Bulgaria is working to strengthen inclusive practices in early childhood and school education, with growing attention on supporting learners’ academic, social and emotional needs. As part of this effort, Bulgaria is implementing two large-scale projects: Bright Start, for preschool education, and Success for You, for primary and secondary education. Funded through the European Social Fund Plus and the national budget, the projects aim to improve early identification of learners’ needs, expand structured general and tailored supports, and strengthen parental engagement.
This interim evaluation examines early achievements from the first years of implementation to support delivery of the projects’ intended learning and well-being outcomes. It finds that both projects align well with international principles for inclusive education and are promoting learner-centred approaches in kindergartens and schools. Project teams work efficiently to ensure activities are implemented according to requirements and at unprecedented scale. However, there is scope to broaden efforts to build professional capacity for inclusive education among staff in kindergartens and schools and to strengthen the technical support available to them. Overall, the projects help lay important groundwork for longer term improvements, including greater awareness of inclusive practices across national and regional administrations and kindergarten and school communities.
