The year 2013 saw the passing of the Act on Amendments to the Preschool Education Act, whereby, as of the 2014/2015 pedagogical year, the pre-primary educational program becomes mandatory for all children in the year prior to starting primary school. The content and duration of the pre-primary educational program for all children in the year prior to starting primary school, including both the children attending kindergartens and the children of the same age not attending kindergartens, has been stipulated by the Ordinance on the Content and Duration of Pre-Primary Educational Programs (Official Gazette, No. 107/14). The main task of the pre-primary educational program is to develop and improve the physical, emotional, social and cognitive potential of a child as well as to stimulate her/his communication skills needed for new forms of learning.

In accordance with the previously mentioned facts, the content, the programmatic tasks and the organization of the implementation of the pre-primary educational program have to enable the meeting of all child’s needs, particularly the child’s needs for safety, belonging, love, self-respect and respect for others as well as the need for self-realization of her/his personal potentials.

The pre-primary educational program has to ensure to every child in the year prior to primary school the optimal conditions to develop and improve the skills, habits and competences as well as to acquire knowledge and meet the interests that are to help her/him in adapting to new conditions of life, growth and development in the school environment.

The competences that a child needs to acquire and/or improve prior to starting primary school refer to the following: the communication in her/his mother tongue, elementary communication in foreign languages, mathematical competences and basic competences in natural sciences and technology, digital competences, learning to learn, social and civic competences, initiative-taking and entrepreneurship, cultural awareness and expression, and motor competences appropriate to the child’s age.

Personal potential and integral development of every child relates to her/his physical, emotional, social, communication, creative and cognitive abilities and maturity that at this age should be stimulated in order to have reached their optimal development through both the influences in the family environment and the child's interactive relationship with her/his peers, educators and other professionals as well as the immediate natural and social environment.

The environment in which the pre-primary educational program is conducted consists of a number of factors that stimulate and direct the child's physical, social-emotional, communication and cognitive development, and influence the shaping of her/his personality, values, habits and skills (space, equipment, a group of peers, adults, events and activities).

The space for implementation of pre-primary educational program has to be tailored to the child's mental and physical characteristics in the year before she/he starts primary school and follow hygienic and health, and educational standards.

Kindergarten/primary school and any other institution providing the implementation of pre-primary educational program is obliged to cooperate with the parents of children in the year prior to starting primary school, institutions and individuals that may take part in the education and care of children in the year prior to starting primary school, and to contribute to the quality of the preschool programs.

Pre-primary educational program takes place in the period from 1 October to 31 May and lasts in total 250 hours per year for children not attending the regular kindergarten program in accordance with the organization of work of the educational institution.

Pre-primary educational program may be implemented for a lesser number of hours (but not less than 150 hours), and only where there is no possibility of conducting a 250-hour program due to the extremely small number of children - up to five, the difficult conditions of the arrival or stay of children and other objective difficulties.

The organizers of the pre-primary educational program for children in the year prior to starting the primary school who attend the regular kindergarten programs, implement the contents of the preschool program under the regular program.

For children not attending the regular programs, the organizers may autonomously, in accordance with their possibilities and the curriculum, adjust the time of the program implementation.

The pre-primary educational program has to be conducted uniformly and continuously on a weekly basis notwithstanding the foreseen number of hours and daily schedule, whereas regarding the activity schedule, the morning program implementation is preferred. A significant factor in the successful and continuous implementation of the program is the continuity of the teacher of pre-primary educational program.

As part of the 250-hour pre-primary educational program, i.e. the minimum 150-hour program, at least 10% of the total number of hours should be provided for the implementation of other activities outside the institution (visits, tours, cultural events, health and sports programs, etc.). The number of hours foreseen for this purpose could be even greater, depending on the possibilities and the necessities of the person responsible for the program implementation and the participants.

References:

• Preschool Education Act (Official Gazette, Nos. 10/97 and 107/07),
• School Inspection Act (Official Gazette, Nos. 50/95 and 73/97),
• Croatian National Educational Standard for Preschool Education (Official Gazette, Nos. 63/08 and 90/10),
• Decision on Elements of the Standard of Social Care for Preschool Children (Official Gazette, No. 29/83),
• Programme Orientation of Education and Care of Preschool Children (Official Gazette of the Ministry of Culture, No. 7-8/91).