Erasmus+
Accredited project of the approved Erasmus+ accreditation plan for the period 2021–2027.
The school's first project as an accredited institution in the Erasmus+ programme. Project KA1, number 022-1-RS01-KA121-SCH-000065022, began implementation on 1 June 2022 and runs until 31 August 2023. The aim of the accreditation plan is the professional development of staff and the building of the school's — that is, the Resource Centre's — capacity to provide modern expert support, both to the school's own students and to visually impaired students with additional disabilities within the inclusive education system. We trained in Zagreb/Croatia, at the "Mali dom – Zagreb" Day Centre for the Rehabilitation of Children and Youth, during September and October 2022. In the first year of implementing the accreditation plan, nine of the school's special educators (eight teachers and educators and the school principal) attended training on the topics: - Functional vision assessment, and - Educating students with visual impairment and additional difficulties, or deafblind students (Perkins Syllabus by Perkins International). Through this training: - The team of special educators who will carry out basic functional-vision assessment has been expanded; - Special educators will better understand the diversity of visually impaired students, as well as the diversity of multiply visually impaired children/students who additionally have a hearing impairment (MDVI/DB); - Strategies were learned for establishing and nurturing a partnership with the student's family; - Strategies were learned for improving communication and language skills with students with multiple disabilities and visual impairment, i.e. of vision and hearing; - Special educators will structure the assessment of the abilities of students with multiple disabilities and visual impairment, i.e. deafblind students, in order to create a basis for planning individual programmes, involving the family in person-centred planning, choosing learning strategies, and setting and developing a meaningful curriculum.
The training "Everything about 3D printing" was held from 29 January to 2 February 2024 in cooperation with the organisation BUINHO EDUCATION in Carcavelos, Portugal. On that occasion we learned to use 3D printers independently and to solve potential problems that arise when using these printers. We became acquainted with the most important aspects of 3D printing: from 3D modelling using CAM software (Computer Aided Manufacturing – Tinkercad and Cura software) to optimising 3D printing. We learned how to use the Creality Ender 3 Pro 3D printer. We were introduced to all the aspects involved in using a 3D printer – initial testing, calibration, troubleshooting, improving print results, slicing 3D models, and 3D modelling. During the training itself, we were very inspiring for the mentor/trainer, who until then had had no experience of working with visually impaired people. He tried very keenly to respond to our specific requirements and reflected generously on the tasks we set him. Together with the mentor, we found solutions for the specific needs of our school's students and, in general, for the needs of the educational process at our school.
Activities of the school, as an accredited organisation, following the training completed within the Erasmus+ programme
The "Veljko Ramadanović" School for Visually Impaired Students, Belgrade, is one of the first five accredited institutions in the Erasmus+ programme for the period 2021–2027. Through the Erasmus+ programmes, the European Union supports the modernisation and development of education in Serbia in line with European principles. Following the completed training:- We are increasing the volume of functional-vision assessments carried out for young children (aged 0 to 6), for our school's students and for visually impaired students in mainstream schools.
- Thanks to the project funds, we are able to procure additional instruments for functional-vision assessment, which directly enables an increased volume of assessments.
- We share the acquired knowledge with colleagues at meetings of the teachers' council, the pedagogical collegium and other expert bodies of the school.
- Through the cooperation protocol between the "Veljko Ramadanović" School and schools educating students with hearing and intellectual disabilities, we will provide expert advisory help from a typhlologist for every child/student with hearing and visual impairment, carrying out functional-vision assessments and supplying typhlological aids and tools for the successful following of the school programme.
- We improve cooperation with parents through sensitisation workshops, thereby strengthening their parental competencies.
- Together with parents, we plan the future of the child/student in defining the needs for support at every life stage, and during schooling with an emphasis on transitions to the next educational cycle.
- Typhlologists structure the assessment of the abilities of students with visual impairment and additional disabilities, and of deafblind students, on the basis of which an individual educational programme (IEP 2) is created.
Project "Borders of the Tangible" Erasmus+ project
KA2 project with reference number 2021-1-SI01-KA220-SCH-000027873
Project "Borders of the Tangible" is an Erasmus+ project, KA2, funded by the European Commission. The project officially began on 1 November 2021. The project lasts 3 years. https://bot.center-iris.si/ https://www.facebook.com/bordersoftangible
The main results of the project are:
- Handbook – Consolidated recommendations for adapting pictorial teaching material for the blind.
- A collection of freely available adapted pictorial material for achieving learning objectives and knowledge standards for the blind and partially sighted.
- Instructions for using adapted pictorial teaching materials and video presentations for teachers of blind and partially sighted students.
- Center IRIS, the Centre for Education, Rehabilitation, Inclusion and Counselling for the Blind and Partially Sighted, Slovenia – Coordinator
- "Veljko Ramadanović" School for Visually Impaired Students, Serbia
- "Dragan Kovačević" Primary School, Serbia
- Special Secondary School for Students with Visual Impairment, Romania
- "Dimitar Vlahov" State Primary and Secondary School for Education and Rehabilitation, North Macedonia
Members of the project team, eight colleagues from the school, stayed in Ljubljana for an international meeting from 6 to 10 June 2022. In addition to agreeing on future project plans, workshops were held on adapting pictorial material for blind students. All the colleagues had the opportunity to exchange experiences and knowledge in this field and to become acquainted with the programmes and tools used by colleagues in the region. Our school is the holder of the intellectual output on the project and is responsible for producing the Handbook of universal recommendations for adapting drawings for visually impaired students. At the meeting we presented a proposal for the content of the future handbook. Through this project, the school received another ZY-Fuse printer, which will be useful to us throughout the project.
In Belgrade, on 27–28 February 2023, the third international coordinators' meeting of the project was held. The participants first set off on a tour of the school, after which a meeting was held in the school's conference hall. On that occasion, the printed working version of the handbook – "Universal recommendations for adapting pictorial teaching material for the blind" – was presented in English. The participants agreed on the corrections to be made to the handbook and set deadlines for its finalisation. The next item concerned relief drawings, which each organisation had prepared for presentation and discussion. On a virtual platform, to be created by the partners from Slovenia, there will be around 250 relief drawings from the primary-school curriculum.
The INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE "SHARING KNOWLEDGE IS POWER" was held on 30 September 2024, organised by the "Dragan Kovačević" Primary School. The professional gathering took place in the Ceremonial Hall of the Stari Grad Municipality in Belgrade. The lecturers were the greatest experts in the region in the field of working with visually impaired students, and they conveyed an exceptional amount of scientific information about adapting teaching material for students with no residual vision in the educational process, with particular emphasis on examples of good practice. Participants followed the conference both in person and via the Zoom application. At the conference, the project partners presented: - The handbook "Consolidated recommendations for adapting pictorial teaching material for the blind"; - A database of 250 adapted pictures for the blind; - A video guide on using the adapted materials created during the project. All the project results are available on the website: -https://bot.center-iris.si/
Project "STEAM in a barrier-free secondary school for blind and partially sighted students" Erasmus+ project
KA2 project with reference number 2021-1-ES01-KA220-SCH-000024569
Project "STEAM in a barrier-free secondary school for blind and partially sighted students" is an Erasmus+ project funded by the European Commission. The project officially began on 1 November 2021. The project lasts 2 years.
https://erasmusbabelia.wixsite.com/ka220-sch-000024569 The main aim of the project : The project deals with creating workshops in the fields of natural sciences, mathematics and art within secondary education that are adapted for blind or partially sighted students. It is about identifying and developing good practices and resources that can improve their access to these fields. Visually impaired students from three specialised schools, secondary-school students from a school in Burgos, students with developmental disabilities from a school in the Canary Islands, and specialised experts from all the partner centres will take part in the project. The workshops and cooperative work between students of different abilities will enable the centres to integrate students of different profiles into cooperative work. Project "STEAM in a barrier-free secondary school for blind and partially sighted students" is implemented by a Consortium of 6 partner organisations:- "Aurelio Gómez" School, Spain – Coordinator
- University of Burgos, Spain
- Tegise Secondary School, Spain
- "Veljko Ramadanović" School for Visually Impaired Students, Serbia
- Special Secondary School for Students with Visual Impairment, Romania
- "Dimitar Vlahov" State Primary and Secondary School for Education and Rehabilitation, North Macedonia.
The first student-exchange meeting between the project institutions was held in Bucharest from 17 to 21 October 2022. During our visit, the students got to know their peers from other countries (Spain, Romania, North Macedonia). Together we toured the host school and, organised by it, visited the Museum of Experiments and the "Grigore Antipa" Museum of Natural History, carried out numerous natural-science experiments and took part in various sports, of which rock climbing was the most attractive to us. On the final day, after certificates were awarded to all participants, a big party was held with the national music of all the participating countries and a spread from Romanian national cuisine.
During the visit to Bucharest, the second international coordinators' meeting of all the partner organisations was held. The meeting's topic concerned the work done on the project so far, keeping documentation, evaluating the work done, disseminating the project results, and setting future dates for the students' travel to Skopje and Belgrade.
The third international meeting of the project teams from Romania, North Macedonia and Serbia was held in Skopje (7–8 November 2022). The project partners were welcomed by the hosts and the principal of the "Dimitar Vlahov" School, where the meeting was held. The meeting began with a few words of welcome and a brief overview of the project, and continued with a short visit to the school and its facilities.
The project partners went through the agenda and began by presenting the project and its activities and results so far. The partner organisation from Romania gave a presentation on the LTT activities (learning teaching training programme) carried out in October in Bucharest with students from all the partner organisations. We spoke about all the positive aspects, but also about some problems we can change during the mobilities with students in North Macedonia and Serbia. The partners from North Macedonia and Serbia presented their ideas for LTT activities planned for May 2023 in Skopje and October 2023 in Belgrade. We concluded that an online meeting with all partners was needed, to agree on the total number of participants both for the mobility and for other logistical and organisational matters.
From 17 to 21 February 2023, a coordinators' meeting was held in Spain in the town of Teguise. During the visit we became acquainted with the work of colleagues from Teguise in the field, at the Agriculture centre. Colleagues from the University of Burgos carried out experiments with secondary-school students from Teguise. Experiments relating to the conservation and importance of water were devised and demonstrated. A visit to the city's education councillor was arranged.
In Belgrade, from 2 to 6 October 2023, the final international meeting of the Erasmus+ project "STEAM in a barrier-free secondary school for blind and partially sighted students" was held, funded by the European Union through the Spanish agency for the internationalisation of education (SEPIE). On this occasion we hosted 45 teachers and students from the partner organisations. During this week, project coordinators' meetings were held at which the project's development was reviewed and evaluated, along with the numerous activities carried out, the dissemination of results through various media, their impact, etc. At the school, workshops adapted for visually impaired students, relating to STEAM subjects, were held. The students were divided into three mixed groups. Students without visual impairment tried to do some parts of the workshops blindfolded. Everyone took part in workshops making natural plant-based creams; painting with scented paints and making bookmarks (by pressing plants from the school's sensory garden). A visit to Novi Sad, Sremski Karlovci and Krušedol Monastery was organised. In Belgrade we visited the Gardoš Tower and the Zemun quay, Kalemegdan Fortress and Knez Mihailova Street, and sailed on the Danube and saw Belgrade from the river. Finally, the possibility of developing a new project ensuring continuity of cooperation was planned.
Our project "Preparing and training teachers for the educational work of students with visual impairment in inclusive education – EQUAL" has been successfully COMPLETED. About the project:
Prosvetni pregled, 17–24 February 2022
RTS1 News, 6 January 2022
During the project, the following results were produced:
In Belgrade, from 2 to 6 October 2023, the final international meeting of the Erasmus+ project "STEAM in a barrier-free secondary school for blind and partially sighted students" was held, funded by the European Union through the Spanish agency for the internationalisation of education (SEPIE). On this occasion we hosted 45 teachers and students from the partner organisations. During this week, project coordinators' meetings were held at which the project's development was reviewed and evaluated, along with the numerous activities carried out, the dissemination of results through various media, their impact, etc. At the school, workshops adapted for visually impaired students, relating to STEAM subjects, were held. The students were divided into three mixed groups. Students without visual impairment tried to do some parts of the workshops blindfolded. Everyone took part in workshops making natural plant-based creams; painting with scented paints and making bookmarks (by pressing plants from the school's sensory garden). A visit to Novi Sad, Sremski Karlovci and Krušedol Monastery was organised. In Belgrade we visited the Gardoš Tower and the Zemun quay, Kalemegdan Fortress and Knez Mihailova Street, and sailed on the Danube and saw Belgrade from the river. Finally, the possibility of developing a new project ensuring continuity of cooperation was planned.
- A handbook for subject teachers in inclusive education, written in English and later translated into Serbian, Italian, Slovenian and Macedonian;
- An 8-hour training programme for subject teachers in inclusive education, divided over 2 days;
- A virtual classroom containing materials from everyday work with visually impaired students from our four organisations.
On 25 November 2021, in the ceremonial hall of the "Veljko Ramadanović" School we held an International Conference of our EQUAL project. We presented the results of our work on the project to the guests. The conference was attended by representatives of state administrations, associations of the blind, primary schools that educate visually impaired students, and the Faculty of Special Education and Rehabilitation.
In the first part of the conference, the project partners presented their organisations and how inclusive education is delivered in their countries. The special guest was a representative of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, an inclusive-education associate, Mrs Ljiljana Simić, who spoke about inclusive education in Serbia.
In the second part of the conference, we presented the results of our project. The training for subject teachers and the handbook as a practical guide for working with visually impaired students were discussed through the results we achieved by implementing them in mainstream schools. The aim of the conference was achieved, because the need was recognised for the training of subject teachers and the handbook intended for them to become a mandatory part of teacher education, in order to strengthen the competencies of teachers who educate visually impaired students.
After the conference, the guests toured our school.
The third international meeting was held with the combined presence of the partner organisations in Skopje. The partners from Slovenia and Italy attended the meeting virtually via the Zoom application, while the 6-member project team from Serbia attended in person. The meeting was organised by the partner from Macedonia and lasted two days, 23–24 September 2021. According to the agenda, the Macedonian partner welcomed the participants from Serbia. This was followed by a short opening, with a musical performance by students. The school principal gave a speech, after which a tour of the "Dimitar Vlahov" School was organised. The meeting began with the hosts introducing and going through the working agenda with all the partners. The meeting discussed the objectives and results achieved during the two years of our project. We reflected on two key results: the Handbook and the Training of subject teachers in inclusive education. All partners discussed the advantages of the project results, future plans for using the handbook, and training courses.
Dissemination of results of the project "Training of subject teachers of mainstream schools in the inclusive education of blind and partially sighted students" was held on two dates: 26 May and 2 June 2021, lasting a total of 8 hours. The Zoom meeting was attended by 66 participants from five mainstream schools in Serbia: "Branko Radičević" Primary School from Belgrade, "Kirilo Savić" Primary School from Ivanjica, "Csáki Lajos" Primary School from Bačka Topola, "Sveti Sava" Primary School from Bor, and the 7th Belgrade Gymnasium from Belgrade. The following content was presented to participants, on the first day: The sense of sight – how visually impaired people see, Characteristics of visually impaired students, Etiquette in contact with visually impaired students, Orientation and mobility of visually impaired students, Teaching students with visual impairment in inclusive education; on the second day: Adapting text for the blind and partially sighted, Planning and preparing the IEP, Accessibility of ICT for visually impaired students, Teaching aids and special equipment for visually impaired students. The meeting took place in a good atmosphere. Through an evaluation questionnaire, the participants gave positive ratings to the lecturers and content, and noted that the information they received would help them improve their work with visually impaired students.
The second international meeting was held virtually via Zoom, organised by the partner from Italy, on 25 March 2021. The meeting discussed the Handbook intended for subject teachers in inclusive education. The second day of the international meeting (12 April 2021) was dedicated to a discussion of the Training Programme intended for teachers in inclusion.
The website of our project was created in February 2020. The URL is: https://equalsims.blogspot.com/
A Facebook page for the project was opened just before the international meeting, in September 2020: https://www.facebook.com/equalerasmusplus
The health emergency, COVID-19, caused a reorganisation of work among all the partner organisations in the project. The international meeting was postponed to October and took place virtually.
The first two days of the international project meeting were prepared by the coordinator from Serbia. The meeting's aim was directed at preparations for carrying out project activities; planning the whole project and discussing the project (obligations and responsibilities); explaining financial rules and procedures, and exchanging ideas about distance learning (due to the COVID-19 situation), and becoming acquainted with the activities undertaken by the project coordinator. The second part of the meeting, lasting five days, was prepared by the partner from Slovenia. This meeting was also held virtually (MS Teams, Zoom, Skype). It was attended by two participants from Italy, eight from Macedonia, six from Slovenia and seven from Serbia. Meeting aim: Presentation of the "Transition Programme" as a basis for creating future training of mainstream-school teachers; The theoretical basis in the professional development of mainstream-school teachers in Slovenia in working with visually impaired students by subject area; Getting to know the new Erasmus+ tools (the Erasmus+ Impact Tool); Considering the results of a survey conducted in mainstream schools among subject teachers who teach visually impaired students. The meeting achieved its aim: the exchange of knowledge and the laying of foundations for delivering the training of subject teachers in mainstream schools. Beginning to create their own training according to the needs of each partner organisation. Adopting the new Erasmus+ tools and summarising the objectives for delivering the Training of mainstream-school teachers.
Dissemination of results The dissemination of the results of this meeting is expected during the second semester of the 2020/21 school year in mainstream schools.
The Tempus Foundation has completed the selection procedure for Erasmus+ strategic-partnership projects for general education (KA201), submitted within the application deadline in 2019 (26 March 2019). Our project entitled "Preparing and training teachers for the educational work of students with visual impairment in inclusive education – EQUAL" was selected for funding by the National Erasmus+ Agency, the Tempus Foundation. The project's duration is two years, from 24 October 2019 to 23 October 2021. The new project-completion date is 23 January 2022, which came about due to the coronavirus pandemic. On the project, associated partners are:
"With Hands towards the Light"
Through this project, a work placement was carried out for students of our secondary Legal-Business School and secondary PTT (postal) school, from 17 November to 1 December 2019 in Thessaloniki. On the placement there were 12 of our school's students and 6 accompanying persons (school teachers). The host was the IPODOMI Centre, Thessaloniki, Greece. The aims of this placement were: training students for independent work, modernising teaching methods, providing students with as much information and experience as possible, and broadening their knowledge, competencies and self-confidence. As part of the placement, we visited the School for the Blind in Thessaloniki, where we became acquainted with the organisation and working methods of the school and boarding house. Socialising with the students of this school was also organised.
We also visited and did our placement at: - the palace of justice in Thessaloniki,
- the Greek-Serbian Chamber of Commerce
- the regional centre for Central Macedonia, - the municipality of Neapoli-Sykies (a municipality in Thessaloniki), - the accounting agency Julia Tsiagou, and - the Consulate of the Republic of Serbia in Thessaloniki.
During the visit we also had time to get to know the most important sights of Thessaloniki:
We also visited an exhibition entitled "The Human Body". The students were able to see and tactilely perceive the basic human organs, their position in the body, and to compare their size.
Accredited project of the approved Erasmus+ accreditation plan for the period 2021–2027. The school's first project as an accredited institution in the Erasmus+ programme. Project KA1, number 022-1-RS01-KA121-SCH-000065022, began implementation on 1 June 2022 and runs until 31 August 2023. The aim of the accreditation plan is the professional development of staff and the building of the school's — that is, the Resource Centre's — capacity to provide modern expert support, both to the school's own students and to visually impaired students with additional disabilities within the inclusive education system. We trained in Zagreb/Croatia, at the "Mali dom – Zagreb" Day Centre for the Rehabilitation of Children and Youth, during September and October 2022. In the first year of implementing the accreditation plan, nine of the school's special educators (eight teachers and educators and the school principal) attended training on the topics: - Functional vision assessment, and - Educating students with visual impairment and additional difficulties, or deafblind students (Perkins Syllabus by Perkins International). Through this training: - The team of special educators who will carry out basic functional-vision assessment has been expanded; - Special educators will better understand the diversity of visually impaired students, as well as the diversity of multiply visually impaired children/students who additionally have a hearing impairment (MDVI/DB); - Strategies were learned for establishing and nurturing a partnership with the student's family; - Strategies were learned for improving communication and language skills with students with multiple disabilities and visual impairment, i.e. of vision and hearing; - Special educators will structure the assessment of the abilities of students with multiple disabilities and visual impairment, i.e. deafblind students, in order to create a basis for planning individual programmes, involving the family in person-centred planning, choosing learning strategies, and setting and developing a meaningful curriculum.
The main results of the project are:
Members of the project team, eight colleagues from the school, stayed in Ljubljana for an international meeting from 6 to 10 June 2022. In addition to agreeing on future project plans, workshops were held on adapting pictorial material for blind students. All the colleagues had the opportunity to exchange experiences and knowledge in this field and to become acquainted with the programmes and tools used by colleagues in the region. Our school is the holder of the intellectual output on the project and is responsible for producing the Handbook of universal recommendations for adapting drawings for visually impaired students. At the meeting we presented a proposal for the content of the future handbook. Through this project, the school received another ZY-Fuse printer, which will be useful to us throughout the project.
In Belgrade, on 27–28 February 2023, the third international coordinators' meeting of the project was held. The participants first set off on a tour of the school, after which a meeting was held in the school's conference hall. On that occasion, the printed working version of the handbook – "Universal recommendations for adapting pictorial teaching material for the blind" – was presented in English. The participants agreed on the corrections to be made to the handbook and set deadlines for its finalisation. The next item concerned relief drawings, which each organisation had prepared for presentation and discussion. On a virtual platform, to be created by the partners from Slovenia, there will be around 250 relief drawings from the primary-school curriculum.
The first student-exchange meeting between the project institutions was held in Bucharest from 17 to 21 October 2022. During our visit, the students got to know their peers from other countries (Spain, Romania, North Macedonia). Together we toured the host school and, organised by it, visited the Museum of Experiments and the "Grigore Antipa" Museum of Natural History, carried out numerous natural-science experiments and took part in various sports, of which rock climbing was the most attractive to us. On the final day, after certificates were awarded to all participants, a big party was held with the national music of all the participating countries and a spread from Romanian national cuisine.
During the visit to Bucharest, the second international coordinators' meeting of all the partner organisations was held. The meeting's topic concerned the work done on the project so far, keeping documentation, evaluating the work done, disseminating the project results, and setting future dates for the students' travel to Skopje and Belgrade.
The third international meeting of the project teams from Romania, North Macedonia and Serbia was held in Skopje (7–8 November 2022). The project partners were welcomed by the hosts and the principal of the "Dimitar Vlahov" School, where the meeting was held. The meeting began with a few words of welcome and a brief overview of the project, and continued with a short visit to the school and its facilities.
The project partners went through the agenda and began by presenting the project and its activities and results so far. The partner organisation from Romania gave a presentation on the LTT activities (learning teaching training programme) carried out in October in Bucharest with students from all the partner organisations. We spoke about all the positive aspects, but also about some problems we can change during the mobilities with students in North Macedonia and Serbia. The partners from North Macedonia and Serbia presented their ideas for LTT activities planned for May 2023 in Skopje and October 2023 in Belgrade. We concluded that an online meeting with all partners was needed, to agree on the total number of participants both for the mobility and for other logistical and organisational matters.
From 17 to 21 February 2023, a coordinators' meeting was held in Spain in the town of Teguise. During the visit we became acquainted with the work of colleagues from Teguise in the field, at the Agriculture centre. Colleagues from the University of Burgos carried out experiments with secondary-school students from Teguise. Experiments relating to the conservation and importance of water were devised and demonstrated. A visit to the city's education councillor was arranged.
Our project "Preparing and training teachers for the educational work of students with visual impairment in inclusive education – EQUAL" has been successfully COMPLETED. About the project:
Prosvetni pregled, 17–24 February 2022
RTS1 News, 6 January 2022
During the project, the following results were produced:
On 25 November 2021, in the ceremonial hall of the "Veljko Ramadanović" School we held an International Conference of our EQUAL project. We presented the results of our work on the project to the guests. The conference was attended by representatives of state administrations, associations of the blind, primary schools that educate visually impaired students, and the Faculty of Special Education and Rehabilitation.
In the first part of the conference, the project partners presented their organisations and how inclusive education is delivered in their countries. The special guest was a representative of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, an inclusive-education associate, Mrs Ljiljana Simić, who spoke about inclusive education in Serbia.
In the second part of the conference, we presented the results of our project. The training for subject teachers and the handbook as a practical guide for working with visually impaired students were discussed through the results we achieved by implementing them in mainstream schools. The aim of the conference was achieved, because the need was recognised for the training of subject teachers and the handbook intended for them to become a mandatory part of teacher education, in order to strengthen the competencies of teachers who educate visually impaired students.
After the conference, the guests toured our school.
The third international meeting was held with the combined presence of the partner organisations in Skopje. The partners from Slovenia and Italy attended the meeting virtually via the Zoom application, while the 6-member project team from Serbia attended in person. The meeting was organised by the partner from Macedonia and lasted two days, 23–24 September 2021. According to the agenda, the Macedonian partner welcomed the participants from Serbia. This was followed by a short opening, with a musical performance by students. The school principal gave a speech, after which a tour of the "Dimitar Vlahov" School was organised. The meeting began with the hosts introducing and going through the working agenda with all the partners. The meeting discussed the objectives and results achieved during the two years of our project. We reflected on two key results: the Handbook and the Training of subject teachers in inclusive education. All partners discussed the advantages of the project results, future plans for using the handbook, and training courses.
Dissemination of results of the project "Training of subject teachers of mainstream schools in the inclusive education of blind and partially sighted students" was held on two dates: 26 May and 2 June 2021, lasting a total of 8 hours. The Zoom meeting was attended by 66 participants from five mainstream schools in Serbia: "Branko Radičević" Primary School from Belgrade, "Kirilo Savić" Primary School from Ivanjica, "Csáki Lajos" Primary School from Bačka Topola, "Sveti Sava" Primary School from Bor, and the 7th Belgrade Gymnasium from Belgrade. The following content was presented to participants, on the first day: The sense of sight – how visually impaired people see, Characteristics of visually impaired students, Etiquette in contact with visually impaired students, Orientation and mobility of visually impaired students, Teaching students with visual impairment in inclusive education; on the second day: Adapting text for the blind and partially sighted, Planning and preparing the IEP, Accessibility of ICT for visually impaired students, Teaching aids and special equipment for visually impaired students. The meeting took place in a good atmosphere. Through an evaluation questionnaire, the participants gave positive ratings to the lecturers and content, and noted that the information they received would help them improve their work with visually impaired students.
The second international meeting was held virtually via Zoom, organised by the partner from Italy, on 25 March 2021. The meeting discussed the Handbook intended for subject teachers in inclusive education. The second day of the international meeting (12 April 2021) was dedicated to a discussion of the Training Programme intended for teachers in inclusion.
The website of our project was created in February 2020. The URL is: https://equalsims.blogspot.com/
A Facebook page for the project was opened just before the international meeting, in September 2020: https://www.facebook.com/equalerasmusplus
The health emergency, COVID-19, caused a reorganisation of work among all the partner organisations in the project. The international meeting was postponed to October and took place virtually.
The first two days of the international project meeting were prepared by the coordinator from Serbia. The meeting's aim was directed at preparations for carrying out project activities; planning the whole project and discussing the project (obligations and responsibilities); explaining financial rules and procedures, and exchanging ideas about distance learning (due to the COVID-19 situation), and becoming acquainted with the activities undertaken by the project coordinator. The second part of the meeting, lasting five days, was prepared by the partner from Slovenia. This meeting was also held virtually (MS Teams, Zoom, Skype). It was attended by two participants from Italy, eight from Macedonia, six from Slovenia and seven from Serbia. Meeting aim: Presentation of the "Transition Programme" as a basis for creating future training of mainstream-school teachers; The theoretical basis in the professional development of mainstream-school teachers in Slovenia in working with visually impaired students by subject area; Getting to know the new Erasmus+ tools (the Erasmus+ Impact Tool); Considering the results of a survey conducted in mainstream schools among subject teachers who teach visually impaired students. The meeting achieved its aim: the exchange of knowledge and the laying of foundations for delivering the training of subject teachers in mainstream schools. Beginning to create their own training according to the needs of each partner organisation. Adopting the new Erasmus+ tools and summarising the objectives for delivering the Training of mainstream-school teachers.
Dissemination of results The dissemination of the results of this meeting is expected during the second semester of the 2020/21 school year in mainstream schools.
The Tempus Foundation has completed the selection procedure for Erasmus+ strategic-partnership projects for general education (KA201), submitted within the application deadline in 2019 (26 March 2019). Our project entitled "Preparing and training teachers for the educational work of students with visual impairment in inclusive education – EQUAL" was selected for funding by the National Erasmus+ Agency, the Tempus Foundation. The project's duration is two years, from 24 October 2019 to 23 October 2021. The new project-completion date is 23 January 2022, which came about due to the coronavirus pandemic. On the project, associated partners are:
"With Hands towards the Light"
Through this project, a work placement was carried out for students of our secondary Legal-Business School and secondary PTT (postal) school, from 17 November to 1 December 2019 in Thessaloniki. On the placement there were 12 of our school's students and 6 accompanying persons (school teachers). The host was the IPODOMI Centre, Thessaloniki, Greece. The aims of this placement were: training students for independent work, modernising teaching methods, providing students with as much information and experience as possible, and broadening their knowledge, competencies and self-confidence. As part of the placement, we visited the School for the Blind in Thessaloniki, where we became acquainted with the organisation and working methods of the school and boarding house. Socialising with the students of this school was also organised.
We also visited and did our placement at: - the palace of justice in Thessaloniki,
- the Greek-Serbian Chamber of Commerce
- the regional centre for Central Macedonia, - the municipality of Neapoli-Sykies (a municipality in Thessaloniki), - the accounting agency Julia Tsiagou, and - the Consulate of the Republic of Serbia in Thessaloniki.
During the visit we also had time to get to know the most important sights of Thessaloniki:
We also visited an exhibition entitled "The Human Body". The students were able to see and tactilely perceive the basic human organs, their position in the body, and to compare their size.
The aim of our visit was, by observing the good practice of inclusive support for VI and MVI children in mainstream kindergartens in Slovenia – provided by our hosts – and by exchanging experience with them, to increase our knowledge and competencies in providing inclusive support to VI and MVI children in kindergartens in Serbia; and to share that experience with our school colleagues, educators in mainstream kindergartens, and inter-sectoral committees.
Visit programme
The Tempus Foundation has completed the selection procedure for Erasmus+ strategic-partnership projects for general education (KA201), submitted within the application deadline in 2019 (26 March 2019). Our project entitled "Preparing and training teachers for the educational work of students with visual impairment in inclusive education – EQUAL" was selected for funding by the National Erasmus+ Agency, the Tempus Foundation. The project's duration is two years, from 24 October 2019 to 23 October 2021. The new project-completion date is 23 January 2022, which came about due to the coronavirus pandemic. On the project, associated partners are:
- Center IRIS – Center za izobraževanje, rehabilitacijo, inkluzijo in svetovanje za slepe in slabovidne, from Slovenia;
- ISTITUTO REGIONALE RITTMEYER PER I CIECHI DI TRIESTE, from Italy;
- "Dimitar Vlahov" State School for Children and Youth with Visual Impairment, from the North Republic of Macedonia.
- Strengthening teachers' professional competencies in working with blind and partially sighted students in inclusive education;
- Encouraging the social inclusion of students with visual impairment;
- Improving the quality of teaching by applying assistive technologies in inclusive education.
- Training of subject teachers of mainstream schools in inclusive education;
- Producing a handbook for teachers in inclusive education as a practical guide to working with blind and partially sighted students;
- Exchange of good practice.
- A handbook, as a practical guide for teachers in inclusive education, will give them information about using assistive technologies in teaching students with visual impairment;
- A training programme for the professional development of mainstream-school teachers in the inclusive education of blind and partially sighted students;
- A website – created during the Erasmus+ project – will serve as a platform for exchanging good experiences between teachers in inclusion in mainstream schools.
We also visited and did our placement at: - the palace of justice in Thessaloniki,
- the Greek-Serbian Chamber of Commerce
- the regional centre for Central Macedonia, - the municipality of Neapoli-Sykies (a municipality in Thessaloniki), - the accounting agency Julia Tsiagou, and - the Consulate of the Republic of Serbia in Thessaloniki.
During the visit we also had time to get to know the most important sights of Thessaloniki:
- The Church of St Demetrius
- The Serbian First World War cemetery – Zeitenlik
- The White Tower, the symbol of Thessaloniki
- The archaeological site of Vergina
- The Archaeological Museum in Thessaloniki
We also visited an exhibition entitled "The Human Body". The students were able to see and tactilely perceive the basic human organs, their position in the body, and to compare their size.
Inclusive support for visually impaired and multiply disabled visually impaired preschool children aged 4–6
Accredited project of the approved Erasmus+ accreditation plan for the period 2021–2027. The school's first project as an accredited institution in the Erasmus+ programme. Project KA1, number 022-1-RS01-KA121-SCH-000065022, began implementation on 1 June 2022 and runs until 31 August 2023. The aim of the accreditation plan is the professional development of staff and the building of the school's — that is, the Resource Centre's — capacity to provide modern expert support, both to the school's own students and to visually impaired students with additional disabilities within the inclusive education system. We trained in Zagreb/Croatia, at the "Mali dom – Zagreb" Day Centre for the Rehabilitation of Children and Youth, during September and October 2022. In the first year of implementing the accreditation plan, nine of the school's special educators (eight teachers and educators and the school principal) attended training on the topics: - Functional vision assessment, and - Educating students with visual impairment and additional difficulties, or deafblind students (Perkins Syllabus by Perkins International). Through this training: - The team of special educators who will carry out basic functional-vision assessment has been expanded; - Special educators will better understand the diversity of visually impaired students, as well as the diversity of multiply visually impaired children/students who additionally have a hearing impairment (MDVI/DB); - Strategies were learned for establishing and nurturing a partnership with the student's family; - Strategies were learned for improving communication and language skills with students with multiple disabilities and visual impairment, i.e. of vision and hearing; - Special educators will structure the assessment of the abilities of students with multiple disabilities and visual impairment, i.e. deafblind students, in order to create a basis for planning individual programmes, involving the family in person-centred planning, choosing learning strategies, and setting and developing a meaningful curriculum.
Activities of the school, as an accredited organisation, following the training completed within the Erasmus+ programme
The "Veljko Ramadanović" School for Visually Impaired Students, Belgrade, is one of the first five accredited institutions in the Erasmus+ programme for the period 2021–2027. Through the Erasmus+ programmes, the European Union supports the modernisation and development of education in Serbia in line with European principles. Following the completed training:- We are increasing the volume of functional-vision assessments carried out for young children (aged 0 to 6), for our school's students and for visually impaired students in mainstream schools.
- Thanks to the project funds, we are able to procure additional instruments for functional-vision assessment, which directly enables an increased volume of assessments.
- We share the acquired knowledge with colleagues at meetings of the teachers' council, the pedagogical collegium and other expert bodies of the school.
- Through the cooperation protocol between the "Veljko Ramadanović" School and schools educating students with hearing and intellectual disabilities, we will provide expert advisory help from a typhlologist for every child/student with hearing and visual impairment, carrying out functional-vision assessments and supplying typhlological aids and tools for the successful following of the school programme.
- We improve cooperation with parents through sensitisation workshops, thereby strengthening their parental competencies.
- Together with parents, we plan the future of the child/student in defining the needs for support at every life stage, and during schooling with an emphasis on transitions to the next educational cycle.
- Typhlologists structure the assessment of the abilities of students with visual impairment and additional disabilities, and of deafblind students, on the basis of which an individual educational programme (IEP 2) is created.
Project "Borders of the Tangible" Erasmus+ project – IN PROGRESS
KA2 project with reference number 2021-1-SI01-KA220-SCH-000027873
Project "Borders of the Tangible" is an Erasmus+ project, KA2, funded by the European Commission. The project officially began on 1 November 2021. The project lasts 3 years.
The main results of the project are:
- Handbook – Consolidated recommendations for adapting pictorial teaching material for the blind.
- A collection of freely available adapted pictorial material for achieving learning objectives and knowledge standards for the blind and partially sighted.
- Instructions for using adapted pictorial teaching materials and video presentations for teachers of blind and partially sighted students.
- Center IRIS, the Centre for Education, Rehabilitation, Inclusion and Counselling for the Blind and Partially Sighted, Slovenia – Coordinator
- "Veljko Ramadanović" School for Visually Impaired Students, Serbia
- "Dragan Kovačević" Primary School, Serbia
- Special Secondary School for Students with Visual Impairment, Romania
- "Dimitar Vlahov" State Primary and Secondary School for Education and Rehabilitation, North Macedonia
Members of the project team, eight colleagues from the school, stayed in Ljubljana for an international meeting from 6 to 10 June 2022. In addition to agreeing on future project plans, workshops were held on adapting pictorial material for blind students. All the colleagues had the opportunity to exchange experiences and knowledge in this field and to become acquainted with the programmes and tools used by colleagues in the region. Our school is the holder of the intellectual output on the project and is responsible for producing the Handbook of universal recommendations for adapting drawings for visually impaired students. At the meeting we presented a proposal for the content of the future handbook. Through this project, the school received another ZY-Fuse printer, which will be useful to us throughout the project.
In Belgrade, on 27–28 February 2023, the third international coordinators' meeting of the project was held. The participants first set off on a tour of the school, after which a meeting was held in the school's conference hall. On that occasion, the printed working version of the handbook – "Universal recommendations for adapting pictorial teaching material for the blind" – was presented in English. The participants agreed on the corrections to be made to the handbook and set deadlines for its finalisation. The next item concerned relief drawings, which each organisation had prepared for presentation and discussion. On a virtual platform, to be created by the partners from Slovenia, there will be around 250 relief drawings from the primary-school curriculum.
Project "STEAM in a barrier-free secondary school for blind and partially sighted students" Erasmus+ project
KA2 project with reference number 2021-1-ES01-KA220-SCH-000024569 - IN PROGRESS
Project "STEAM in a barrier-free secondary school for blind and partially sighted students" is an Erasmus+ project funded by the European Commission. The project officially began on 1 November 2021. The project lasts 2 years.
The main aim of the project : The project deals with creating workshops in the fields of natural sciences, mathematics and art within secondary education that are adapted for blind or partially sighted students. It is about identifying and developing good practices and resources that can improve their access to these fields. Visually impaired students from three specialised schools, secondary-school students from a school in Burgos, students with developmental disabilities from a school in the Canary Islands, and specialised experts from all the partner centres will take part in the project. The workshops and cooperative work between students of different abilities will enable the centres to integrate students of different profiles into cooperative work. Project "STEAM in a barrier-free secondary school for blind and partially sighted students" is implemented by a Consortium of 6 partner organisations:- "Aurelio Gómez" School, Spain – Coordinator
- University of Burgos, Spain
- Tegise Secondary School, Spain
- "Veljko Ramadanović" School for Visually Impaired Students, Serbia
- Special Secondary School for Students with Visual Impairment, Romania
- "Dimitar Vlahov" State Primary and Secondary School for Education and Rehabilitation, North Macedonia.
The first student-exchange meeting between the project institutions was held in Bucharest from 17 to 21 October 2022. During our visit, the students got to know their peers from other countries (Spain, Romania, North Macedonia). Together we toured the host school and, organised by it, visited the Museum of Experiments and the "Grigore Antipa" Museum of Natural History, carried out numerous natural-science experiments and took part in various sports, of which rock climbing was the most attractive to us. On the final day, after certificates were awarded to all participants, a big party was held with the national music of all the participating countries and a spread from Romanian national cuisine.
During the visit to Bucharest, the second international coordinators' meeting of all the partner organisations was held. The meeting's topic concerned the work done on the project so far, keeping documentation, evaluating the work done, disseminating the project results, and setting future dates for the students' travel to Skopje and Belgrade.
The third international meeting of the project teams from Romania, North Macedonia and Serbia was held in Skopje (7–8 November 2022). The project partners were welcomed by the hosts and the principal of the "Dimitar Vlahov" School, where the meeting was held. The meeting began with a few words of welcome and a brief overview of the project, and continued with a short visit to the school and its facilities.
The project partners went through the agenda and began by presenting the project and its activities and results so far. The partner organisation from Romania gave a presentation on the LTT activities (learning teaching training programme) carried out in October in Bucharest with students from all the partner organisations. We spoke about all the positive aspects, but also about some problems we can change during the mobilities with students in North Macedonia and Serbia. The partners from North Macedonia and Serbia presented their ideas for LTT activities planned for May 2023 in Skopje and October 2023 in Belgrade. We concluded that an online meeting with all partners was needed, to agree on the total number of participants both for the mobility and for other logistical and organisational matters.
- A handbook for subject teachers in inclusive education, written in English and later translated into Serbian, Italian, Slovenian and Macedonian;
- An 8-hour training programme for subject teachers in inclusive education, divided over 2 days;
- A virtual classroom containing materials from everyday work with visually impaired students from our four organisations.
On 25 November 2021, in the ceremonial hall of the "Veljko Ramadanović" School we held an International Conference of our EQUAL project. We presented the results of our work on the project to the guests. The conference was attended by representatives of state administrations, associations of the blind, primary schools that educate visually impaired students, and the Faculty of Special Education and Rehabilitation.
In the first part of the conference, the project partners presented their organisations and how inclusive education is delivered in their countries. The special guest was a representative of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, an inclusive-education associate, Mrs Ljiljana Simić, who spoke about inclusive education in Serbia.
In the second part of the conference, we presented the results of our project. The training for subject teachers and the handbook as a practical guide for working with visually impaired students were discussed through the results we achieved by implementing them in mainstream schools. The aim of the conference was achieved, because the need was recognised for the training of subject teachers and the handbook intended for them to become a mandatory part of teacher education, in order to strengthen the competencies of teachers who educate visually impaired students.
After the conference, the guests toured our school.
The third international meeting was held with the combined presence of the partner organisations in Skopje. The partners from Slovenia and Italy attended the meeting virtually via the Zoom application, while the 6-member project team from Serbia attended in person. The meeting was organised by the partner from Macedonia and lasted two days, 23–24 September 2021. According to the agenda, the Macedonian partner welcomed the participants from Serbia. This was followed by a short opening, with a musical performance by students. The school principal gave a speech, after which a tour of the "Dimitar Vlahov" School was organised. The meeting began with the hosts introducing and going through the working agenda with all the partners. The meeting discussed the objectives and results achieved during the two years of our project. We reflected on two key results: the Handbook and the Training of subject teachers in inclusive education. All partners discussed the advantages of the project results, future plans for using the handbook, and training courses.
Dissemination of results of the project "Training of subject teachers of mainstream schools in the inclusive education of blind and partially sighted students" was held on two dates: 26 May and 2 June 2021, lasting a total of 8 hours. The Zoom meeting was attended by 66 participants from five mainstream schools in Serbia: "Branko Radičević" Primary School from Belgrade, "Kirilo Savić" Primary School from Ivanjica, "Csáki Lajos" Primary School from Bačka Topola, "Sveti Sava" Primary School from Bor, and the 7th Belgrade Gymnasium from Belgrade. The following content was presented to participants, on the first day: The sense of sight – how visually impaired people see, Characteristics of visually impaired students, Etiquette in contact with visually impaired students, Orientation and mobility of visually impaired students, Teaching students with visual impairment in inclusive education; on the second day: Adapting text for the blind and partially sighted, Planning and preparing the IEP, Accessibility of ICT for visually impaired students, Teaching aids and special equipment for visually impaired students. The meeting took place in a good atmosphere. Through an evaluation questionnaire, the participants gave positive ratings to the lecturers and content, and noted that the information they received would help them improve their work with visually impaired students.
The second international meeting was held virtually via Zoom, organised by the partner from Italy, on 25 March 2021. The meeting discussed the Handbook intended for subject teachers in inclusive education. The second day of the international meeting (12 April 2021) was dedicated to a discussion of the Training Programme intended for teachers in inclusion.
The website of our project was created in February 2020. The URL is: https://equalsims.blogspot.com/
A Facebook page for the project was opened just before the international meeting, in September 2020: https://www.facebook.com/equalerasmusplus
The health emergency, COVID-19, caused a reorganisation of work among all the partner organisations in the project. The international meeting was postponed to October and took place virtually.
The first two days of the international project meeting were prepared by the coordinator from Serbia. The meeting's aim was directed at preparations for carrying out project activities; planning the whole project and discussing the project (obligations and responsibilities); explaining financial rules and procedures, and exchanging ideas about distance learning (due to the COVID-19 situation), and becoming acquainted with the activities undertaken by the project coordinator. The second part of the meeting, lasting five days, was prepared by the partner from Slovenia. This meeting was also held virtually (MS Teams, Zoom, Skype). It was attended by two participants from Italy, eight from Macedonia, six from Slovenia and seven from Serbia. Meeting aim: Presentation of the "Transition Programme" as a basis for creating future training of mainstream-school teachers; The theoretical basis in the professional development of mainstream-school teachers in Slovenia in working with visually impaired students by subject area; Getting to know the new Erasmus+ tools (the Erasmus+ Impact Tool); Considering the results of a survey conducted in mainstream schools among subject teachers who teach visually impaired students. The meeting achieved its aim: the exchange of knowledge and the laying of foundations for delivering the training of subject teachers in mainstream schools. Beginning to create their own training according to the needs of each partner organisation. Adopting the new Erasmus+ tools and summarising the objectives for delivering the Training of mainstream-school teachers.
Dissemination of results The dissemination of the results of this meeting is expected during the second semester of the 2020/21 school year in mainstream schools.
The Tempus Foundation has completed the selection procedure for Erasmus+ strategic-partnership projects for general education (KA201), submitted within the application deadline in 2019 (26 March 2019). Our project entitled "Preparing and training teachers for the educational work of students with visual impairment in inclusive education – EQUAL" was selected for funding by the National Erasmus+ Agency, the Tempus Foundation. The project's duration is two years, from 24 October 2019 to 23 October 2021. The new project-completion date is 23 January 2022, which came about due to the coronavirus pandemic. On the project, associated partners are:
- Center IRIS – Center za izobraževanje, rehabilitacijo, inkluzijo in svetovanje za slepe in slabovidne, from Slovenia;
- ISTITUTO REGIONALE RITTMEYER PER I CIECHI DI TRIESTE, from Italy;
- "Dimitar Vlahov" State School for Children and Youth with Visual Impairment, from the North Republic of Macedonia.
- Strengthening teachers' professional competencies in working with blind and partially sighted students in inclusive education;
- Encouraging the social inclusion of students with visual impairment;
- Improving the quality of teaching by applying assistive technologies in inclusive education.
- Training of subject teachers of mainstream schools in inclusive education;
- Producing a handbook for teachers in inclusive education as a practical guide to working with blind and partially sighted students;
- Exchange of good practice.
- A handbook, as a practical guide for teachers in inclusive education, will give them information about using assistive technologies in teaching students with visual impairment;
- A training programme for the professional development of mainstream-school teachers in the inclusive education of blind and partially sighted students;
- A website – created during the Erasmus+ project – will serve as a platform for exchanging good experiences between teachers in inclusion in mainstream schools.
We also visited and did our placement at: - the palace of justice in Thessaloniki,
- the Greek-Serbian Chamber of Commerce
- the regional centre for Central Macedonia, - the municipality of Neapoli-Sykies (a municipality in Thessaloniki), - the accounting agency Julia Tsiagou, and - the Consulate of the Republic of Serbia in Thessaloniki.
During the visit we also had time to get to know the most important sights of Thessaloniki:
- The Church of St Demetrius
- The Serbian First World War cemetery – Zeitenlik
- The White Tower, the symbol of Thessaloniki
- The archaeological site of Vergina
- The Archaeological Museum in Thessaloniki
We also visited an exhibition entitled "The Human Body". The students were able to see and tactilely perceive the basic human organs, their position in the body, and to compare their size.
2017/2018
Erasmus+ is a European Union programme that provides funding for cooperation projects in three areas:
- education - youth - sport Within the Erasmus+ programme, our school was awarded the project "Inclusive Support for Visually Impaired and Multiply Disabled Visually Impaired Preschool Children aged 4–6". Our partner was Center IRIS (the Centre for Education, Rehabilitation, Inclusion and Counselling for the Blind and Partially Sighted) from Ljubljana, Slovenia. Within the project, five typhlologists – members of our school's early-intervention team – visited Center IRIS from 16 to 20 April 2018.
The aim of our visit was, by observing the good practice of inclusive support for VI and MVI children in mainstream kindergartens in Slovenia – provided by our hosts – and by exchanging experience with them, to increase our knowledge and competencies in providing inclusive support to VI and MVI children in kindergartens in Serbia; and to share that experience with our school colleagues, educators in mainstream kindergartens, and inter-sectoral committees.
Visit programme
Meeting with the expert team of the Čukarica Preschool Institution
On 27 April 2018, at the administration of the Čukarica Preschool Institution, an initial meeting was held between representatives of the Čukarica Preschool Institution (Valentina Živojinović – deputy director, Ivona Šujak – special educator, and Ana Hadžić – speech therapist) and representatives of the "Veljko Ramadanović" School for Visually Impaired Students (Zorica Vladisavljević and Danijela Petković – early-intervention typhlologists). The topic of the meeting was planning cooperation between our institutions on providing inclusive support to VI/MVI children in mainstream and developmental preschool groups.