The results of the World Bank’s impact assessment of our long-standing initiative "Springboard for School Readiness" Project show clearly that the provision of free access to kindergarten halves the share of children from vulnerable communities not enrolled in preschool education, and increases attendance by about 20%. The important data has also been presented at an online conference “Inclusion of Roma children in early education”, jointly organized by UNICEF Bulgaria and UNICEF Croatia.
At the conference TSA representatives had the opportunity to share their expectations from the ongoing monitoring of a new policy according to which municipalities are responsible for supporting families by covering part of kindergarten fees. The TSA expressed its intentions to continue monitoring and development of the children participating in "Springboard for School Readiness" Project by comparing their results from the national external assessment after IV grade. The conference was also attended by representatives of the Ministries of Education and Science in Bulgaria and Croatia, representatives of UNICEF’s regional office, representatives of Roma organizations, and experts in the field of education.