept note for a multi-year programme in Doro · Transition and exit strategy: a template to complete · Financing education in crises: donor landscape, expectations and common mistakes · Interview questions and key references
  2. Graded case study : Coordinating education under threat Conflict-affected region, 210,000 school-age children · 20 questions including a case study · 80% to pass

Who is it for?

Education programme officers, project coordinators, pedagogical advisers, teacher supervisors, child protection officers, Education cluster members and anyone who wants to work in the education response in crisis settings.

The certificate

With at least 70% correct answers in the final assessment, you receive a certificate in your name, with a unique code that recruiters can verify on Humanitaires Jobs. A free Humanitarian Network account is required.

Key concepts

The vocabulary you need to master for this course and the exam.

EiE
Education in emergencies: quality learning opportunities for all ages in crisis situations.
INEE
Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies, author of the Minimum Standards.
TLS
Temporary learning space, opened when schools are destroyed, occupied or inaccessible.
JENA
Joint Education Needs Assessment, conducted by the Education cluster and its partners.
PiN
People in Need.
SEL
Social and emotional learning: managing emotions, cooperation, conflict resolution.
MHPSS
Mental health and psychosocial support.
MRM
United Nations Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism on grave violations against children.
ECW
Education Cannot Wait, the United Nations global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises.
MYRP
Multi-Year Resilience Programme funded by ECW.
AEP
Accelerated education programme: a condensed cycle for over-age children.
EMIS
The ministry's Education Management Information System.

References and recommended reading

The official texts and sector reference works on which the course is based.

  1. Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) (2024). Minimum Standards for Education: Preparedness, Response, Recovery. inee.org/minimum-standards
  2. Sphere Association (2018). The Sphere Handbook: Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response. spherestandards.org/fr/manuel-2018
  3. Global Education Cluster (UNICEF and Save the Children) (2024). Global Education Cluster: coordination tools and Joint Education Needs Assessment (JENA). www.educationcluster.net
  4. Education Cannot Wait (2024). Education Cannot Wait: the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises. www.educationcannotwait.org
  5. Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA) (2015). Safe Schools Declaration and Guidelines for Protecting Schools and Universities from Military Use during Armed Conflict. protectingeducation.org
  6. INEE (2018). INEE Guidance Note on Psychosocial Support: Facilitating Psychosocial Wellbeing and Social and Emotional Learning. inee.org
  7. Accelerated Education Working Group (AEWG) (2017). Accelerated Education: 10 Principles for Effective Practice. inee.org
  8. IASC (2007). IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings. interagencystandingcommittee.org