The objective of the project is developing a set of training materials for pre-school teachers and parents in order to equip them with proper knowledge and understanding of characteristics of the child’s development at the pre-school age, as well as a set of practical advices and exercises for initial formation of the study skills in each child depending on his individual needs. This way the consortium aims at supporting pre-school teachers and parents of pre-school children during the transition between the pre-school and primary school, so even the children who are at “risk of dyslexia” have a smooth and easy transition period and they have the opportunity to reach their potential in the new learning environment. The project partners plan to develop not just some separate materials, but a complete Transition Support Kit, starting from a Check list for school readiness (that will help pre-school teachers to define those children who are at “risk of dyslexia”), a Guide Book for pre-school teachers, a Guide Book for parents of pre-school children, and a Set of Worksheets with exercises and ideas of different activities that will help both teachers and parents to provide effective support to children during the period of transition between pre-school and primary school. By implementation of project activities and outputs, the image of the institutions in local and professional community will improve, increasing the scope and quality of its services. Research shows that the problems associated with learning disabilities (LD), and particularly with dyslexia can be considerably decreased if there is an early intervention - the preschool age is vital as children develop at a much faster rate from birth until they start school. Development of the basic skills at an early age that are the prerequisites for literacy, school-related skills and other skills which are necessary in today's competitive world. Although it is not possible to diagnose a child with dyslexia before he starts the process of literacy acquisition (1st grade of primary school), there are lot of signs that place some children in a group of those who are at “risk of dyslexia”. These signs are well known to the specialists working on the field and if recognised and addressed early enough, they would prevent such children of struggling to learn to read and write when they start school. As far as the materials developed within this Partnership will be in six languages (including English), they will be available to much wider audience beyond the partner countries, which will considerably increase the impact of the project results at European level, moreover the topic in question is considered important almost in every country. All resources produced by the partners will stay available (via project FB page, partners’ websites) even after the end of the project period for every interested user. The consortium is made up of 5 European countries and one member country (Spain-coordinator , Bulgaria, Latvia, Portugal, Turkey,Greece ), mostly experienced in EU projects, concentrating on education as whole and special education in particular. All partners are equipped with the skills, expertise and competence required in order to the project aims were achieved at the highest level.
This project aimed to emphasize the proven techniques that teachers can use to prepare children (in the last year of preschool) for school, and those already in school and struggling to overcome difficulties and perform better. With the PreDys toolkit that this association planned to develop, teachers, specialists and parents will increase their professional toolkit, be better equipped and ready to provide adequate and timely support to students in need and thus play an active role in solve the problems that small students experience during the transition period from preschool to elementary school. Our goal was to completely change the point of view of students who were isolated from the educational environment through the materials created within the project. With this, we aimed to ensure coherence between the school, the special education and rehabilitation center and family attitudes to generalize the concepts learned and the skills acquired and thus make efforts to avoid dropping out of school. The objective of the project was to develop a set of training materials for preschool teachers and parents in order to equip them with adequate knowledge and understanding of the characteristics of the child's development in preschool age, as well as a set of practical tips and advice. exercises for the initial training of study skills in each child according to their individual needs. In this way, the consortium aimed to support teachers and parents of preschoolers during the transition between preschool and primary school, so even children who are at "risk of dyslexia" have a smooth transition period. and easy and have the opportunity to reach their potential in the new learning environment. The project partners planned to develop a complete kit of PreDys tools, based on a checklist for school readiness (which will help preschool teachers define children who are at "risk of dyslexia"), a guide for Preschool teachers, a Guide for parents of preschoolers and a set of worksheets with exercises and ideas of different activities that will help both teachers and parents to provide effective support to children during the transition period between preschool and elementary school.
The idea of the project was requested in relation to the educational needs that were contemplated in our cento and community. The problem that this project addresses is of great importance not only in our country and in the partner countries, but for many others outside the association because it affects thousands of children / students, their teachers and families, the support staff ... and not only academically, but also emotionally and in social and behavioral aspects. Children and students struggling in school, who continually experience failure due to their difficulties and deficits, are generally excluded from many school activities (not only those related to reading and writing) and soon enter the position of be isolated Today, when we talk about inclusive education and when all countries try to implement the principles of inclusive education, social inclusion of students with specific learning difficulties is a very important element of this process. Undoubtedly, support those who need to develop their study skills, have better academic performance and reveal their potential to increase success levels. Many recent studies have shown that early identification of learning difficulties and early intervention are of great importance for the success of each child. There are many children who begin the 1st year of primary education with underdeveloped skills. There are skills that must be developed at a certain level to "prepare" the student for school and for the serious academic challenges of literacy acquisition, and later - to successfully study many different school subjects. If these skills are not at the appropriate level, the child will face serious difficulties, fight, be increasingly delayed and, eventually, can lead to early school leaving, social isolation, insufficient realization of life. A supportive environment created by making the appropriate changes to the characteristics of the student who has a specific learning difficulty improves learning performance by reducing student stress.