In 2025, Romania continued to move forward in strengthening its early childhood system, but the most notable progress came from the steady, coordinated effort to professionalize the early years workforce—an area where Centrul Step by Step played a leading national role. At the centre of this progress is project “Integrated Services and Professionals in Early Childhood Education” (SIPET), funded through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and implemented by a consortium of four major universities and key civil-society partners, led by Centrul Step by Step at national level.
Now in full implementation, project SIPET has become Romania’s most ambitious and coherent investment in the early childhood workforce to date, aiming to train 19,950 professionals across education, health, and social services. Centrul Step by Step’s involvement goes well beyond delivering courses: the organisation brings its long-standing expertise in democratic, child-centered pedagogy, ensures that training aligns with the Fundamental Guidelines for Early Learning and Development (ELDS birth to 7), and grounds the project in a strong, nationwide network of educators. Through SIPET, Centrul Step by Step has helped to push the system toward a more holistic and integrated approach where teachers, health workers, and community professionals can work together around the needs of each child and family.
Throughout 2025, Centrul Step by Step continued to activate and expand its professional network. Thousands of teachers took part in Step by Step methodology training, early childhood educators advanced their skills through Quality Early Childhood Education, and primary teachers deepened their practice through Learning through Play and other structured programmes. In many counties, these programmes became the practical foundation for introducing the ELDS birth to 7 and preparing institutions for their gradual integration into a unified early childhood framework.
Such investment in people—educators, practitioners, local leaders—is essential for shaping a more cohesive, inclusive, and democratic society. The Step by Step approach, which is woven throughout project SIPET, encourages both adults and children to speak up, collaborate, solve problems, and value diversity. Parents are welcomed as active partners in the classroom, helping to create everyday learning environments that mirror the participatory, democratic culture Romania strives to strengthen at system level. In more vulnerable communities, complementary initiatives led by Centrul Step by Step, such as community-based early childhood hubs and nutrition-focused programmes, help ensure that children not only enter early education, but truly benefit from it.
Still, important challenges remain. Access to early childhood services is uneven, especially in rural areas; the workforce is stretched thin where needs are highest; and many recent improvements are still tied to temporary funding. The priority for 2026 must be securing stable, long-term public investment that can carry the achievements of SIPET project beyond the NRRP timeframe, continue to sustain professional development, and fully operationalise an integrated and unified birth–6/7 ECD system built around the ELDS birth to 7.
Through the SIPET project and its wider range of 2025 activities, Centrul Step by Step has shown that Romania already has the expertise, networks, and evidence needed to build a strong early childhood system. What matters now is ensuring continuity and sustainability through both developing a coherent legislative framework and scaling up the interventions so that the progress made can take root, grow, and meaningfully reach every child.
