Background

 A well-established phenomenon, the Matthew Effect, states that small differences in reading ability in the early years of school lead to large differences in achievement by the end of school and beyond. This is why the transition from ECEC to primary school is considered as one of the most critical periods of childhood (Besi et.al., 2019) since adaptation to this may have long-term effects, and that is why the critical conditions mentioned earlier are targeted trough early intervention. International research has generally found that the key early (pre/non-academic) skills identified for school readiness and easier transition are gross and fine motor skills, social and emotional maturity, independence, language and communication skills, understanding of elementary concepts, and the ability to follow the rules, focus and similar.

Meanwhile, research conducted by the PA SBS (2021) shows that parents often do not have the time or capacities to find relevant resources. This is especially dominant in the current conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic, with many parents and educators under great additional stress. For this reason, through the CARE2LEARN project we aim to develop an early intervention tool to tackle learning disadvantage by strengthening early key skills of children to lay quality foundations for their education and chances of positive life outcomes, but also relieve parents, ECEC and school system from additional pressure.