Kindergartens and school do not have a specially organised academic and career guidance service, but there are various forms of assistance and guidance available in that respect during their schooling. Teachers, class masters, principals, pedagogues and psychologists offer support and guidance catering for pupils’/students' best interest, via individual interviews, representation of various institutions and jobs, gathering of parents, pupils/students and hosting representatives of various jobs, etc. Important career guidance provider is certainly Croatian Employment Office.

Once a year, the Croatian Employment Service conducts research on professional intentions of pupils/students through a questionnaire on professional intentions of primary and secondary school students. Based on the questionnaire and in cooperation with the school expert team, professional orientation counsellors define target groups that require specific services of professional orientation.

A special attention is focused on pupils/students that are likely to have difficult access to labour market after completed education, that is, pupils/students with developmental disabilities, health difficulties, learning disorders, behaviour disturbances etc.

In the procedure of professional orientation which includes team analysis with the possibility of psychological testing, interview and, if necessary, medical examination by occupational medicine specialist, the expert team suggests the most appropriate choice of educational programme for continuation of education.

The procedure of counselling takes into account the labour market needs and the possibilities of education on one hand, and individual pupil’s/students’ possibilities and needs on the other.

In every regional office of the Employment Service various events such as Job Fairs, Professional Orientation Days enable pupils/students to get acquainted with the offer of educational institutions, the key stakeholders on the labour market and to use the services of professional orientation. With the aim of promoting the needed jobs on labour market, the Employment Service, in cooperation with regional Chamber of Trades and Crafts, implements activities which promote crafts professions for pupils/students and funds medical examinations for pupil/student admission to these programmes.

Expert procedures that are carried out while working with pupils/students: Application of Questionnaire on pupils’/students' professional intentions, Professional information, Professional counselling.

Professional orientation is primarily intended for pupils/students of final grades in primary and secondary schools. Pupil/student identification is carried out in cooperation with school expert associates and pupil’s/student's class teacher.

Pupils/students who fail to succeed during their schooling are also referred to the expert team for professional orientation. Different forms of informing (individual and group informing, self-informing through brochures and computer programme My choice, etc.) and counselling, if necessary, can be used by other students too throughout their education.

The most common groups of pupils/students that professional orientation counsellors work with are:

• Pupils/students with developmental disabilities – pupils/students who completed compulsory education following a special or an adapted educational programme or a regular educational programme with an individualized approach.
• Pupils/students with health problems –pupils/students whose health impairments or chronic illnesses and longer medical treatment have considerably affected their school achievement which narrows the possibilities of choosing an educational programme/occupation.
• Pupils/students with difficulties in acquiring certain educational programme or want to change their educational programme – are referred to professional orientation with the aim of changing and/or inclusion into and educational programme which would be more suitable for student's capabilities and interests.
• Indecisive pupils/students – pupils/students who lack additional information and they need information services on available educational programmes that can be accessed at schools in his/her living area or in nearby cities and towns as well as on possibilities of employment for specific occupations in the mentioned areas.

Advice on the most appropriate career choice is provided orally to the student or his/her parent/guardian.

Professional orientation service issues a written opinion by virtue of the Decision on Elements and Criteria for Selection of Candidates for Enrolment in the First Grade of Secondary School issued by the Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sports for the current school year.

Specific support measures with regards to disadvantaged pupils include additional educational support, reduced class sizes, curriculum adaptation and close cooperation with social welfare institutions, etc. In order to fulfil special education and teaching-related needs and requirements the school may (at the founder’s proposal and with the Ministry’ consent) employ additional other expert staff. Special education-related needs refer to: teaching pupils/students with disabilities, teaching gifted pupils/students, teaching pupils/students – members of national minorities or other specific demands. Expert associates in school institutions include: pedagogues, psychologists, librarians, and experts in special education and rehabilitation. The job of an expert associate may be performed by a person who has completed the corresponding graduate university study programme and has pedagogical competences. For conditions of service see Conditions of Service for Teachers in Early Childhood and School Education.

With regards to additional staff for children with disabilities, pre-school institutions that implement special educational programmes also employ educator rehabilitator, speech therapists, music therapists, physical therapist and phonetician.

For students with disabilities school may, with the consent of the Ministry, institute a special class with the purpose of carrying out a special programme, other than those defined by the network of school institutions and education programmes.

For students who need assistance with learning schools organise catch-up classes and for students who achieve above-the-average results in a subject or demonstrate a strong interest for a subject, schools organise additional classes. For students who cannot attend school due to sever motoric disabilities or chronic illnesses, schools, with the Ministry’s approval, organise classes at home or in the healthcare institution if the student is subject to a treatment for an extended period of time, and they organise subject or grade examinations. These classes can be organised as remote teaching (virtual classes) by exploiting the means of electronic communication.

Schools offer special assistance to the children of Croatian citizens who have returned to Croatia and who are starting or continuing their education in Croatia and who do not have sufficient knowledge of Croatian language. Schools also provide special assistance to the children whose education is compulsory under and who have residence on the territory of the Republic of Croatia and who are family members of a person who is a citizen of a European Union member state and who runs or has run a private business or is or has been employed on the territory of the Republic of Croatia.

With the aim of successfully integrating these students, schools organise individual and group forms of immediate education work with such students, thereby facilitating their efficient acquisition of the Croatian language and making up for their insufficient knowledge in certain subjects.