Country information for Bulgaria - Assessment within inclusive education systems

According to the Pre-school and School Education Act, additional support is provided based on the individual needs assessment performed by a support team for personal development in kindergarten or school. The personal development support team is established by order of the kindergarten or school head teacher for learners with special educational needs, outstanding gifts or chronic diseases, or who are at risk.

A psychologist or pedagogical advisor and speech therapist must be included in the personal development support team. The team may include other professionals, such as representatives of the child protection authorities and authorities for the anti-social behaviour of minors. The personal development support team works with the learners’ parents and, if necessary, with the regional centres for support of inclusive education and/or with personal development support centres.

The personal development support team:

• identifies the learner’s strengths and difficulties related to their development, training and behaviour and the reasons for these difficulties;
• assesses the individual needs of the learner;
• prepares and implements a support plan;
• monitors and evaluates the development of each specific case;
• performs other functions provided for in the state educational standard for inclusive education (the Ordinance on Inclusive Education).

In regional centres for inclusive education, local teams support the personal development of learners with special educational needs. The teams include resource teachers, special educators (including from centres for special educational support), psychologists, speech therapists and other specialists. Representatives from the regional department of education act as team leaders.

The regional teams:

• request support for learners with special educational needs from the regional centre for inclusive education. The director approves or disapproves additional support, based on the assessments by the personal development support teams;
• evaluate individual needs for additional support for learners with special educational needs when personal development support teams are unavailable. In this case, they request support from the regional centre for inclusive education based on an application from the learner’s kindergarten or school head teacher;
• re-evaluate the individual needs of learners with special educational needs when parents disagree with the assessment by the personal development support team or the proposed additional support. The director of the regional centre for inclusive education approves or disapproves additional support for learners with special educational needs;
• assess the individual needs of learners with special educational needs when parents apply for referral for training in special schools;
• support the provision of additional support;
• propose and organise, if necessary, the provision of methodological support for working with learners with special needs educational needs in kindergartens, schools and personal development support centres;
• inform parents of learners with special educational needs about opportunities for continuing education or acquiring a professional qualification after grades 7 and 10;
• perform other functions provided for in the state educational standard for inclusive education (the Ordinance on Inclusive Education).

The assessment of learners’ individual need for additional support for personal development is functional. When assessing learners with possible special educational needs, disability and functioning are considered as a consequence of the interaction between the health condition and environmental factors. This is in accordance with the World Health Organization (WHO)’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) and takes into account the WHO’s International Classification of Diseases ICD-10.

Learner assessment is carried out according to the assessment card outlining the individual needs of the learner. The parent consents or disagrees with the assessment of individual needs and with the proposed additional support for personal development in the learner’s assessment card. The assessment card is an integral part of the learner’s personal educational file in the national electronic information system for pre-school and school education (NEISPUO). It is submitted together with other documents during the learner’s transition from one institution to another through pre-school and school education.

Last updated 02/03/2021