The project “Acquiring intercultural competences at work with children and their families” is embedded in the vocational training of an educator here at FAKS (Academy of social pedagogy) in Aschaffenburg. During a period of practical training abroad, which lasts 11 months, the students qualify themselves for social work at elementary level with children who have a migration background. The project`s target group are students who are willing to prepare for their practical training abroad by a preliminary study period which lasts for one year and is implemented in their third and last year of academic training. When they graduate from FAKS, all students who have proved themselves, will be given an attestation of having gained professional skills in this field together with their regular certificate (valid in Germany and the European union). During 15 years` experience with this project, it has become evident that it really makes good sense as here in the Rhein-Main-area, a considerable part of the children in various institutions of early-childhood-education have got a migration background. In this year of application (2015) FAKS Aschaffenburg and the kindergarden at the German School in Barcelona an the kindergarden at the German School in Madrid are involved in this project together as partner institutions. Qualified social education teachers and qualified educators in Barcelona and in Madrid work as practical instructors for our students in Barcelona and Madrid on a contractional basis and correspond regularly and intensely with the responsible teachers and the directorate here at FAKS. In the course of their period of practical training abroad, the participants in this project will be developing skills in the following fields: - In the context of the study unit “Intercultural competences”, they find out about and describe the special ways of life of children with a migration background and their families, reflect upon their experiences systematically and develop a successful strategy and action plan for working with this clientele. - Within the framework of the study unit “Foreign language skills”, the students gain necessary basic foreign language skills by attending at least 40 course lessons at an appropriate language school while they are still in Germany. During their stay abroad they will have to prove that they have attended another 60 lessons on location abroad, finishing with the certificate “Europäischer Referenzrahmen für Sprachen – levels A1 and A2” - Within the unit “International professional skills” the students have to prove their skills in teaching “German as a foreign language with preschool children” during an examination on location, and later, at the end of their period of practical training, in a group examination (colloquium). Furthermore, the students write various expositions, among them a paper of about 25 pages on the topic “Working with children who are growing up bilingually”, elaborating on how to put theoretical concepts into practice. The project “Acquiring intercultural competences at work with children and their families” is thus integrated in the master plan of educational studies at FAKS. The project has also been outlined in the academy`s concept and in its “Manual of quality management (QM)”.