in November 2025, the State Chancellery entered into an agreement with the training Centre “support” and SIA “Baltic software Factory” regarding the evaluation and improvement of the knowledge of educational specialists in work with children with impaired neurodevelopment with the aim of evaluating the knowledge of Latvian education specialists regarding such impairments and the skills and competences of providing support to children and, on the basis of the results of research, to develop a multi-level training programme and organise piloting thereof among educational specialists, as well as to digitise the programme so that it is available to as many educational specialists as possible in the future.
Neurodevelopmental disorders in this agreement are understood by AST, UDHT, specific behavioural disorders, learning disorders such as dyslexia, etc.
Programme target:
- teachers and support staff working in pre-school educational institutions;
- teachers and support staff working in educational establishments that ensure the acquisition of basic education programmes;
- education experts, policy makers;
legal representatives (including foster parents) in children with impaired neurodevelopment below 12 years of age.
This is an important work in the field of healthy development of children and at the same time part of a wider system that promotes the full development of children and strengthens cross-sectoral cooperation in Latvia.
By the middle of 2027, it is planned to establish a professional development programme according to different levels of knowledge, based on materials developed and scientifically substantiated by other countries. . Various specialists will be involved in the development of the programme, including clinical and health psychologists, child psychiatrist, special educator and foreign specialists with experience in working with children with impaired neural development.
Pilots will also be organized, training at least 150 specialists from different municipalities and educational institutions in Latvia. Digitalisation of the programme is also planned to make the programme available to every specialist in the field of education in Latvia.
Meanwhile, by 2029 it is planned to ensure that the developed digital learning module of the programme is actively used by education professionals, at least 70% of the target audience have completed training, while ensuring that the specialists involved in the development of the programme are available for consultation on the content of the training.
The development of the professional development programme is implemented by the European Social Fund Plus project No. .4 .3 .6 .7/1/24/I/001 “establishment of an interdisciplinary co-operation and support system for the healthy development and successful self-fulfilment of children (stage 1)”.