Inclusive Early Childhood Education and Care

The development objective of the Inclusive Early Childhood Education and Care Project for Serbia is to improve access to quality Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services, in particular for children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. The project will focus on improving access to quality ECEC services, in particular for children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds (i.e., poor children, children with disabilities, and Roma children). This project has comprises four components. First component, expanding the supply of preschools spaces is to improve access to preschool services, particularly for disadvantaged children ages 3 to 5.5 years, by increasing the supply of spaces in high quality preschools. this component will also include training for local architects and engineers to promote efficiency and child-centered pedagogy in construction and renovation designs. Second component, strengthening the quality of preschool services would finance activities aiming to build the foundation of a quality preschool system that is characterized by a holistic approach to supporting children’s physical, emotional, cognitive development and wellbeing. This will include support for implementation of the new preschool curriculum, improvements in pre- and in-service training, and support for improving quality assurance and quality building mechanisms for preschool. Third component, supporting young children and families focuses on outreach activities to encourage parents and caregivers to improve child stimulation and caregiving practices, and to stimulate demand for relevant services for families with young children (from pregnancy to the time they transition to primary school), with a focus on the most vulnerable. While the first sub-component is national in scope, the second and third are targeted to vulnerable groups. Fourth component, project management, technicalassistance, and monitoring and evaluation will support the day-to-day management of the Inclusive...