Since 2009, one school in Varna has been quietly rewriting what vocational education can look like when no student is left behind. The Vocational High School of Forestry and Woodworking “Nikolay Haytov” was the first vocational high school in the city to open its doors to students with special educational needs (SEN) — and nearly two decades later, it stands as a reference point for inclusive VET in Bulgaria. As part of the W.I.N. Project, CuBuFoundation is proud to share this practice with partners and educators across Europe.
Starting with a simple belief: every child has potential
The school’s motivation was never only academic. For years, students with SEN across Bulgaria were either excluded from mainstream education or funnelled into specialised institutions, limiting their chances of social integration and employment. “Nikolay Haytov” chose a different path — admitting students with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities, learning difficulties, visual impairments, ADHD, cerebral palsy, dyslexia, and autism spectrum conditions, and teaching them alongside their peers in specialties like furniture production, interior design, park construction, and landscaping.
A whole-school support system
What makes the model work is not a single intervention — it’s a coordinated system. Every student with SEN is supported by a multidisciplinary Student Support Team (SST): class teachers, resource teachers, school psychologists, pedagogical counsellors, and subject specialists. Learning content is adapted. Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) guide progress. Interactive methods — storytelling, discussion, role-play, problem-solving — replace rigid lecturing. And an atmosphere of trust, where students feel safe to share both their successes and their struggles, sits at the heart of it all.
Partners who make inclusion possible
The school’s impact has been amplified by strong partnerships. For more than 15 years, the NGO ASD “Vision” has provided social assistants to students. Parents are treated as co-planners, not bystanders. The Regional Department of Education and Varna Municipality provide institutional backing. Together, these relationships turn inclusion from a policy into a lived, daily reality.
Measurable results
Students at “Nikolay Haytov” complete grades 10 and 12 and pass state, matriculation, and vocational qualification exams. They gain confidence, independence in practical tasks, stronger communication skills, and reduced aggressiveness. Parents of children with educational deficits increasingly choose the school as early as lower-secondary stage — and today it ranks first in Varna for the number of SEN students enrolled. Inclusion, it turns out, is also a marker of trust.
What still needs work
The team is honest about what remains unresolved: the transition from school to sustainable employment. Despite repeated efforts with the Employment Office and local companies, graduates with SEN still struggle to find work in their trained profession. Without long-term state intervention, gains made in school risk eroding after graduation. This is the frontier the school — and the W.I.N. Project partners — are now focused on.
A model worth replicating
The practice is designed to be transferable. Any VET provider with an accessible environment, trained staff, a multidisciplinary support team, and genuine parental and NGO engagement can begin to build something similar within one to two school years. The ingredients are well-known; what the “Nikolay Haytov” team has shown is how to combine them with patience, leadership, and care.
As CuBuFoundation and the W.I.N. Project partners continue to document and share inclusive practices across Europe, this case from Varna stands out for a reason: it proves that inclusive vocational education is not only possible — it’s sustainable, cost-efficient, and transformative for the students, families, and communities it reaches.
Shared by CuBuFoundation as part of the W.I.N. Project (Erasmus+).
