European peer exchange
Focus: The House of the Child in Belgium
19th November 2025 – 10.00-12.30 CET online
Background
Europe is facing a range of challenges, from an ageing population to increasing financial insecurity, growing inequalities and evolving work practices. While policymakers know that adapting to these changes is key to a resilient European economy, this is usually only discussed in relation to individuals. What’s left out of these conversations is families. “The vast majority of people live within some form of a family, so their resources and capacities are fundamentally shaped by the close relationships formed within this setting,” says Rense Nieuwenhuis, associate professor of Sociology at Stockholm University.
This is especially true for children and their family environment, which has a huge impact on their health and well-being. In this respect, the European Child Guarantee is contributing to rolling out different services to support families across Europe, including the family centre model which is expanding in a number of countries such as Belgium, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Italy, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
Aims of the European peer exchange
For Universal Children’s Day 2025, COFACE put the spotlight on the Child Guarantee and its potential to drive positive change for children and their families. The aim of this peer exchange was to spotlight the Belgian family centre model referred to as the House of the Child, and to use this as a starting point for transnational exchanges and mutual learning with other countries in the EU and neighbourhood countries. This was a public webinar open to policy-makers and practitioners set in the context of the implementation of the European Child Guarantee.
Programme
See the full programme here.
Chronology of the development of the Houses of the Child here.
Factsheet about the Houses of the Child here.
Child participation
Children are welcome to participate in COFACE webinars. These webinars are set up with child safeguarding in mind to ensure they are a safe and inclusive space for child participation.
Presentations
Holly Shorey – 15 principles for family rights and resilience
Martino Serapioni – Integrated family support models in Europe
Tine Rommens – House of the Child
Evelien Umans – House of the Child
Key resources
- Opgroeien (Flemish agency for family and child support)
- Ogroeien database with an overview of qualitative methodologies and programmes
- Insights on Family Policies series: spotlight on Italy, Belgium and Germany
- rEUsilience Roadmap for boosting the rights and resilience of European families
- 15 policy principles for family resilience
- Breaking Silos, Building Futures: Policy Innovations for Integrated Family and Child Support | COFACE Families Europe
- Networks of family resource centres – list of studies including social return on investment
- European Observatory on Family Policy
- 2021 Council Recommendation establishing a European Child Guarantee
- European survey on the European Child Guarantee asking children for their feedback by 8th December.
- European Child Guarantee Monitoring framework
- Evaluation of Sure Start Services in the UK
- Resource for support to English-speaking families in Belgium who have children affected by autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, dyspraxia (DCD) https://neurodiversity.be
- European conceptual framework on family support
- Resource about sexual health in 14 languages
- Triple P Return on Investment studies: United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Canada
Family centres in other world regions
- Family resource centres in Australia
- Family resource centres in Canada
- Family resource centres in Hong Kong
- Family resource centres in Singapore
- Family resource centres in the United States
