2024
Modernisation of preschool education
Final draft National Education Programme for the period 2023–2033
In July 2024, the relevant working group developed the final draft National Education Programme for 2023–2033. It makes provision, among other things, for children not attending kindergarten the possibility of attending a shorter kindergarten programme of 240 to 480 hours from March to the end of the given school year or August 31. This is different from the initial draft programme, which put forward a compulsory day programme free of charge for children not attending kindergarten one year before starting school. Furthermore, the final draft programme makes provision for limiting the size of an independent kindergarten, down- or upwards, subject to the number of classes, i.e. from 10 to 45 classes. It proposed the phasing in of the requirements relevant to higher educational qualification for kindergarten headteachers, i.e. they would now need to complete at least the second-cycle study programme. To learn more about the final draft National Education Programme see the National reforms in school education.
Kindergarten Curriculum
In May 2024, the National Education Institute appointed 917 members to the various curricular committees (different areas of work, common objectives, areas, subjects, 1st three-year period – 63 in total) for the modernisation of education programmes (prenova izobraževalnih programov), of which almost a fifth (166) were the Institute’s advisers, others were members external to the Institute, 224 of whom were from the higher education institutions. In July 2024, the report on the progress of modernising the education system for green and digital transitions (poročilo o napredku) was published. At the headteachers’ conference (konferenca ravnateljev in ravnateljic) in August 2024, the National Education Institute introduced the updates to the draft Kindergarten Curriculum.
Kindergarten size limitations to support quality
In May 2024, the Ministry of Education published a draft Act amending the Organisation and Financing of Education Act (predlog Zakona o spremembah in dopolnitvah Zakona o organizaciji in financiranju vzgoje in izobraževanja). The proposed amendments concern, among other things, the introduction of institutional self-evaluation in kindergartens and schools, the establishment of a maximum number of classes in public kindergartens, updates to the procedure for appointing and dismissing headteachers of kindergartens and schools, a change in the powers of the council of a public kindergarten or school.
The draft law stipulates, among others, that public kindergartens can now operate with a maximum of 45 classes. As shown in practice, the setting of a kindergarten is a factor in pursuing quality programme activities. The reasoning behind the proposed change points to the capacity of the headteacher in their role as both the management body and the pedagogical leader. It has been shown that in full settings, the first minimises the second role of pedagogical leadership. To learn more about the final draft national programme see National reforms in school education.
Other policy developments
As of 1 September 2024, by the Rules amending the Rules on norms to provide preschool education in kindergartens (Pravilnik o spremembah in dopolnitvah Pravilnika o normativih za opravljanje dejavnosti predšolske vzgoje) a new position of preschool teacher for early treatment shall be classified. There is also a more favourable norm for the counsellor (1 position in a kindergarten with 20 classes instead of 1 position in a kindergarten with 30 classes) to harmonise the improved norm across all levels.
In August 2024 the relevant Rules on the procedure and requirements for education staff and education staff in social-care institutions if employed in education (Pravilnik o postopku in pogojih za pridobitev naziva strokovnih sodelavcev in strokovnih delavcev socialnovarstvenih zavodov ob zaposlitvi na področju vzgoje in izobraževanja) was published in the official gazette. For further information see National reforms in school education.
In June 2024, the Ministry of Education invited to apply for co-funding the project on developing computer thinking by integrating STEM kits in kindergartens and schools for classes 1 to 5 (Javni razpis »Razvoj računalniškega mišljenja z vključevanjem STEM kompletov v vrtcih in osnovnih šolah od 1. do 5. razreda«). For more information see National reforms in school education.
In June 2024, the Ministry of Education opened an invitation to apply for study aid to subsidise fees for continuous education of education staff in the 2024/25 academic year (Javni razpis študijskih pomoči za subvencioniranje šolnin za nadaljnje izobraževanje strokovnih delavcev v študijskem letu 2024/25). For further information see National reforms in school education.
In April 2024, the Ministry of Education advertised 50 traineeship posts for assistant preschool teachers (lot A) and 30 positions for preschool teachers or counsellors (lot B) in kindergartens for the 2024/2025 year (Javni razpis pripravniških mest v vrtcih za leto 2024/25), namely in kindergartens registered to provide preschool education in kindergartens, schools and educational institutions for SEN children and adolescents. The estimated value of funding the traineeship in the employment relationship is €1,166,950.00.
In February 2024, the Ministry of Education opened an invitation to apply for selection and co-finding of continuous professional development programmes for the 2024/2025 school year (Javni razpis za izbor in sofinanciranje programov profesionalnega usposabljanja za šolsko leto 2024/25). For further information see National reforms in school education.
In February 2024, the decision determining the job positions in kindergartens, schools and educational institution for SEN children and adolescents at which public employees are entitled to a bonus as specified under item 8 Article 39 of the Collective Agreement for Public Sector (Sklep o določitvi delovnih mest v vrtcih, šolah in zavodih za vzgojo in izobraževanje otrok in mladostnikov s posebnimi potrebami) was published in the official gazette. For further information see National reforms in school education.
2023
Modernisation of preschool education
For the "Modernisation of education programmes by modernising key programme documents” project (Kindergarten Curriculum, subject-curricula and knowledge catalogues), most of the relevant curricula committees were appointed, and the curricular committee for modernisation of the Kindergarten Curriculum, too.
In November 2023, the minister responsible for education appointed the working group to draft the new Kindergarten Act. Members of the group are representatives of the ministry, trade unions, municipalities, and representatives of public and private kindergartens. The appointment aims to draw up harmonised draft changes to norms, funding of private kindergartens and certain other duties and activities at a system level. Numerous contextual issues that require discussion and recommending legal solutions, include the question of proper systemic funding of private kindergartens without concession but entitled to municipal funding of 85 percent for each child enrolled equal to the municipal funding allocated if the child would be enrolled in a public kindergarten. The working group should complete its activities by the end of 2024. The new proposed solutions must include estimates of financial consequences to municipal and state budgets, and a timeline to comply with them.
Other policy developments
In November 2023, the minister responsible for education adopted the amended rules on professional examination for education staff. See chapter 14.2.
In September 2023, the minister responsible for education adopted the rules on criteria and methods of allocating funding for material costs in education institutions for children and youth with special needs. See Chapter 14.2.
In September 2023, the Act Determining Intervention Measures for Recovery from the Floods and Landslides of August 2023 was published in the official gazette. Among others, it provided the exclusion of payment by parents for the time a child had not attended kindergarten since August 4 2023 because of floods or recovery after the floods. Based on it, the minister responsible for education adopted in October the relevant guidelines on issuing claims for the shortfall of payment by parents and compensation to kindergartens.
In August 2023, the minister responsible for education adopted the Promotion of education staff to titles Rules. See chapter 14.2.
In July 2023, the minister responsible for education adopted the Rules amending the Rules on norms of pursuing the activity of preschool education. The rules provide a lower requirement for a counsellor in a kindergarten, and education staff who provide early treatment by additional professional help, communicating in the Slovenian sign language, or pursuing activities with deaf-blind children. The rules also determine in detail the requirements of professional educational qualifications for a diet cook, as well as a lower norm of a class in a modified education programme including children with autistic spectrum disorder (max. four children).
In June 2023, the minister responsible for education adopted the Rules amending the Rules on norms and minimal technical requirements for kindergarten rooms and equipment. The Rules provide, among others, a time extension until 1 September 2028 for deviating from the required norm of play area size of min 3 m2 per child. The minimum norm of the inner play area size during the transitional period is 2 m2 per child and applies to all age groups. The Rules also provide for a building of a kindergarten to have rooms on several floors (before it provided only for one floor about the ground floor), whereby the rooms for children can be on the ground floor or first floor up at most, and the other rooms can be on higher floors. The Rules also provide for the denomination of the central space to multipurpose space, whereby the multipurpose space can be located anywhere within the building of a kindergarten and the kindergarten setting in a building not built exclusively for a kindergarten.
In June 2023, the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption invited to submit proposals for developing an educational aid for teaching children integrity in kindergartens. The tool should be developed in particular for children of the second age group, to instill children the integrity and behaving with integrity, helping children identify with such behaviours, and make them aware of the importance such behaviours have for an individual and the whole community.
In June 2023, the Act amending the Organisation and Financing of Education Act was published in the official gazette Uradni list Republike Slovenije. See chapter 14.3.
In April 2023, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia adopted the Child Guarantee Action Plan of the Republic of Slovenia. See chapter 14.2.
In March 2023, the ministry responsible for education advertised traineeship posts in kindergartens for the 2023/2024 year. The advertisement was for 50 traineeship posts for pursuing the educational activities of a preschool teacher assistant, and 30 traineeship posts for pursuing the educational activities of a preschool teacher or counsellor in a kindergarten, school, or institute for the education of SEN children and youth. It involved an employment relationship agreement for a traineeship job.
In March 2023, the ministry responsible for education developed draft rules on early treatment in educational institutes and other providers of education programmes for SEN preschool children. The rules determined in depth the implementation of provisions under the third chapter of the relevant Act. Among others, it provided for the option of helping children with different factors and children with special needs, the paths of cooperation between educational institutions and other providers of the education programmes for SEN preschool children with the early treatment centre, criteria for granting separate types of help, and relevant forms.
In March 2023, the ministry responsible for education made a call for applications for co-funding professional training for the 2023/2024 school year. See chapter 14.2.
In February 2023, the minister responsible for education adopted the:
- Rules amending the Rules on the teaching certification examination
- Rules amending the Rules on the selection and co-funding of continuing education and training programmes for education staff, and
another three rules in the field of education in ethnically mixed areas. For all see Chapter 14.2.
In January 2023, the Annex to the Collective Agreement for the Education Sector in the Republic of Slovenia was published in the official gazette of the Republic of Slovenia. It introduced an increase in salary for teachers of preschool children – assistants by four salary grades. It also determined the classification of the Senior Councillor and Assistant posts and higher categories of classification for the Assistant VII/”2 in Young Researcher VII/2 posts, as it has been undertaken previously.
2022
Modernisation of preschool education
In December 2022, the minister responsible for education issued a decision to appoint a working group to develop the National programme of education 2023–2033. See chapter 14.2.
In June 2022, the minister responsible for education signed a decision to approve the Analytical hub project. The project runs on the recovery and resilience plan. The purpose of the project is to improve the system of assessing and assuring quality, cultivate the culture of data-driven operations and develop data literacy. The goal of the project is to set up an analytical hub that will connect the network of institutions in their endeavour to assess and assure quality and support data-driven education policymaking. There is €0.6 million in the recovery and resilience plan planned for implementation in the period 2022 to 2026. The project contractor is the ministry responsible for education.
In April 2022, the minister responsible for education signed the decision to approve the Modernisation of education programmes by modernising the key programme documents (kindergarten curriculum, subject curricula, and knowledge catalogues). The project runs on the recovery and resilience plan. The purpose of the project is the modernisation of kindergarten curriculum, basic school and gimnazija subject-curricula, and knowledge catalogues for general subjects in upper-secondary vocational and technical education programmes to include reasonably the digital competences and basic contents of computer science and informatics, and sustainable development competences and financial literacy. In April, the curricular council was appointed to monitor and steer the modernisation. It met for the first time in August. There is a total of roughly €4 m planned for the implementation in the scope of the recovery and resilience plan and the period of 2022 to 2025. The project operator is the National Education Institute Slovenia.
In February 2022, the Council of experts of the Republic of Slovenia for general education adopted the background documents for the modernisation of the kindergarten curriculum. To support the production of the background documents, the ministry responsible for education developed 2020 the “Insight into the challenges of Slovenian education” (“Pogled na izzive slovenske vzgoje in izobraževanja”). It identified key challenges of the education system based on the analysis made by the ministry in the scope of the internal diagnostics and consideration of certain recommendations by the public institutes and school inspectorate. To support the process, the ministry carried out 2021 a cycle of seven technical consultations on future challenges of education, namely on the premise of the document mentioned.
Other policy developments
In December 2022, the minister responsible for education issued a decision to appoint a working group to develop the National programme of education 2023–2033. See Chapter 14.2.
In December 2022, the ministry responsible for education issued a public invitation to apply for grants to subsidize fees for the continuous education of education staff in the academic year 2022–2023. See chapter 14.2.
In November 2022, the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia adopted the Act amending the Organisation and Financing of Education Act. It introduced among others the Senior Councillor as the fourth title in the field of education, thereby facilitating the career promotion of education staff. The background for the amendment was the 2018 strike agreement between the ministry responsible for education and the Education, science and culture trade union of Slovenia (SVIZ).
Furthermore, it was determined with the amendment that the previous Preschool teacher assistant title shall be replaced with Teacher of preschool children – assistant teacher.
In November 2022, the ministry responsible for education issued a public invitation to apply for the training of education and leadership staff in education to improve competences in digital literacy, sustainable development, and financial literacy. See chapter 14.5.
In September 2022, the minister responsible for education adopted the Rules amending the Rules on promotion to titles of education staff. It was imposed according to the amendment of Article 105 Organization and Financing of Education Act. The amendment introduced in the system of promotion a preschool teacher–assistant post.
In July 2022, the National assembly adopted the Act on reducing imparity and harmful interference of politics and ensuring observance of rule of law. The act affected the Organisation and Financing of Education Act. The latter specified the composition of the public kindergarten and basic school councils. It will now include three founder representatives, five staff representatives, and three parent representatives, the same as before the 2011 amendment.
In June 2022, the minister responsible for education adopted the Rules on the education of preschool children educators and other professional workers in programmes for preschool children and adapted programmes for preschool children with special needs. It introduced new professional profiles or naming of staff that pursue activities with preschool SEN children: preschool teacher for early intervention, and preschool teacher for the deafblind, among others. It specified also that candidate preschool teachers for SEN children in the adapted programmes for preschool children can have a degree in the second cycle study programme in pedagogy, psychology or social pedagogy if they completed the relevant supplementary education programme in special pedagogy in the scope of 60 ECTS points.
In April 2022, the minister responsible for education adopted Rules amending the Rules on documentation in kindergarten. The Rules specified based on the Act amending the Communicable Diseases Act that public and private kindergartens (part-funded from public funds) refuse to enrol an unvaccinated child if parents cannot provide a paediatrician’s notice about the child's medical condition stating medical reasons for skipping vaccination against measles, mumps and rubella.
In March 2022, the Slovenian government adopted the Decree on the methods for ensuring the rights of persons enjoying temporary protection. It decreed among others that the decreased payment for kindergarten by parents who have a temporary protection status applies under conditions specified by the laws on kindergartens and on rights to public funds under the section that applies to foreigners. Parents with the right to social assistance benefit or to an allowance by law and this decree, enjoy an exemption from payment for the duration of that right.
In March 2022, the minister responsible for education adopted the Rules on teacher education student grants. It specified the procedure, requirements and criteria for grants available to students in study programmes that lead to the qualification specified by law and other rules as required for education staff. The objectives behind awarding grants according to the rules were set in response to the long-term priority and employment needs of educational institutions. Grants would serve as means for encouraging young people to study for professions in education, as well as for boosting the prestige of those professions.
Response to the COVID-19 pandemic
In August 2022, before the start of the school year, the minister responsible for education in cooperation with the National Institute of Public Health issued recommendations for leadership of educational institutions about what steps to take in case of the incidence of COVID-19 spread. The two-phase measures for responding are foreseen:
- Phase 1: in case of fast spreading SARS-COV-2 within all groups of citizens that would not involve severe illness that required hospitalisation, the key is to take basic hygienic measures, ventilation, self-testing of the sick, and exclusion from the group, self-protective behaviour, promotion of correct implementation of hygienic measures, in particular, learning the correct etiquette for hand and cough hygiene.
- Phase 2: in case of epidemiological situation worsening and fast spreading SARS-COV-2 that would involve severe illness that required hospitalisation, in such a substantial share that without public health measures an overstraining of the health system would take place, alongside consistent basic additional measures will apply: periodic self-testing of persons without symptoms, more intensive cleaning/disinfection, and several other measures with which the providers within given circumstances will increase physical distancing and decrease contacts among participants.
There was a consultative group appointed at the National Institute of Public Health to monitor the situation of SART-CoV-2. The group prepared the document of instructions to the educational institutions on how to act in case of suspected or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection at the institution in the school year 2022/2023. The instructions apply to all institutions for preschool, basic school and upper secondary education, including residential halls for students with special educational needs and upper secondary students. The document includes detailed steps to take by the leadership.
In May 2022, the Slovenian government adopted the Ordinance repealing the Ordinance on the temporary measures for the prevention and control of infectious disease COVID-19. With it, it cancelled all temporary measures for prevention and control for SARS-CoV-2 infections.
In March 2022, the Slovenian government adopted the Ordinance amending the Ordinance on the temporary measures for the prevention and control of infectious disease COVID-19. According to the amendment, the face coverings were no longer required for education staff and other staff that work together with the former in providing the programmes of preschool education in kindergartens, institutes for preschool education of children with special needs, and early childhood education and care families, as well as in professional or lay care of preschool children.
In March 2022, the minister responsible for education adopted the Decision amending the Decision on the emergency measures in personnel administration required for smooth operations of educational institution. It allowed higher education students who had completed upper secondary education programme in preschool education to take on temporary assignment in kindergartens in the 2021/2022 school year. Afterwards, this would count for work experience future teachers need to qualify for professional examination.
In March 2022, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia adopted the Ordinance on the temporary measures for the prevention and control of infectious disease COVID-19. It introduced exemptions from wearing facial coverings in kindergartens, among other. Since March 4, facial coverings are not a condition for kindergarten staff. The condition only applied to outside persons entering kindergartens (parents, suppliers …).
In February 2022, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia adopted the new Ordinance on the temporary measures for the prevention and control of infectious disease COVID-19. It waived off from the recovered/vaccinated/tested rule.