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Date:
27 Sept 2025
The key to success lies in preschool: From diagnostics to mental resilience
Everything begins in preschool. It is there that the foundations for every child's future success are laid. That is why we have joined forces with experts from iSophi Education to bring modern diagnostic tools to kindergartens. Our aim is clear: to identify strengths and weaknesses early, support development, and give every child the best starting position.
The working title of our overarching project is “From Nursery to University”, and we are truly starting from the beginning. We have established a key collaboration with the organization iSophi Education. Their experts emphasize the most important aspects – pedagogical diagnostics for preschool-aged children and comprehensive support for children, parents, and teachers. They underline the crucial importance of preschool education for a child's academic success, a topic that is absolutely key in the context of current changes in education.
The sophisticated diagnostic tools of iSophi Education are gradually expanding to be usable not only in kindergartens but also in the 1st and 2nd grades of primary school. This diagnostics helps to timely reveal the strengths and weaknesses of children, enabling educators and parents to work more purposefully with the child and develop skills and abilities.
Diagnostics for every kindergarten
We do not just stick to theory. The Martiny Dryk Foundation is planning to purchase iSophi diagnostic tools and provide them to kindergartens and primary schools where they are lacking. At the same time, we are actively looking for partners for co-financing.
Ústí nad Labem: Here, the city of Ústí nad Labem has taken care of the widespread coverage of kindergartens. Only two kindergartens have not yet had these tools, and our foundation has taken care of those. We have already purchased tools for kindergartens and primary schools in Předlice. We greatly appreciate the work of the local principal and the entire teaching staff, whom we consider to be the heroes of everyday life. They were thrilled, and we are happy to be able to make their demanding work a little easier. The Pastelka Kindergarten in Mojžíř has also expressed interest in the tools. In these kindergartens and schools, we want to establish a tradition of annual support as a thank you and a show of respect for the work they do in the so-called excluded locations of Ústí.
Varnsdorf and surrounding area: Here, the situation is different – no kindergarten has these tools available. We are already negotiating the purchase for the first two kindergartens and a primary school and want to involve the local action group and the founders in the financing.
Thanks to the overview from iSophi, we know exactly where the tools are missing, and we want to continue this way into other regions.
Not only knowledge but also resilience
Alongside diagnostics, we plan to focus attention next year on the mental resilience of children. We want to support the implementation of programmes such as “Second Step.” This is an international preventive programme aimed at developing social-emotional skills. It teaches children empathy, communication, conflict resolution, and anger management. This not only supports healthy personality development but also improves the classroom climate, which is the best prevention for the future.