As envisaged by the Rule Book on Conducting the Training Programme and Passing the Licence Exam for a Principal of an Educational Institution (The Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, No. 63, issued 17th August 2018), the training programme was developed for principles of preschool institutions.

The training modules (interactive workshops and distance learning) were developed in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development (MoESTD), the Institute for the Improvement of Education (IIE), UNICEF and the Centre for Interactive Pedagogy (CIP). This activity was carried out under the project themed “Protecting Children from violence and Discrimination in the Education System“, implemented through partnership of MoESTD, Unicef and CIP (as part of the joint Integrated Response to Violence Against Women and Girls in Serbia – Phase II Project, implemented by Unicef, UN Women, UNFPA and UNDP, in partnership with the Government of the Republic of Serbia, headed by Coordinating Body for Gender Equality).

Training of Trainers (ToT) for training principles of preschool institutions for passing the licence exam was held on 23^rd and 24^th December 2019 on the IIE premises. ToT was attended by lady principles of six preschool institutions, education advisors and MoESTD representatives. ToT was held by master trainers Olivera Todorović, Suzana Deretić, and Maja Todorović (IIE), Vesna Zlatarović, Aleksandra Kalezić Vignjević and Olga Lakićević (CIP).

The trainings of PI principles, to be held with the support of the Early Childhood Education and Care Project, are scheduled for February 2020.

At this year’s UEPS Awards, the “Acceptance” campaign received bronze recognition. This award was won by the campaign in one of the most demanding categories – Acknowledgment for an integrated socially responsible campaign in the nonprofit sector.

The “Acceptance” campaign is part of a major communication campaign that will be implemented over the next three years as part of the Inclusive Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) Project implemented by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia with the support of the World Bank.

You can watch the TV video “Acceptance” below:

Every year, UEPS (Association for Market Communications of Serbia) organizes awards event for the most successful agencies and individuals for marketing achievements in the past year. The awards are presented in the categories for best campaign, TV spot, radio spot, print, design and many other marketing categories.

“Sremska Mitrovica is the first municipality in Serbia that starts building kindergartens from funds that state intended to increase the capacity of preschools,” said Minister of Education, Science and Technological Development, Mladen Sarcevic. The foundation stone for the construction of the new kindergarten Čuperak in Laćarak, with a capacity of 250 children, was laid on December 16, 2019.

It is planned that the new facility will provide accommodation for 250 children, which, in the opinion of the management of the preschool institution “Pčelica”, will solve the long-standing problem in the largest village in Serbia.

The new Rule Book on Preschool Curriculum Framework was published in the ”Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia” No. 16/2018 as of 17^th September 2018 (the curricular concept available here). An integral part of the Rule Book is the list of municipalities with the defined dynamics of the mandatory application of the new curricular concept.

All 11 preschool institutions obliged by the Rule Book to apply the new Preschool Curriculum Framework themed ”The Year of Ascent” as of 1st September 2019, have entered the six-month support program implemented under the ECEC project. So far, 1,890 practitioners from these preschool institutions (around 65% of employees) have received the training. The mentoring support to preschool institutions started in December, and the sets for horizontal exchange will be organized until February 2020.

All preschool institutions will receive professional support by the end of 2022. More information on the new Preschool Curriculum Framework could be found in brochures for parents and preschool teachers.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development in cooperation with the Institute for the Education Quality and Evaluation (IEQE) and the European Policy Centre (EPC) has carried out the activities aimed at improving the external evaluation of PIs through supporting the implementation of the Preschools Quality Standards.

With such objective in mind, and through the ECEC Project support, the necessary resources for the implementation of the revised quality framework were developed: descriptions of the achievement of quality standards indicators at the levels 2 and 4 were prepared, as well as the supporting data gathering tools. The tools were successfully piloted and their metrical characteristics checked.

All the pedagogical advisors attended one-day conference on the application of the preschool quality evaluation tools.

Pedagogical advisors are of prime importance as a driving force in improving the services offered by PIs and supporting them in the quality implementation of the new curriculum. That was the very reason that 100 pedagogical advisors from school administrations attended the two-day training on the new Preschool Curriculum Framework (PCF) developed by the Institute for Pedagogy and Andragogy. Beside this training, next year pedagogical advisors will also attend training in initiating and leading the change. They will also have a chance to attend the training on the new PCF in PIs they are supporting and monitoring, in line with the planned training dynamics.