The project "Guidance - Networking - Dialogue: Strategies for the transition from daycare centre to school" addresses current challenges for a successful transition from day care centre to school. In the three metropolitan regions of Berlin, Vienna and Copenhagen, efforts are currently being made to find adequate answers to the increased networking requirements at this transition. The project partners are looking for tried-and-tested, proven or new approaches for comprehensive networking at this first transition in a child's educational biography. This networking should cover all relevant actors in the transitional period: Parents, educators, teachers, social workers at school and the support systems (e.g. youth welfare office, school supervision). Over a period of 16 months, the project partners want to further develop the process of exchange of experience on a European level and pursue the following key questions: Which conditions for success or obstacles exist for the development of a comprehensively networked transition phase, for example in the form of a pilot system for the linkage/placement of the actors? What are the quantitative and qualitative access to early childhood education? How can a trusting relationship be established with parents? Are there approaches to peer-to-peer mentoring (e.g. parents-parent teachers)? The participating institutions - one non-profit educational institution and five public education and youth authorities - devote themselves to this topic on a strategic and conceptual level. Together they will form a project group consisting of management and pedagogical staff from educational institutions, school supervisors, day-care institutions, youth welfare office, language mediation and school social work. The partners bring extensive experience from early childhood, pre-school and school education, school supervision and youth work. These experiences are presented and compared with each other and are incorporated into further, sustainable and forward-looking conceptual considerations. In three transnational project meetings, different working approaches, good practice, success conditions and challenges are worked out through theme-centred workshops, practical input (e.g. school and project visits; discussions with stakeholders) as well as through presentation, comparison and discussion. In addition to the compilation of good practice from Berlin, Vienna and Copenhagen, the project results with conditions for success, obstacles and options for comprehensive networking at the transition from day care centre to school are prepared in a final documentation. This can be integrated into the respective educational system contexts and existing concepts for early childhood education and the school entry phase can be adapted. In this way, the foundations can also be laid for subsequently developing methods, instruments and qualification concepts that will improve the professional pedagogical care of children in the transition phase in the long term. The core of such an innovation would be the development of a pilot system in the transition between the elementary and the primary level.
The project "Guidance - Networking - Dialogue: Strategies for the transition from day-care to school" has dealt with current challenges in this crucial developmental step. The partners in the three participating metropolitan regions of Berlin, Vienna and Copenhagen investigated tested and new approaches for networking during this first transition in a child's educational biography. During the project's 16-month duration, the partners (organisations and authorities in the fields of early childhood education, school supervision, language mediation, social pedagogy and youth work) have devoted themselves to the topic on a strategic and conceptual level. The transnational project group and three regional working groups carried out status descriptions and the status-quo of the success factors at the transition from day-care to school. In three transnational project meetings, good practice, success factors and options for action were elaborated in working groups (comparison and discussion of different working approaches) and through practice input (school and day-care centre visits; exchange with relevant actors). Exchange of experience on preconditions for success and obstacles in the way of developing a connected transition phase led to the identification of four topics focused on during the project: the child, cooperation, educational documentation and participation. We have also prepared good practice from Berlin, Vienna and Copenhagen, which can either be integrated into the respective educational system contexts or adapted to existing concepts for early childhood education and the school entry phase.