The overall objective of the proposed action is to improve access to community-based early years and preschool support services for vulnerable children with special needs (CWSN).

The action builds the technical and collaborative working capacity of key target groups, including professional staff from LAs and CSOs, kindergarten teachers and administrators, parents, and the general public by providing them with knowledge and understanding of the needs and rights of young vulnerable CWSN, the importance of inclusive education during the early years period, barriers faced by CWSN as well as their parents and careers, and practical skills to support CWSN and their families.

- Promote greater awareness of the rights of people with mental disabilities through their empowerment as self-advocates.
- Capacity-building - to enhance and to monitor the CRPD implementation in neuro-psychiatric residential institutions.
- Combat discrimination of persons with mental disabilities living in neuro-psychiatric residential institutions and promote community for all.

- The first result is focused on the increased cooperation between CSOs and LAs under the MoE & MLSPF. The key approach for the achievement of this result is the capacity building, raising awareness and communication activities, which promote joint consultation between all the stakeholders involved in the project.
- The second result concerns the increased capacity of CSOs and LAs to promote access to community-based early years and preschool support services for CWSN. It is intended to be achieved by improving the ability of staff from LAs and CSOs to more effectively meet the needs of vulnerable CWSN in their care and/or in their classrooms, so that these children benefit fully from the experience of inclusive education during the early years period. At the end of the action, it is envisaged to have efficient and sustainable early years support programmes developed within the present project (Communication Through Music, Mellow Parenting, Makaton and Portage) integrated in the existing system of child welfare services.
- The third result regards the increased support to vulnerable parents and carers of CWSN.
This will result in reduced isolation, enriched parent-child relationships, increased awareness and utilization of services. It is intended to be achieved by the stakeholders’ capacity building support to ensure the quality of the new early years support programmes as well as the empowerment of parents’ involvement in the provision of more efficient support to CWSN, and changing stereotypes, perceptions around CWSN.
- The final result aims to achieve a trialed and tested model for community-based early years and pre-school support for CWSNs, along with the capacity for national roll-out and will be implemented by organization of the trialed models dissemination events nationally in close collaboration with the key ministries.