| Description of good practice: |
Inclusion starts at an early age, when children are socialized outside of the family realm in childcare institutions, mainly in kindergartens. The kindergarten environment provides children with the necessary space for learning, playing, and socializing. The pilot kindergartens have created a lot of positive practices in relation to inclusion of CwD, and children with development disorders. Kindergartens are now under municipalities’ competence, which complicates the situation regarding education responsibilities. At present, kindergartens educational programs are regulated by RED/EO competences of Curriculum Office. The preschool program offered in kindergartens is subject to RED/EO supervision at the local level, and of ISHA at the national level. The competences of provision of educational program in kindergartens may remain with RED/EO, and the municipality will cover other competences related to the operational aspects of care
provision such as infrastructural, alimentary, and human resources. Kindergartens’ nursery and educational staff is hired by the municipality, whereas the competition for kindergartens educational staff is done at MoES portal.
The Normative Provisions on Education are binding to kindergartens to the same extent as to schools. CwD education in kindergartens is similar to CwD education in primary schools. They are provided with IEP by the kindergarten commission, upon the recommendation of the Red/EO multidisciplinary commission. The kindergarten staff, working with children with disabilities, is part of the IEP commission as well, and trained by the project to assess disabilities and developmental disorders and to compile/implement IEP. The principal sets-up the kindergarten IEP commission and appoints the its members which are the principal, the teachers of the child group (class), the school psychologist/social worker (psychosocial service), and the parent.
Parents of children with developmental disorders are more reluctant to allow their child education with an IEP in the kindergartens. They believe that the child has no development problems, but a delayed growing or maturation due to the young age. Kindergarten teachers are working very hard to convince parents to place their preschool children in IEP, as parents think that if needed, the IEP will be applied at school, and not in kindergartens. However, despite the lack of IEP, kindergarten teachers have been working on tailored educational plans with preschool children. The training they have received from the project on inclusion at an early age, enabling children to live in community, and early socialization, has helped them work better with all children in kindergarten, especially with children with developmental disorders. Kindergarten teachers’ opinion, that the child should be included as soon as possible, is well-justified, because the very first years (0-5 years) are decisive for the development of the child, and support in kindergarten proves to be beneficial for later school development.
A guardian of a pre school child said the following:
“My child was diagnosed with infantile autism. He is 5 years old and is in kindergarten. Staying with other children has been very beneficial to his development. I can notice the change, because before he didn’t talk to anyone, including me, and I was so desperate. Now he talks to me and his friends, and communicates very well with teacher.Thanks to the supportive teacher his speech, even his eye contact, have improved. Now he communicates with words and eyes. He articulates well, and communicates with people. He works with a
speech therapist on a daily basis for one hour. Kindergarten educators work with IEP that is prepared by the kindergarten commission for CwD composed of the principal, psychologist, educators, and supportive teacher. They asked me on IEP too. I apply IEP at home”
The principal of the kindergarten in an interview said the following:
“We have a very good cooperation with RED psychosocial service, and we wish this cooperation to continue despite the fact that kindergartens are not RED depending institutions any more. RED has appointed a social worker to work with our kindergarten staff and CwD; out of 9 staff, 5 are trained by the project, and they are IEP commission members in kindergarten. We had a 12-day-training, and at the end we received a certificate with
6 ECTS from the University of Tirana & Korça. In our kindergarten we have one CwD with medical report that is provided with IEP. A MEDPAK volunteer is working with CwD as a supportive teacher for the IEP implementation. The IEP is implemented by the class teacher in collaboration with the supportive teacher. The child is of a preschool age, and we are preparing her to attend the primary school. Her parents and we, would like to enroll
the child in the pilot school project, where the staff is trained for Inclusive Education, but that school is too far away from the neighborhood, and the mother finds it impossible to send the child there. It would be easier if there was an inclusive school with trained staff in the neighborhood. If sent in a school without the provision of IEP and special education support, the child would face the risk of making regress, compared to what she has achieved up-to-now in the kindergarten.”
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