From February to March 2023, 3 expert consultations with educational advisors were held on the topic of quality assurance of the methodology of external evaluation of preschool institutions.

From September 1, 2022, all preschool institutions are obliged to implement the new program concept. The Quality Framework adopted in 2018 was revised (it meets the requirements of the new program concept) and has not been applied until now.

The counseling sessions were held in Novi Sad (educational advisors of schools: Novi Sad, Belgrade, Sombor, and Zrenjanin), Nis (educational advisors of schools: Nis, Kragujevac, Leskovac, Krusevac, Zajecar, and Jagodina), and Cacak (educational advisors: educational advisors of schools: Cacak, Valjevo, Pozarevac, Kraljevo, Uzice, Kosovska Mitrovica I Novi Pazar), and 79 educational advisors from all schools attended.

On the first day of counseling, the educational counselors prepared for the visit to the kindergarten through the presentation of forms for observing activities in the kindergarten and a package of additional instruments and auxiliary materials, created within the Project (following the Rulebook on the quality standards of the institution’s work).

They also created an activity plan with the division of responsibilities to provide feedback from the role of a “critical friend” to the kindergarten manager, who will objectively assess the quality of the kindergarten’s work.

Part of the preparation included familiarization with the specifics of the kindergarten they will visit, as well as research reading of 4 manuals/guides created to support practitioners in the quality application of the new program concept: A manual for documentation, Guide for arranging the space in the kindergarten, Guide for developing a theme/project with children, Strategy for the joint development of specific children’s programs following individual children’s programs.

On the second day of counseling, full-day visits were made to selected kindergartens in preschool institutions, in which educational counselors divided into 4 groups (7-8 counselors each) had the opportunity to apply the revised Quality Framework and as “critical friends” gain insight into the quality of kindergarten work in two quality areas: Family educational work for children and support for children. On that occasion, the educational counselors joined 2 groups of children of different ages in pairs, where they followed the implementation of the program of educational work, i.e. the work of the educators in the group, and gave them brief feedback.

After that, they visited the common rooms of the kindergarten (external and internal), analyzed pedagogical documentation (Thematic/project portfolio and Children’s portfolio), conducted interviews with professional associates and managers, educators, and parents, and distributed surveys to them. Before leaving, kindergarten representatives were given feedback on the quality of kindergarten work in two areas.

In the course of 3 consultations, educational advisors visited and observed the work of the following kindergartens from the point of view of a “critical friend”: Novi Sad – preschool “Nasa radost”, kindergartens: Krcko Orascic, Vilenjak, Cvrcak i mrav, Zlatokosa, Nis – preschool “Pcelica”: Cvrcak, Plavi cuperak, Brodic, Petar pan and Cacak – preschool “Radost”: Bambi, Radost, Majski cvet, Bosko Buha. 

On the third day of counseling, educational counselors worked on harmonizing grades at the level of standards and indicators in two areas of work quality, analyzing the results of surveys and interviews, triangulating quality evidence at the area level, and creating a report on the quality of work for each kindergarten.

After the completed report, upon returning to the school administrations, the heads of the school administrations sent reports to all the visited kindergartens, written from the role of “critical friend” who gives a different perspective on the work of the institution, and who can be useful to practitioners in a more objective assessment of the quality of work in their kindergarten.

All counseling participants expressed their satisfaction after the three-day work, during which they had the support of 4 mentors/managers for the implementation of OP (experienced professional associates). In addition, educational advisors from all school administrations, together with directors of preschool institutions and directors of elementary schools – presidents of municipal assets, participated in the two-day consultation “Organization and management of the institution” which covered topics in the field of quality, management, and organization, and the transition of children from kindergarten to elementary school.

The implementation of the new program concept is a complex, demanding, and long-term process that requires further support from practitioners in preschool institutions. After the completion of the Project, the professional and advisory support that can be provided by educational advisors was recognized as very important support.

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State Secretary of the Ministry of Education Zoran Kasalovic and Mayor of Novi Pazar Nihat Bisevac attended on 05/27/2023. to the parenting fair at the preschool institution “Mladost” in Novi Pazar and the laying of the foundation stone for the construction of a new garden.

With the laying of the foundation stone in Stevan Nemanja Street in Novi Pazar, the construction of the new children’s combination of the institution “Nase dete” begins, which will provide 270 new places for preschool children, which will be ongoing. More than 210

million dinars will be invested in the construction of the new facility, which will cover 1,900 square meters.

“By constructing a new building, we are investing in the future – we are creating conditions for the admission of new children to the preschool education system because we are paying special attention to increasing the inclusion of children in preschool education,” said Zoran Kasalovic, State Secretary of the Ministry of Education.

“The Ministry of Education advocates for the early and equal inclusion of children, especially those from vulnerable social groups, in the preschool education system. We believe that this is the foundation for the healthy development of future generations through socialization, learning, and play. This is the fifth Parenting Fair organized by the Ministry,” he said.

During the Parenting Fair, 14 workshops for parents and children were held and various educational institutions were presented, as well as local self-government institutions such as – preschool institutions: “Mladost”, “Stevan Mokranjac” Music School, “Dositej Obradovic” National Library, Association of Psychologists Novi Pazar, Sports Association Novi Pazar and Association for School Sports Novi Pazar, Center for Social Work Novi Pazar, as well as the Recycling Center of the public utility company.

Visitors to the Fair, around 400 parents with children, had the opportunity to find out in one place about their parental rights, as well as about the services and support provided by the mentioned institutions.

Parents had the opportunity to improve their parenting skills through various types of workshops, as well as to participate in various creative activities together with their children.

“We invite all parents to visit the Parenting Fair in Novi Pazar and familiarize themselves with the opportunities available to them. We believe that this will be an opportunity for useful discussions and education and that it will contribute to a better and healthier community,” said Nihat Bisevac, mayor of Novi Pazar.

“The parenting fair is an event that is extremely important for all parents, and especially for those who are looking for support in the upbringing and development of their children. At this Fair, parents will be able to get acquainted with the latest trends in the field of parenting, as

well as to be informed about the services available to them within local institutions.

This Fair is an opportunity for parents to meet experts from different fields, exchange experiences with other parents and get advice on how to best support their child in his development. “Also, this is an excellent opportunity to familiarize ourselves with the rights that belong to parents, so that they can exercise their rights and react promptly in case of need,” he said.

The Parenting fair and the construction of a new building in Novi Pazar are part of the “Inclusive preschool education and care” project implemented by the Ministry of Education, with the support of the World Bank, which aims to improve the availability, quality, and conditions of preschool education.

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Contracts on the building of two new gardens in Arandjelovac and Alibunar were signed today at the Ministry of Education, as well as a contract on the extension of the existing building in Pecinci. The contracts were signed on behalf of the local governments by the president of the municipality of Arandjelovac Bojan Radovic, the president of the municipality of Alibunar Zorana Bratic, and the president of the municipality of Pecinci Sinisa Djokic.

State Secretary Zoran Kasalovic was present at the signing and showed that investing in education was and remains one of the priorities of the Ministry of Education.

“Through the construction of new gardens and the addition of existing ones, we support parents and children. We believe that supporting the development and education of children from the earliest age is very important and that it is the basis for their further education, but also for a happy childhood and future. That is exactly why we are dedicated to working on it through the “Inclusive Preschool Education and Care” project, said Zoran Kasalovic.

With the construction of a new kindergarten in Arandjelovac, which will cover an area of ​​about 810 square meters, 120 new places will be provided for children who will be divided into 6 groups, while the new kindergarten in Alibunar will provide 220 new places for children who will be divided into 11 groups, and the area of ​​the new facility will be about 1450 square meters. About 87 million dinars have been set aside for the construction of a new facility in Arandjelovac, and a budget of about 156 million dinars has been planned for the new kindergarten in Alibunar.

“The municipality of Arandjelovac thanks the Ministry of Education for the trust that has been shown in us to implement such an important project, which will enable the enrollment of many children from the waiting list in preschool institutions. Through systematic work in the construction of new buildings and the extension of existing ones, we enabled the enrollment of all children in kindergartens.

Despite the significant increase in the number of employees on the territory of our municipality in the enrollment year 2022/2023. again we had a certain number of children on the waiting list. For these reasons, the construction of new Preschool institutions “Duga”, with a capacity of up to 120 children, is a project of essential importance. We are convinced that the excellent cooperation we have with the Government of the Republic of Serbia will continue in the coming period, to the satisfaction of all citizens of the municipality of Arandjelovac,” said Bojan Radovic, president of the municipality of Arandjelovac, on the occasion of the signing.

“The construction of a new kindergarten has multiple significance and influence on the development of the social community in the municipality of Alibunar, where the emphasis is on the carefree and quality education of children in a modern environment that the new facility brings with it.” It is also important to note that conditions will be created for the expansion of existing capacities, and new employment of professional staff in the inclusion of children. We can proudly say that this will be the most significant project that will be implemented in our municipality in the field of education in recent years,” said Alibunar municipality president Zorana Bratic.

The extension of the existing building in Pecinci, which will provide an additional 560 square meters, will expand the capacity for 80 new places. Preschool children will be divided into 4 groups. The investment is worth about 56 million dinars.

For the municipality of Pecinci, this is one of the most significant investments, because it solves one of our pressing problems – the lack of space in the kindergarten. This problem is most pronounced in Pecinci and Obrez. With this investment, for which we signed the contract today, we will solve the problem with the space in Pecinci, and soon we expect the beginning of the reconstruction of the kindergarten in Obrez, which would solve the problem practically in the entire municipality. All of this would not have been possible without the support of the President of the Republic and the Government of the Republic of Serbia, to whom we are grateful for their understanding of the needs of the citizens of the Pecinci Municipality,” said the President of the Pecinci Municipality, Sinisa Djokic.

The Ministry of Education, in cooperation with the World Bank and with the support of local governments, is implementing the project of building new and upgrading existing kindergartens within the project “Inclusive Preschool Education and Care”. This project, in addition to capacity expansion, pays special attention to the improvement of preschool education and care through the introduction of the New Foundations of the Program, as well as the knowledge and skills of professional staff through mentoring support and training for about 12,000 educators. An important aspect of the project is communication and support for families with young children, especially families from vulnerable social groups.

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The Ministry of Education will finance the construction of three more kindergartens as part of the “Inclusive Preschool Education and Care” Project – in Aleksandrovac, Cacak, and Prijepolje, the Minister of Education Branko Ruzic announced today in the Government of the Republic.

To realize the projects, the Minister of Education Branko Ruzic signed agreements on cooperation with the mayor of Cacak, Milun Todorovic, the president of the municipality of Aleksandrovac, Mirko Mihajlovic, and the president of the municipal of Prijepolje, Drago Popadic.

“The Ministry of Education continues to implement a policy focused on increasing the inclusion of children in the preschool education system. By signing today’s contract on the building of three new kindergartens, we are creating the conditions for the admission of 500 more children to the preschool education system. With this, we provide concrete support to the local self-government, i.e. the local community in those areas,” said Minister Branko Ruzic.

More than 110 million dinars have been allocated for the construction of a new garden in Cacak, which will cover about 1200m2 and provide 120 new places for children will be divided into the sixth group.

“With the great support of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, we will finally be able to boast of another kindergarten in our city, which will belong to the preschool institution “Moje detinjstvo”.

We will build a completely new facility in Zablace, which will have room for 120 children. Children from Zablace, Jezevica, Viljuša, Baluga, Vapa, Mršinac, and surrounding villages will be able to attend this kindergarten. It is precisely the wish of the local self-government that children from rural and urban areas have the same conditions in kindergartens and schools. What we do for our youngest fellow citizens is our greatest pride, and this is just one more in a series of activities of the city government for better conditions for all children in our city,” said the mayor of Cacak, Milun Todorovic.

With the construction of a new kindergarten in Aleksandrovac, which will cover more than 1,530 m2, conditions will be created for admission to the preschool education system of 180 children, who will be divided into 9 groups. The value of the investment is about 180 million dinars.

“On behalf of the citizens of Aleksandrovac, I thank the Government of the Republic of Serbia, President Aleksandar Vucic, and the Ministry of Education for this capital investment for the municipality of Aleksandrovac, which solves the perennial problem of many children’s waiting list for admission to kindergarten,” said the president of the municipality of Aleksandrovac, Mirko Mihajlovic.

The new kindergarten in Prijepolje will provide 200 new places for preschool children, which will be divided into 10 groups and will cover more than 1350m2. More than 140 million dinars will be invested in the construction of the new facility.

“The construction of a kindergarten in Bostane is of multiple importance for us. Bearing in mind that the municipality of Prijepolje is devastated, with significant migration, this project creates the conditions for a better quality of life for our citizens. By building a kindergarten, new jobs will be created, the waiting list for kindergarten will be shortened, parents will be able to perform their work tasks better, and our youngest fellow citizens will have a carefree stay in a modern kindergarten. I especially emphasize that this is the construction of the first building of public importance in the last 30 years,” said the president of the municipality of Prijepolje, Drago Popadic.

The Ministry of Education, with the support of the World Bank, implements the Project “Inclusive preschool education and care” through which it invests in the construction and extension of kindergartens, and adaptation of space in local self-governments, which provides 11,000 new places for children.

Through this Project, the construction of 12 kindergartens was built or started – in Sremska Mitrovica, Zitoradje, Doljevac, Merošina, Loznica, two in Kruševac, Vladicin Han, Prokuplje, Tutin, Smederevo, Šid. Construction will soon begin in Novi Pazar, Petrovac na Mlava, and Kragujevac.

The project “Inclusive preschool education and care”, in addition to expanding the capacity of preschool institutions pay special attention to the improvement of preschool education and care through the introduction of the New Foundations of the Program, as well as the knowledge and skills of professional staff through mentoring support and training for educators. An important aspect of the program is the involvement of children from an early age.

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The Minister of Education, Branko Ruzic, opened today the professional consultation of deans and directors of faculties and colleges that educate teachers. He said that the Ministry, as part of the reform processes in the system of preschool upbringing and education, which were initiated by the introduction of the Foundations of preschool upbringing and Education program “Godine uzleta” provides support for improving the initial education of educators.

Minister Ruzic pointed out that measures and initiatives implemented by higher education institutions within their competencies are supported, and they concern the harmonization of study programs with competence standards for the professional conception of upbringing and education.

He reminded that since September 1 of last year, all preschool institutions and elementary schools that implement the preparatory preschool program, work according to the programs following the new program concept of “Godine uzleta”.

“We have started significant changes that are reflected in the quality of the preschool education program. That is why it is important to share the values ​​and vision of the further development of the preschool education system, to understand the complexity of changes and processes, to combine knowledge and experience of positive practice, and solve challenges together. On these challenges, we have the opportunity to learn, to change, to cooperate in research, and to cooperate in the interest of children.

The Ministry of Education, recognizing the key role of practitioners, educators, and professional associates in building the quality of practice of preschool education and education, through the “Inclusive preschool education and care” project, initiated activities to improve the initial education of educators.

With that point in mind, an analysis of the study programs at six faculties and 10 colleges was carried out and a draft of recommendations was prepared for adapting the study program/subject by the new Foundations of preschool education and the new Competency Standards for the teaching profession and its professional development. Given the importance of student practice in preparing future students for the professional role of an educator, a Practice Model was developed and piloted with two higher education institutions and a preschool institution, with recommendations that contribute to changing the relationship between theory and practice in the initial education of educators.

The draft of these recommendations was created in close cooperation with representatives of higher education institutions that educate teachers and preschool institutions where teachers fulfill and continue to develop their complex professional roles.