The meeting was attended by representatives of the Presidential Executive Office, the State Duma, the Ministry of Education, the Russian Academy of Sciences, research and education organisations, public associations, the Russian Centre for Children and Youth, Znaniye Society, and the Russian State Children’s Library.
The Preschool Education Expert Group works on new approaches to preschool education in order to increase the effectiveness of education tasks handled by preschools, according to a respective presidential executive order.
Opening the meeting, Adviser to the President Yelena Yampolskaya noted that the objectives had been set for the expert group by the President. She quoted the President as saying that education and upbringing in Russia constitute the foundation of the achievements across all fields.
The meeting participants reviewed the information that the Ministry of Education provided on the implementation of the action plan to increase the effectiveness of education tasks handled by preschools until 2030, including on the development of an updated federal state education standard of preschool education and a federal preschool education programme.
Among other issues, the expert group discussed speech development in children of preschool age and the development of reading skills in kindergartens. Yelena Yampolskaya noted that speech develops during the preschool period; therefore, special attention should be paid to preparing appropriate teaching materials for preschoolers.
The Presidential Adviser emphasised the importance of modifying the list of literature for read-aloud sessions and suggested including more works by Alexander Pushkin, as well as fairytales traditional for different ethnic groups in Russia as a special category of reading. The foreign literature on the list requires analysis for merit and the values it promotes. The international reading should include a wider variety, without the predominance of Western tales.
The Presidential Adviser also noted the importance of analysing the sufficiently of teaching materials and tools at state and municipal kindergartens, including fiction for listening.
The participants also reviewed information on a national digital platform for preschool education called Children’s Platform. It will be launched in test mode in November 2026. It will contain materials recommended by experts for teachers and parents, including audiovisual literature, educational games, methodological recommendations, and guides.
The participants also reviewed the results of comprehensive scientific research concerning preschoolers healthcare, with specific focus on the improvement of physical education in kindergartens.
The participants also discussed proposals to develop family reading on the basis of the existing family and childhood support infrastructure. The Russian State Children’s Library presented a report on the НЭБ.Дети national children’s e-library.