Early developmental support (wczesne wspomaganie rozwoju, WWR) is a form of help for children with disabilities, free of charge for the family and funded from public resources – from the moment the disability is identified until the child starts school. To use it, a parent must first obtain an opinia (opinion) on the need for early developmental support, which is issued exclusively by a public psychological-pedagogical counselling centre. We explain what WWR actually is, who issues the opinion, and what the whole procedure looks like, step by step.
What is early developmental support?
Early developmental support consists of sessions aimed at stimulating a child's psychomotor and social development from the moment their disability is identified until they start school. This is not a fixed age range – the starting point is the moment of diagnosis, and the end point is the start of school education, regardless of whether the child turns six or seven by then.
In practice, WWR includes sessions with a psychologist, a special education teacher, a speech therapist, or other specialists – depending on the needs of the child identified in the opinion. The standard scope is 4–8 hours per month, and exceeding this number is possible with the consent of the body running the institution where the sessions take place.
WWR sessions can be organised, among other places, in:
- nurseries and primary schools (including special schools),
- other forms of pre-school education,
- special school-and-care centres and rehabilitation-and-care centres,
- psychological-pedagogical counselling centres.
The institution – public or private – must have an appointed early developmental support team and staff with appropriate qualifications. This is an important distinction, which we return to in the next section.
Two different roles, two different institutions
The WWR opinion and the special education needs statement – not the same thing
Parents often confuse these two documents, because they are issued by the same adjudicating panel at a public psychological-pedagogical counselling centre – based on the same regulation. What differs, however, is who they are for and what they trigger.
- The opinion on the need for WWR (opinia o potrzebie wczesnego wspomagania rozwoju) concerns children from the moment their disability is identified until they start school, and it triggers early developmental support sessions in the amount of 4–8 hours per month.
- The statement of the need for special education (orzeczenie o potrzebie kształcenia specjalnego) concerns children and pupils of pre-school and school age, at all stages of education, and it triggers an individual education-and-therapy programme (IPET), rehabilitation sessions, and accommodations at the institution the child attends.
A child can hold both documents at the same time and use both forms of support in parallel – for example, WWR at a counselling centre and the support provided for under the statement at nursery.
How to obtain the WWR opinion – step by step
The procedure for issuing the opinion is standardised across Poland and carried out exclusively by public psychological-pedagogical counselling centres. It looks as follows:
- Submitting the application. The application to the counselling centre is submitted by the parent, legal guardian, or the person exercising foster care over the child. It is worth attaching any medical and diagnostic documentation you already have to the application – medical certificates, opinions from the nursery, previous psychological, pedagogical, or speech therapy diagnoses, if these have already been made.
- Assessment by the adjudicating panel. The adjudicating panel operating at the counselling centre analyses the documentation, and if needed invites the child and parent for an additional functional assessment.
- Issuing the opinion. The counselling centre issues the opinion on the need for early developmental support, in which it specifies the recommended scope and amount of sessions.
- Choosing the institution to deliver the sessions. With the opinion, a parent can approach an institution running WWR – public or private – as long as it has an appointed early developmental support team and appropriately qualified staff.
If the counselling centre issues a refusal
Where to submit the application in Gdańsk?
Public psychological-pedagogical counselling centres in Gdańsk operate on a catchment-area basis: a child is served by the counselling centre assigned to the nursery or school they attend. Children who do not attend any institution are assigned according to their registered address. Each counselling centre publishes its own catchment-area list, and enrolment is handled electronically – so it is worth starting by establishing which counselling centre serves your child's nursery or school, and checking the current enrolment procedure on its website. The institution your child attends can also give you this information.
WWR sessions in Gdańsk – where to deliver the granted support
The opinion alone does not organise the therapy – it specifies the scope and amount of sessions, but it is the parent who chooses the institution that will run them. In Gdańsk, the choice is not limited to the catchment area assigned to the counselling centre: WWR sessions can be delivered at any institution that has an appointed early developmental support team, regardless of which district you live in.
StacjaMowa is not a psychological-pedagogical counselling centre and does not issue opinions on the need for early developmental support – that procedure is carried out exclusively by a public counselling centre. We do, however, run clinics in Ujeścisko and Morena, which families from across Gdańsk and the surrounding area travel to. We deliver the early developmental support sessions specified in the opinion, as well as pedagogical therapy, sensory integration, and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) – depending on what the child needs.
If you already have the WWR opinion, we invite you for a consultation – together we will work out how to turn its recommendations into a session plan. If you are only just starting the procedure, it is also worth getting in touch: we can advise on what the counselling centre usually expects and how to prepare the documentation. We write more about what a first visit looks like in our article on preparing for a speech therapy diagnosis.
Key takeaways
- The opinion on the need for WWR is issued exclusively by the adjudicating panel at a public psychological-pedagogical counselling centre – a private counselling centre has no authority to do this.
- WWR sessions – in the amount of 4–8 hours per month – can, however, be delivered by a public or private institution, as long as it has an appointed team and qualified staff.
- The WWR opinion and the special education needs statement are two different documents issued by the same adjudicating panel – a child can hold both at once.
- The application to the counselling centre is submitted by the parent or legal guardian, ideally together with any medical and diagnostic documentation already available.
- In Gdańsk, the catchment area only applies to issuing the opinion – you can deliver WWR sessions at any institution with an appointed team, regardless of district.
Sources and literature
The materials below are for information only. They do not replace an individual consultation with a psychological-pedagogical counselling centre, nor the applicable regulations, which may change. The fact that WWR sessions are free of charge for the family follows from their being funded from public resources and is widely confirmed by counselling centres and institutions delivering the support.
- Ministry of Education, Wczesne wspomaganie rozwoju [Early developmental support] – information on the organisation of sessions, their scope, and institutions delivering WWR.
- Regulation of the Minister of National Education of 24 August 2017 on organising early developmental support for children (Dz.U. 2017 poz. 1635) – the legal basis for organising WWR sessions.
- Regulation of the Minister of Education of 2 March 2026 on statements and opinions issued by adjudicating panels operating at public psychological-pedagogical counselling centres (Dz.U. 2026 poz. 428) – the current legal basis for issuing opinions on the need for early developmental support.
- Act of 14 December 2016 – Education Law, Article 127 – the statutory basis for both regulations.
- Public counselling centres publish their own catchment-area lists on their websites – it is worth confirming the current catchment area directly with the counselling centre or with your child's nursery or school.
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Learn more about this therapyFrequently asked questions
- Who can issue an opinion on the need for early developmental support?
- Exclusively an adjudicating panel operating at a public psychological-pedagogical counselling centre. Since 1 February 2017, private counselling centres have not had the authority to issue such opinions, even if they carry out their own diagnostic assessments.
- Can a private clinic, such as StacjaMowa, issue a WWR opinion?
- No – the opinion is issued exclusively by a public psychological-pedagogical counselling centre. Delivering the sessions is, however, a separate role: StacjaMowa runs the early developmental support sessions specified in the opinion, as well as pedagogical therapy, sensory integration, and AAC.
- How does the WWR opinion differ from the statement of the need for special education?
- Both documents are issued by the same adjudicating panel at a public counselling centre, but they serve different purposes. The WWR opinion covers children from the moment their disability is identified until they start school and triggers early developmental support sessions. The special education needs statement concerns children and pupils at all stages of education and triggers, among other things, an individual education-and-therapy programme. A child can hold both documents at the same time.
- How many hours per month do early developmental support sessions cover?
- Standardly from 4 to 8 hours per month. The amount can be higher if this follows from the child's needs and receives the consent of the body running the institution where the sessions take place.
- Up to what age can a child use WWR?
- The regulations do not set a fixed age limit. Early developmental support covers children from the moment their disability is identified until they start school – it is the start of school education, not a specific age, that marks the end of this form of support.
- Where in Gdańsk can WWR sessions be delivered?
- Sessions can be delivered at any institution with an appointed early developmental support team – the catchment area applies to issuing the opinion, not to choosing where the therapy takes place. StacjaMowa runs WWR sessions at its clinics in Ujeścisko and Morena, regardless of which district you live in.
- What should you do if the counselling centre issues a refusal?
- A parent can submit a fresh application, supplementing it with additional diagnostic documentation. The adjudicating panel will reassess the child's situation. It is worth asking the counselling centre beforehand what information or assessments were missing from the first application.
