The Program for Promoting Children’s Learning and Behavioral Competence in Kindergartens and Schools, which is based on the Neuro Developmental-Functional Approach, aims to provide educators with tools for understanding children’s developmental needs, and options for changing and diversifying the child’s range of experiences, to enable better development of basic functions, as well as an interesting and pleasurable learning experience.

The implementation of the Program for Promoting Children’s Learning and Behavioral Competence in hundreds of preschools, kindergartens, and elementary schools over the past two decades has proven extremely effective for advancing and increasing children’s developmental functions. These improved functions in turn constitute the foundation for the acquisition of learning and behavioral skills, as well as for a positive and relaxed classroom atmosphere.

Through the Neuro Developmental-Functional Approach educators learn to identify the sensory-motor experiences crucial for the efficient development and advancement of children’s learning and behavioral functions. The program for implementing NDFA in the education system shows teachers and educators how to design an optimal learning environment that can provide children with this basic set of experiences necessary for their development.

The prime objective of the Program is to enable each and every child to encounter, through the education system, a broad variety of experiences that will enable the optimal fulfillment of his abilities and multiple intelligences.

The Program for Promoting Children’s Learning and Behavioral Competence in Kindergartens and Schools has been or is implemented by Rami Katz and the Center’s team in kindergartens from all the various educational affiliations in Jerusalem, the Tel-Aviv-Jaffa municipal kindergartens, as well as in kindergartens in Herzliya, Petah-Tikva, Holon, Bnei-Brak, Rosh-Ha’ayin, Hadera, Binyamina, Zichron-Yaakov, Pardes-Hana, Karkur, Or-Akiva, Caesarea, Or-Yehuda, and in kindergartens of the local councils of Eshkol, Shafir, Modi’in, Lev-Hasharon. The program has also been implemented in elementary schools in Tel Aviv Jaffa, Herzliya, Petah-Tikva, Hadera, and Binyamina. ('Rationale of the program')

The Program has been evaluated on several occasions be various establishments, e.g., the municipalities of Tel Aviv Jaffa, Herzliya, Petah-Tikva, and the Karev foundation. Based on the results of these evaluations, the program was continued and implemented in other areas.

The Program’s application by various field teams has received numerous educational awards.

While providing a response to the increasing problems that teachers and educators encounter nowadays, the Program, introduces a shift in the way kindergartens and classrooms operate, and considers each child individually from a holistic perspective. However, it is integrated into the daily life of the pupils without the need for segregation or separation from the familiar classroom environment; consequently, the program and its participants remain free from stigma and prejudice, while nevertheless introducing a unique set of experiences into the daily course of studies. In addition, the program includes a module for involving the students’ parents in the newly configured learning process.

None of the experiences or activities introduced by theProgram for Promoting Children’s Learning and Behavioral Competence in Kindergartens and Schools requires a change in the content-matter of the curriculum; rather, the program’s experiences and activities are integrated as part of the desired contents. The activities are implemented as part of the classroom’s daily routine: each learning and behavioral function is addressed within the framework of the topic and activity in which the particular kindergarten or class is engaged.

The program in implemented by training and guiding the educational staff of the kindergartens and schools, through courses, workshops, and fieldwork, and the help of NDFA assistants, who make it possible to work with the children in smaller groups and give each child more individual attention.

A functional assessment is conducted for each child using a specially designed tool, thus enabling maximal advancement for each individual according to his or her abilities, while keeping the child within the regular classroom framework.

Intensive implementation of the principles of the Program by the educational team has been proven successful for the attainment of previously defined goals related to the child, the educators, the learning environment, and the parents. Examples of such goals include:

	Improved classroom atmosphere, i.e., an actively quiet, industrious, and involved attitude on the part of the children, whereby each child is directed and encouraged to participate in an activity concerning the content area being studied yet most suited for the development of functions at his or her competence level.
	Significant reduction of violence, unease, and hyper-activity.
	Improved attention and concentration enabling better intake and more efficient learning.
	The learning process becomes a pleasurable experience, resistance decreases, as does the desire to transgress the limits imposed by the educational framework.
	The child becomes increasingly at ease in the company of other children, leading to a positive effect on the development of social behaviors and skills.
	Improved bi-lateral hemispheric integration leading to the development of skills necessary for successful reading, writing, and arithmetic/mathematic calculations.
	The child is given the opportunity to develop a unique set of skills, enabling him or her to contend with the pre-set course of studies.
	Improved muscle tone, posture, and fine motor skills needed in the task of writing.
	Coordinated movement of the eyes to enable efficiency in reading and in graphic motor tasks.
	Improved auditory memory, auditory discrimination, and phonological awareness, forming a solid basis for the development of spoken and written language.
	Increased parental participation and cooperation in advancing their children’s functional competences.
	Children with various functional difficulties can be more easily and readily received and accepted into the kindergarten framework by the educational staff. These children’s difficulties can be addressed on a daily basis without the stigma of removal, through the variety of experiences offered within the classroom framework.

Method of Implementation of the Program for Promoting Children’s Learning and Behavioral Competence in Kindergartens and Schools:
A.	The Program is implemented following a request presented by the local authorities and the local Ministry of Education representative.
B.	The source of funding varies from place to place: from the local authorities, through neighborhood rehabilitation projects, the Ministry of Education’s Department of Welfare, the Karev Foundation, other foundations or contributions, a combination of the above, etc.
C.	c) Supervision and follow-up of the Program’s implementation is handled by the local authorities and local inspectors from the Ministry of Education. Occasionally, supervision is handled by the funding organization and/or by representatives of the students’ parents.

Fieldwork implementation includes:
A.   Training of kindergartens and schools’ educational staff, by means of:
	Coursework and practicum: All educational teams participate in a comprehensive course to learn the Neuro-Developmental-Functional Approach, and a practicum module to learn to combine and implement the NDFA principles into the curriculum.
	Fieldwork supervision: The work of the educational team is professionally supervised and guided by the head of the Program, Rami Katz, a senior developmental psychologist and expert in the Neuro Developmental-Functional Approach, as well as by supervisors, members of the NDFA Center and experts in implementing the approach within the educational curriculum. The supervisors model the implementation of the NDFA before local coordinators, accompany them as they learn, and act as problem solvers and facilitators in the field.
B.   Providing reinforcement to the kindergartens and schools’ educational staff, by placing:
	A local coordinator in every neighborhood, settlement, or region where the Program is being implemented. The coordinator, who is an experienced kindergarten teacher, is selected by the local supervisory authorities to coordinate the Program’s implementation in a given region. He or she undergoes a comprehensive NDFA study course with the head of the Program, before being placed in the field.
	Teacher assistants as supporting staff to work with small groups of children in the classroom (up to 10 hours a week in each class), ensuring that each child receives more individual attention.
C.  Conducting an assessment of children’s functioning and competences:
Using a variety of tools especially designed for the Program, each child’s competences and functions are evaluated to enable personal advancement of each child in the class or kindergarten relative to his or her own stage of development.
D.  Comprehensive overview of activities:
The rate and degree of change in work patterns in kindergartens and classrooms is determined by the interaction between the teaching staff and the coordinator of the program. As the kindergarten and schoolteachers enhance their understanding of the neuro-developmental principles, they are able to develop a wider repertoire of activities to use in their work with the children. Therefore, a visitor observing the kindergartens and classes that use the program will note that each one seems different; they present varied forms of creative expression in implementing the principles of the program. The shift in the emphasized features of the class’s work schedule occurs gradually. The children are offered a wider variety of optional activities, from which they may choose the experiences necessary for their development. Follow-up is carried out to note the way the child deals with these experiences, and a gentle and gradual intervention is implemented by the educators when difficulties are observed. New learning tools and games are introduced, which have been either purchased or produced by the staff and the parents. In the kindergartens, the interim periods between activities may also be used for sensory-motor guided activities. These activities are combined with the regular curriculum, thus ensuring that necessary developmental functions are attained, enabling the children to concentrate and cooperate more fully. (A detailed description of the numerous activities and their implementation in the program is beyond the scope of this brief account).  Implementation of the program is carried out in conjunction with language modules, computer instruction, and various content areas (e.g., the holidays, the environment etc.).
E.  Parental involvement:
 Meetings are held with the parents of each class to present a general overview of the program and its principles. Workshops are held to familiarize the families with the various activities that are integrated into the curriculum, and to explain the significance of these activities for their child’s development. Parents are encouraged to practice and repeat these activities in the home environment. In addition, individual consultations are held with parents of children who have specific problems.