<< Background >>Primary education (PE) is the first stage of formal education, coming after early childhood education and care (ECEC). The International Standard Classification of Education considers PE as a single-phase where programmes are designed to provide fundamental skills in reading, writing and math, and to establish a solid foundation for learning.Since learning is a cumulative process, this enables progress to more complicated concepts and tasks – but for this the following conditions must be met: child maturity, quality of formal education and a (non)formal support system that takes into account the unequal development and opportunities of children. If these conditions are ignored, the school easily becomes another place to strengthen social inequality. A well-established phenomenon, the Matthew Effect, states that small differences in reading ability in the early years of school lead to large differences in achievement by the end of school and beyond. Numerous studies show that students who fall behind rarely catch up with the effects following them as they enter the job market. Hannover research (2016) clearly shows how the early academic skills related to literacy and math are the most significant predictors of future academic achievement, which is especially true for children from risk groups. This is why the transition from ECEC to primary school is considered as one of the most critical periods of childhood (Besi et.al., 2019) since adaptation to this may have long-term effects, and that is why the critical conditions mentioned earlier are targeted trough early intervention.International research has generally found that the key early (pre/non-academic) skills identified for school readiness and easier transition are gross and fine motor skills, social and emotional maturity, independence, language and communication skills, understanding of elementary concepts, and the ability to follow the rules, focus and similar.These skills are practiced trough ECEC – if a child attends one, and many children don’t. Still, for all children, these skills can and should be strengthened in a natural, everyday way and in a family environment. This means that a series of daily activities can facilitate the transition of a child from ECEC to school, strengthen its skills important for early academic success and increase the opportunities for positive outcomes in life, especially for disadvantaged children and families.This idea was supported the results from the EPPE study which show that the active engagement of parents in activities with children at home promotes their intellectual and social development. A 2009. Eurydice report concluded that “the most effective intervention programmes involve intensive, early starting, child-focused, centre-based education together with strong parent involvement, parent education programmes, educational home activities and measures of family support”.Heckman’s studies (1999) show that the same level of investment at each age level produces much higher returns when it is spent on the young. Several studies confirm that investment in early education and interventions can save on spending at an older age. Meanwhile, research conducted by the PA SBS (2021) shows that parents often do not have the time or capacities to find relevant resources. This is especially dominant in the current conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic, with many parents and educators under great additional stress.For this reason, through the CARE2LEARN project we aim to develop an early intervention tool to tackle learning disadvantage by strengthening early key skills of children to lay quality foundations for their education and chances of positive life outcomes, but also relieve parents, ECEC and school system from additional pressure.<< Objectives >>The goals of the CARE2LEARN project, and all of its activities and project results are, as follows:1. Increased key early competencies and thus the likelihood of early academic success and positive life outcomes for children at EU level.2. Increased capacity of parents of preschool children to provide support to children for the development of early key skills and early academic achievement.3. ECEC and PS (primary school) teachers relieved from pressure through greater involvement of parents in their children's education.<< Implementation >>The implementation of the project is planned through related activities, based on regular online and F2F communication between partners and cooperation with key stakeholders in the field of education.The results of the project will be achieved through a review of scientific literature, interviews with target groups and the work of an expert working group in the field of education. The central activity of the project is the development of a digital tool - CARE2LEARN mobile application through which parents will be able to assess, monitor and through joint activities develop key competencies for school readiness in their children, increasing the likelihood of early academic success and ultimately positive life outcomes. The app will be thoroughly tested and evaluated by all target groups.Through dissemination activities, we will strive to make this free tool visible and accessible at EU level so that every child in Europe has the opportunity to strengthen the likelihood of early academic success.<< Results >>The central result of this project is the CARE2LEARN mobile app for assessing, monitoring and developing school readiness through digitalization of activities for the development of key competencies. The tool will be designed with 3 main features in mind:1. Assessment and monitoring of skill development. Through this, each parent will have an insight into the progress of its child, and idea where to invest more time and effort.2. Skill development through digitalization of C2L DEVELOPMENT TOOL CURRICULUM, another project result. The development tool will be designed in such a way that each day during the preparation-for-school period, the application offers parents several activities for quality time with the child who at the same time develops early key competencies. One of the proposed activities will be in digital form, and the other two offline with the aim of limiting screen time for children of preschool age. 3. Parental support through learning material aimed at them, and based on positive parenting philosophy. Regularly, the parent will be able to read a selected article related to the activities, the child's development, the ways of providing support to ECEC and PS transition, and similar.The app will be made with the idea of sustainability and transferability in mind, so it can be used by all parents and children, and further developed for at risk population.