To qualify for a job of a pedagogical worker in facilities for institutional care and preventive educational care a person needs to prove their mental and psychological fitness. Mental and psychological fitness of the candidates is determined by means of psychological assessment. This assessment is carried out by the psychologists accredited for this specific area by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MŠMT). Psychologists seeking to be granted accreditation need to undergo a Training Course for Persons Applying for Accreditation. These training courses are provided by the National Institute for Education (NÚV).
The National Institute for Education has also conducted a survey identifying the main topics that need to be addressed in this particular area. The Department of Institutional and Protective Education and Risk Behaviour Prevention, therefore, seeks to create dedicated space for the psychologists assessing the fitness of the applicants where to share and exchange their professional experience. It also prepares the basis for a comprehensive revision of the whole process including the creation of a uniform methodology for assessing the mental and psychological fitness of pedagogical staff in institutional or protective care and preventive educational care.