On the 19^th of June, 2023, in Zrenjanin the first Parenting Fair in this city was organized.

The goal of this event is for parents, guardians, and foster parents to find answers to questions and new knowledge about parenting in a conversation with experts from various fields, to provide children with a healthier and more beautiful upbringing. At the stands, information was available to them about nutrition and care of children, about protecting their health, rights, enrollment in kindergarten…

During the Fair, parents were able to familiarize themselves with the services provided by the City Administration of the City of Zrenjanin, the Preschool, the Center for Social Work, the “Dr. Bosko Vrebalov” Health Center, the Red Cross, the Center for the Provision of Social Protection Services “Most”, Primary and Secondary school “9. May”, Institute of Hygiene, Educational Center “Klikerino” and the Police Department of the city of Zrenjanin.

Tatjana Lojovic, coordinator of the project team of the “Kindergarten with a smile” grant program implemented in Zrenjanin as part of the “Inclusive preschool education and care” project, said at the opening of the fair: “One of the strengths of the city of Zrenjanin is the intersectoral cooperation in the interests of all children.” and their families. For this reason, during the month of parenting, the Parenting Fair is held on Trg slobode, where several different institutions of the city of Zrenjanin will be presented that deal with raising and educating children and providing support to families.”

You can see photos from the fair here.

On Thursday, 15.6.2023. In Titel, the event “Parents in the spotlight” was held for the first time, organized by the Preschool “Plavi cuperak” and the Municipality of Titel, and in cooperation with the Center for Social Work from Titel, the Titel Health Center, as well as two primary schools: “Isidora Sekulic”. from Sajkas and “Svetozar Miletic” from Titel.

The visitors of this event, about 250 parents with children, had the opportunity to get all the information in one place about the types of support provided by the local institutions of the municipality of Titel, as well as to learn more about their rights and how to exercise them.

The cooperation between the institutions was started through the project “Inclusive Preschool Education and Care”, which is implemented by the Ministry of Education with the support of the World Bank, and was started in the municipality of Titel in 2020 and from which the municipality received a grant worth 50,000 euros. The main goal of the Project is to improve the availability and quality of preschool education and upbringing for every child from birth to 6.5 years, especially for children from socially sensitive groups. As a result of this project, the coverage of children who were not involved in educational work increased, so two new half-day preschool groups were started in the settlements of Vilovo and Mosorin, through which about 40 children pass annually.

As the networking of institutions through the project “Inclusive Preschool Education and Care” proved to be a good practice, cooperation continued through the project “Playful Parenting”, which is supported by UNICEF in cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Serbia and partners, with the support of the LEGO Foundation.

This manifestation was held as a symbol of all that the local self-government does for children and their parents, but also as an announcement for all future activities that are planned for the next period, in cooperation with local institutions.

See photos from the event here.

Within the project of the Ministry of Education, Inclusive preschool education and Education, which is financially supported by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, UNICEF, as an engaged implementation partner, realized training for the implementation of the new Foundations of preschool education and education program Years of Ascension, which was developed by the Institute for Pedagogy and Andragogy of the Philosophical Faculty of the University of Belgrade.

The support program developed in the first year of project implementation includes combined training, mentoring support, and horizontal exchange, while in the third year manuals were completed and planned. Support for the implementation of the new Fundamentals of Preschool Education and Education Program (Fundamentals of the Program) was implemented in phases that support the implementation of the Rulebook on the Fundamentals of Preschool Education and Care, which foresees the introduction of the new Fundamentals of the Program in phases from 2019 to 2022, and the goals have been determined for each year of implementation so that the final total training coverage would be 12,000 practitioners, i.e. 63 percent of all practitioners in public preschool institutions (1,500 in the first year, 4,500 in the second, 8,500 in the third and 12,000 in the fourth year).

The set goal of the project was greatly exceeded! A total of 21,232 professionals from preschool institutions (out of a total of 22,229) were included in the training, which almost doubled the predicted goal of 12,000 trained.

Based on the savings achieved due to the online realization of part of the training, moderated online training included all the remaining educators who until now did not have the opportunity to attend training for the implementation of the Fundamentals of the program.

From all public preschool institutions, 18,967 educators and professional associates were trained, as well as 275 nurses in preventive health care. Additional online training included 1,721 practitioners from all private preschool institutions who are registered in the unique information system of MPNTR, as well as 269 educators who implement the preparatory preschool program organized by primary schools.

The training was implemented for a total duration of five weeks, with the first two parts of the training lasting two weeks each, and the third part of the training lasting one week. During that period, the participants could choose the dynamics by which they would familiarize themselves with the materials and implement the planned activities, and the training sessions were open 24 hours a day during the training period.

In cooperation with the Institute for the Improvement of Education and Care, the training will be translated into a programmed unmoderated format by the fall and as such will be permanently available for free to all practitioners in preschool institutions.

The Minister of Education, Science, and Technological Development decided that the professional development program for employees in preschool education entitled: On the common path of Learning will receive the status of a program of public interest.

Online training for professional associates and teachers from primary schools On a common learning path, developed by consultants hired by UNICEF with expertise in the field of preschool and primary school education – professors of the college for teacher education and the faculty of teachers, as well as the expert associate of the psychologist of the preschool institution in cooperation with the Ministry of Education (Group for preschool education and education and the unit for managing the project Inclusive preschool education and care), the Institute for the Improvement of education and care and the Office of UNICEF in Belgrade, and through a consultative process in which professional associates and teachers from primary schools participated.

The aim of the online training On a common path of Learning is to empower professional associates and teachers in primary schools to strengthen the partnership between the two levels of the education system (preschool and primary school) through understanding the changes in preschool education and care (introduction of the new Foundations of PVO program, Godine uzleta), stronger connection and recognition of common values ​​in building support for children and families during the transition from kindergarten to school.

Specific goals:

1. Empowerment of professional associates and teachers in primary schools to support children and families in the period of transition from preschool to primary school and develop a partnership relationship with the family.

2. Acquaintance of professional associates in primary schools with the concept, starting points, and key concepts of the basis of the PVO “Godine uzleta” program.

3. Motivating professional associates in primary schools to promote the school as a place of research and learning for children of preschool and school age.

After completing the training, participants are expected to:

• be familiar with the changes brought by the new Basics of the “Godine uzleta” PVO program and share the acquired knowledge with other actors in the school (teachers, principals, students, parents) to achieve continuity in educational work;

• have a more complete insight into the needs and dilemmas of children and families in the process of transition from kindergarten to school by the specifics of the environment/concrete conditions in which these institutions work;

• have insight into successful examples of activities from practice that support the transition of children and families from one level of the education system to another;

• can organize actions to establish, nurture and improve partnership relations to support children and families when transitioning from kindergarten to school;

• be able to, in cooperation with other actors in this process, create a Draft Action Plan for supporting children and families during the transition from kindergarten to primary school.

The training covers the following thematic units:

1. Basic points of departure The basis of the program – Godine uzleta

2. Competencies for lifelong learning

3. Key terms from the basics of the PVO “Godine uzleta” program

4. Project approach to learning and project teaching

5. Monitoring and documenting the learning and development of preschool and school-age children through a portfolio

6. Support for children and families during the transition from kindergarten to school

7. Support for implementation and transfer of training

a) Final task: Drafting an action plan for supporting children and families during the transition from kindergarten to primary school.

The project was planned to include 1,300 professional associates from elementary schools. So far, 2,743 professional associates and teacher council coordinators from all elementary schools have completed the training.

The new training cycle is being organized in cooperation with the Association of Teachers of the Republic of Serbia and will include an additional 1,100 teachers. The beginning of implementation of the training is planned for Monday, August 21. and the training is carried out for three weeks entirely in an online environment.

As part of the project “Inclusive Preschool Education and Care”, activities related to the improvement of digital competencies of professionals in the system of Preschool Education and Care are carried out.

The Center for Teaching Improvement “Abakus” in Belgrade developed a program to support the development of digital competencies of practitioners in preschool institutions. This support program includes programmed unmoderated online training, mentoring support, and horizontal learning for preschool staff.

The online training “Support for the development of digital competencies of practitioners in preschool institutions” was developed in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, the Institute for the Improvement of Education, and the Center for the Improvement of Teaching “Abakus”.

The training is based on the Framework of Digital Competences of Preschool Teachers and Guidelines for the Application of Digital Technology in Preschool (2022 MPNTR, ZVKOV, ZUOV, CIP-Center for Interactive Pedagogy).

The organizer of the training is the Institute for the Improvement of education and upbringing, the training is implemented on the distance learning platform of the Institute for the Improvement of education and upbringing ZUOVEDU: https://obuke.zuov.gov.rs/.

Certificates of completed training programs will be issued by the Institute for the Advancement of Education in electronic form through the online application: http://sertifikati.zuov-katalog.rs/

The aim of the online training to Support the development of digital competencies of practitioners in preschool institutions is to empower educators, professional associates, and directors in preschool institutions in the application of digital technologies to improve the quality of the preschool institution’s work and support the child’s well-being.

In the Regulations on the conditions for establishing, starting work, and performing the activities of a preschool institution (“Official Gazette of the RS – Education Gazette”, no. 1/2019 and 16/2022) it was stated for the first time that it is necessary to plan that the rooms for educators have a desktop /laptop computer and printer. Accordingly, through the project, 112 preschool institutions were additionally equipped with sets of ICT equipment (laptop, multifunction device, web camera).

Supporting the development of digital competencies of educators, starting from initial education to continuous professional development, is one of the strategic goals of the education system of the Republic of Serbia in the coming period. According to the Law on the Basics of the Education and Training System, digital competence represents “the confident and critical use of information and communication technologies for work, rest and communication.” In the Rulebook on competency standards for the teacher profession and its professional development, competency is “based on the creative application and re-examination of professional knowledge, skills, and values ​​in a changing social and educational context”, which is especially important in the domain of digital competence, due to intensive technological development. Competences, including digital ones, represent a set of integrated knowledge, skills, and values, applicable in many situations and contexts, multifunctional to achieve multiple goals, solve different problems, and perform different types of tasks. (Framework of digital competencies of preschool teachers, group of authors, March 2022).

Specific training objectives:

● Acquaintance of educators, professional associates, and directors with modern digital technologies and online environments;

● Empowering educators, professional associates, and directors of PU to improve the quality of work both in direct work with children and in all areas of the practitioner’s professional activity by applying techniques of successful communication in the online environment;

● Support educators, professional associates, and directors in the process of continuous professional training and professional development.

After completing the training, participants will be able to:

 ● use modern digital means and tools, online environments for work, exchange, and learning; as well as mechanisms for communication.

● improve their daily work process by using digital devices and tools.

The training lasts 16 hours with a weekly workload that does not exceed 8 hours per participant.

The training was done on the Moodle platform.

The training covers the following thematic units:

1. Use of digital devices

2. Digital environment

3. Creation of digital content

4. Communication and cooperation in the digital environment

The training is intended for educators, nurse educators, special education teachers, professional associates, and directors of PU.

In the period May August 2023, the training “Supporting the development of digital competencies of practitioners in preschool institutions” is being implemented for 12,000 professionals from public PU.

The trainings are carried out in several cycles:

● Initial group of coordinators and mentors: A total of 245 participants on the portal, and 95% of participants completed the training

● First cycle – mentored participants: a total of 3,296 participants were registered for the training, 90% completed the training, and the rest of the participants are processing the content.

● Second cycle: it is realized through 5 rounds and so far a total of 8357 participants have been registered. Enrolled participants are processing the planned contents, registrations are not yet closed and new colleagues are joining the online training until the end of the week.

Currently, 11,898 professionals from PU are included in the training, but the registration of new participants is still ongoing.