On 16 and 17 June 2026, a training session entitled “Transition and Adaptation of Children with Special Needs to the Early Childhood Education and Care System” will take place at the International Congress Centre Burgas. The training is aimed at professionals working with young children.

The event is part of a joint initiative by Burgas Municipality and UNICEF Bulgaria entitled “Developing a Systemic Approach to Early Childhood Intervention in Burgas Municipality”, launched in 2025. The partnership’s main objective is to establish effective cooperation mechanisms between the healthcare, education and social services systems to support the early identification of children with disabilities or developmental difficulties and ensure they receive appropriate support.

Early childhood intervention is a service designed to support parents of children aged 0–5 who experience developmental difficulties, have disabilities or are at risk of developmental delays. Its purpose is to empower parents through counselling, information and family training, helping them apply different approaches and activities to stimulate their child’s development, as well as providing additional support from specialists when necessary.

The service is delivered in the family home and in the child’s natural environment, such as playgrounds, nurseries and kindergartens, rather than in a specialised office. This approach recognises that children learn most effectively in familiar surroundings and from adults they know.

The Early Childhood Intervention programme is implemented by the Centre for Social Support and the “Filip Kutev” Centre for Social Support with Emergency Admission Services.

The current training aims to strengthen the professional competencies of specialists in early childhood development and promote the implementation of best practices to ensure the successful adaptation and inclusion of every child in the early childhood education and care system.