The second regional seminar for members of the National Association of Resource Teachers (NART) took place in the city of Stara Zagora on April 28, 2023 – twelve years after the founding of the Association there.

The seminar was attended by NART members from the regions of Kardzhali, Haskovo, Varna, Burgas, Smolyan, and Stara Zagora. Greetings were delivered by Dr. Kaloyan Damyanov, the first president of the Association, Ms. Kalina Hristova – the current chairperson of the Managing Board, and Mr. Plamen Ivanov, director of the Resource Center for Inclusive Education in Stara Zagora.

New directions for the development of NART were outlined: more active advocacy activities and more opportunities for professional mobility for those working with children in additional support for personal development. One of the main focuses of the current year will be the preparation of a detailed analysis of inclusive education, along with the development of a strategy for its advancement.

Additionally, Ms. Mariana Bancheva presented the educational toolkit created under the STEAM4SEN project – methodological guidelines and practical sessions based on project-based learning and a multidisciplinary approach. The project aims to create conditions for the active inclusion of students with special educational needs in school STEAM activities.

An educational toolkit for the development of social-emotional competencies in early childhood was also presented, developed under the BE CHILD project – “Building an Inclusive Society through Support for Early Childhood Education and Care for the Development of Social-Emotional Competencies in Preschool Children.”

The focus of the second part of the seminar was a discussion on current issues in the field of inclusive education. Problems related to the following were discussed:

• Implementation of the regulatory framework;

• Interaction in the Individual Educational Plan (IEP) in kindergarten/school and the organization of on-site work;

• Interaction with parents;

• Qualification, methodological support, and sharing of resources.

Suggestions were made for changes in the regulatory framework that could improve the quality of work with children and students with special educational needs, as well as help overcome existing problems in the work of resource specialists.