Together for Quality Early Childhood Education: Partner Meeting and Study Visit in Spiš

Erasmus+ Project: Soft Skills for High Quality Education
Published: June 2025

📍 Levoča, May 2025 – A Meeting of Experts and Inspiration from Practice

At the end of May, we hosted the third project meeting of our international team working on the Soft Skills for High Quality Education. The meeting brought together partners from Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, and Estonia—and offered not only strategic discussions but also powerful learning moments from early education practice.

👶 Visiting Three Kindergartens: Where Soft Leadership Comes to Life

As part of the study visit, participants had the opportunity to visit three kindergartens that our organization has been working with long-term:

• Kindergarten Tehelná in Spišská Nová Ves
• Kindergarten in Spišský Hrhov
• Kindergarten Zelená in Smižany

Educators from these schools shared how they lead Teacher Support Learning Groups (TSLGs) and implement elements of soft leadership—such as active listening, reflective communication, and creating a psychologically safe space for peer learning.

“It was enriching to see how our Slovak colleagues work in their kindergartens. We really enjoyed it. You can tell that change is possible when you work with trust and openness.”
— Kindergarten teacher from Estonia

🧰 Toolbox in the Final Phase of Development

Alongside the school visits, an intensive project team meeting took place. The main focus was finalizing the content of the project’s key output: Toolbox —a practical set of tools for TSLG leaders, including:

• Facilitation techniques
• Reflective questions for group discussions
• Videos of real-life group situations
• Suggestions for building trust within teams

The Toolbox will be available in multiple languages and will serve as a major outcome of the project.

🌍 What’s Next

In the coming months, the project will focus on:

• Collecting feedback from educators participating in the pilot trainings
• Preparing final dissemination events
• Continuing the work of the international Professional Learning Community (iPLC)
• Publishing video stories showing soft skills in action in kindergartens

📸 View photos from the meeting

We thank all the kindergartens that welcomed us and our partners for the inspiring collaboration!
Together, we are creating a space where pedagogical leaders learn to listen, reflect, and grow.