We believe that every child has enormous potential to learn, grow, and succeed. In order for this potential to unfold, access to quality early education is essential—especially for children from underserved communities. Quality early education builds language and social-emotional skills, confidence, independence, and a love of learning—skills that matter not only in school but later in life as well.
Quality early childhood education should not depend on where a child is born or on the opportunities available to their family. It is a matter of fairness and of our shared future.
On February 26, 2026, we attended an Open Day at Kindergarten “Barborino” in the town of Sredets—our long-standing partner. There, we saw what this idea looks like in practice. We saw what is possible when the kindergarten, teachers, the director, TSA experts, the municipality, parents, and partners work together toward a shared goal—better education for every child.
The event was part of the pilot project “Individualizing Pedagogical Approaches in Early Education”, which we are implementing in partnership with the Municipality of Sredets and the Municipality of Tundzha. The initiative contributes to the implementation of the local education development strategies of both municipalities by supporting improvements in the educational environment and the professional development of teachers—key components for improving process quality and learning outcomes.
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Official guests at the event included Eng. Ivan Kichev, Mayor of the Municipality of Sredets, and Ms. Sarah Perrin, Executive Director of the Trust for Social Achievement. The official guests, teachers, principals of educational institutions from both municipalities, the Head of the Regional Department of Education in Burgas, and parents had the opportunity to immerse themselves in the real atmosphere of the kindergarten.
Instead of a demonstration open lesson, the guests saw teachers and children in action as they observed the daily routine in the first age group, beginning with a morning meeting and group work in learning centers. They saw how children make choices, share materials, and learn through active participation. Guests visited the newly equipped classrooms in the first and second age groups and spoke with teachers about how a rich, child-centered learning environment is created and what support from the project was key to developing their pedagogical practice.
We support kindergartens in making real changes in their daily work through training, mentoring support for teachers, meetings for sharing experiences among teachers and directors, exchanges between municipalities, and improvements to the educational environment. In this way, change does not remain just a good idea but becomes a sustainable practice in the classrooms.
Our partners at IKEA provided partial support for equipping the pilot classrooms with functional and flexible solutions that encourage play, independence, and cooperation among children, and help create a cozy, organized, and welcoming environment where every child feels they belong.
In recent years, Bulgaria has made significant progress in expanding access to early education. Structural measures to expand access to preschool education are essential, but without improving the quality of teaching through continuous professional mentoring support for teachers, increased access does not automatically lead to better outcomes—especially for the most vulnerable children.
The issue of process quality—the quality and effectiveness of interactions and children’s experiences and learning in the classroom—remains largely unresolved. In many kindergartens, educational activities are still organized around the same tasks for all children, mainly led frontally by the adult, with limited opportunities for choice and independence. This limits the full engagement of all children in learning activities and the development of key skills such as self-regulation, language competence, critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration—skills that are crucial for their future growth and successful learning.
The pilot project in the municipalities of Sredets and Tundzha addresses this challenge by introducing child-centered pedagogical practices based on an internationally recognized program for supporting the quality of early education through:
- Individualized mentoring support for the professional development of teachers: This approach develops teachers’ practical skills through joint planning and reflection within teaching pairs responsible for one classroom. The process is based on mentoring observations of their work by experts and the director. Mentoring support shifts teachers’ focus from routine instruction to a pedagogical practice that is responsive to the specific needs of the children in a given classroom and grounded in documentation, formative assessment, and collaborative planning of educational activities;
- Support for children’s development, especially the most vulnerable: A child-centered learning environment and teaching practice encourage language development, executive functions, social-emotional skills, and early literacy by ensuring the active participation of all children and differentiated support within the classroom. This is particularly important for children from families with low socio-economic status or with a mother tongue different from the language of instruction, as it supports their full inclusion in the educational process, language development, and effective engagement of families;
- Preparation for a successful educational pathway: By focusing on the quality of interactions, providing formative feedback on each child’s development and achievements, and investing effort in building effective family engagement, child-centered pedagogy lays the foundations for learning and reduces early educational inequalities.
Investing in the professional development of teachers and in the engagement of families is among the most effective strategies for reducing the risk of educational poverty and ensuring that expanded access to preschool education leads to sustainable outcomes.
The experience from the pilot project shows that when institutions, professionals, municipalities, and private partners work together, the result is a better environment for children. TSA believes that what we see in our pilot classrooms is not just a good example, but the beginning of a broader shift in the understanding of quality in early childhood education—quality that places the child at the center.