1. No category

Moving ahead
on education
Save the Children’s global
education strategy to 2015
An overview for partners, donors,
governments and civil society organisations
Contents
PAGE NO
INTRODUCTION
SAVE THE CHILDREN
THE GLOBAL EDUCATION CONTEXT
SAVE THE CHILDREN’S GLOBAL EDUCATION STRATEGY
Strategic objective 1: Basic education
Strategic objective 2: Education in emergencies.
Strategic objective 3: Early childhood care and development
Strategic objective 4: Education for youth empowerment
3
3
5
7
11
12
13
15
Strategic objective 5: Driving global and national policy change
16
STRATEGIC BREAKTHROUGHS
MEASURING OUR IMPACT
18
20
APPENDIX – GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT GOALS FOR
EDUCATION 2000 – 2015
END NOTES
Cover and contents page:
Delhi – Street to School
Credit: Lucia Zoro/Save the Children
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SA V E T H E C H I L D R EN’ S GLO BAL EDU C ATIO N S TRATEG Y TO 2015
Introduction
This document outlines Save the Children’s global education strategy to 2015.
It explains our education priorities and how we will measure our results.
The overall goal of our programme, policy and advocacy work is to ensure that
every child receives a good quality education and learns the skills and knowledge
they need to thrive in the 21st century.
In order to achieve this, we have developed an ambitious global education strategy
that provides a framework for all Save the Children’s education work across our
30 national member organisations and in each country where we work.
For more information on Save the Children’s work in general, please see
www.savethechildren.net.
Save the Children
Save the Children is the world’s leading independent organisation
for children.
Our mission is to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children and
to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives. Working in 119 countries
worldwide, our staff members save children’s lives, fight for their rights and help
them fulfil their potential.
Save the Children has been a child rights pioneer for more than 90 years.
In 2012, Save the Children’s programmes and campaigns touched the lives of
more than 125 million children around the world.
Our Theory of Change is a holistic approach that helps us use our resources in an
efficient and sustainable way to achieve more for children. In every programme,
we aim to:
Credit: Jane Hahn
3
Children during a literacy class at a child-friendly-space
established by Save the Children
4
Credit: CJ Clarke/Save the Children
SA V E T H E C H I L D R EN’ S GLO BAL EDU C ATIO N S TRATEG Y TO 2015
The global education context
Every child has a right to education, but not every child enjoys this right. Indeed, 61 million
children worldwide are unable to attend school.1 Some children are let down by authorities
not honouring their commitments to education. In many countries, humanitarian
emergencies or armed conflict mean that children are not able to go to school.
Millions of children enrol in school but fail to learn the basic skills they need due to the poor quality of
education they receive. Some children are too hungry or unwell to learn effectively and others drop out of
school because of poverty or discrimination based on their gender, ethnicity, social class or health status.2
The benefits of education
It is vital to address this situation because education brings multiple and long-lasting benefits for children,
families and whole communities. Education increases an individual’s lifetime earnings, helping to break the
poverty cycle. In addition, education has important links with family health and nutrition. Educated girls are
likely to have fewer, and safer, pregnancies. Just one additional year of education for girls reduces the
chance of their children dying in infancy by 7-9%.3
In terms of wider community benefits, higher levels of educational achievement have been linked to
stronger democracies and increased peace and security. In a world threatened by climate change and
related disasters, conflict and migration, education is more important than ever.
Progress towards universal education
The good news is that today, 47 million more children have access to primary education than in 1999.
However, this progress has slowed and stalled in recent years. The stark fact is that 61 million children are
still missing out on their right to education.
UNESCO estimates that US$16 billion per year needs to be invested in education, on top of current
development aid, to achieve the Education for All (EFA) goals (see Annexe).4 Recent reports suggest it is
unlikely that the world will achieve these aims and the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of universal
primary education by 2015.5
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SA V E T H E C H I L D R EN’ S GLO BAL EDU C ATIO N S TRATEG Y TO 2015
Priority areas
With 2015 fast approaching, the major challenge facing the education development community is ensuring
both equal access to education for all children, and a good quality education once they are in school.
Many of the children still missing out on primary school are in communities affected by extreme poverty,
armed conflict, natural disasters or other emergencies. Once in school, marginalised children, including
girls, often receive the weakest teaching and have fewer learning materials, compounding their disadvantage.
There is strong evidence that early childhood care (pre-primary education) prepares children to learn and
helps them reach their potential in school. To have life-long relevance, education should equip young
people with the knowledge, skills and confidence to be economically active and responsible citizens. To be
truly sustainable, education requires widespread support and investment, underpinned by global and
national policy.
This is why our education strategy particularly focuses on: quality education to support effective learning;
ensuring access to education for marginalised and vulnerable children, including those in humanitarian
emergencies; early childhood care and development; youth skills and empowerment; and driving global and
national education policy.
Global commitments to children’s education
Almost every state in the world is committed to the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, which
outlines the right of every child to free primary education. Numerous states and international agencies have
also signed up to global development goals that include specific education targets. Save the Children’s
education strategy is aligned with these collective principles and aims.
Details of the Dakar Education for All Framework for Action and the Millennium Development Goals are
included in the Annexe 1.
Credit: Ingrid Lund/Save the Children
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SA V E T H E C H I L D R EN’ S GLO BAL EDU C ATIO N S TRATEG Y TO 2015
Save the Children’s global
education strategy
Every child receives a good quality education and learns
the skills and knowledge they need to thrive in the
21st century.
This is the right of every child, no matter where they live or what gender, ethnicity and social
class they are.
Our education strategy outlines how we are working towards achieving this vision between now and
2015 and how we are measuring our progress. It outlines five strategic objectives where we believe we
can have the greatest impact and two ‘breakthrough’ areas where we plan to drive global action for
children (see page 9).6
The strategy will guide Save the Children’s education programmes around the world.
Strong foundations
Our global education strategy builds on Save the Children’s strong track record in education. It also lays
the groundwork for continued global progress on education after the Millennium Development Goal and
Education for All deadlines in 2015.
Save the Children has already helped to secure access to good quality education for millions of children
around the world. We have driven positive changes for children even in the most difficult circumstances,
such as in conflict-affected fragile states (CAFS), in the aftermath of humanitarian emergencies and among
the poorest and most marginalised communities. We have contributed to global and national education
policy changes and the widespread adoption of proven programmes, to benefit many millions of children.
For example, our global Rewrite the Future campaign, which ran from 2005-2010, provided access to
primary school for an additional 1.6 million children in CAFS and helped to introduce a UN general
resolution that firmly places education on the global humanitarian agenda.
In 2012, Save the Children provided US$250 million in support of education programmes around the
world and reached more than 21 million children. This is impressive, however, much more action and
investment is needed to achieve education for all children, in line with our vision and other international
development goals.
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SA V E T H E C H I L D R EN’ S GLO BAL EDU C ATIO N S TRATEG Y TO 2015
Our approach
Education is one of Save the Children’s global priority areas of work, alongside child protection, child rights
governance, health and nutrition, humanitarian response and our EVERY ONE campaign, which focuses on
new-born and maternal health. Within each area, Save the Children organisations work together effectively,
to increase the impact of our financial resources and technical expertise. Ultimately, Save the Children is
creating meaningful and lasting change for children around the world.
We have a direct impact on children’s lives through our widespread and large-scale education programmes.
We also work behind the scenes to influence local, national and international policy and practice. For
example, we advocate for increased and improved investment in children’s education, we make sure that
decision-makers hear children’s voices and we press governments and international agencies to meet their
commitments to children.
We are only able to achieve this by working in partnership with other agencies, governments, and of
course children and their families.
We are committed to increasing the quality of our global work by measuring its impact and designing
programmes based on evidence of what works for children. This is how we will make the necessary step
changes to achieve our ambitious objectives.
Beyond 2015
Education is both a right and the bedrock of development. This strategy will be the springboard for an
even stronger focus on education policy and practice after 2015.
Our long-term priority for education is to ensure that all children, irrespective of background or gender,
enjoy their right to education, both schooling and learning. Just 10% of children of primary school age are
now out of school, but the challenge of ‘reaching zero’ remains enormous. Furthermore, getting children
to school is the beginning, not the end, of the job. Getting to zero in education must mean no children
failing to learn.
We will also prioritise ensuring that all children start school ready to learn, that they learn effectively at
primary school and that young people acquire the necessary skills for active, independent life.
As well as driving Save the Children’s work, these education priorities will influence governments, nongovernmental organisations and civil society, as we help shape future international development goals.
Our Ending Poverty in Our Generation and Ending the hidden exclusion: Learning and equity in education
post-2015 outlines Save the Children’s ambitions for global development and, in particular, education,
after 2015.
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SA V E T H E C H I L D R EN’ S GLO BAL EDU C ATIO N S TRATEG Y TO 2015
Save the Children education objectives 2012-2015
Strategic objective 1: Basic education
Strategic objective 2: Education in emergencies
Strategic objective 3: Early childhood care and development
Strategic objective 4: Education for youth empowerment
Strategic objective 5: Driving global and national policy change
Breakthrough 1: Children caught up in humanitarian crises have
access to quality education
Breakthrough 2: All children can read by the time they leave
primary school
Case study
Our Literacy Boost programme is building children’s
reading and writing skills in more than 15 countries by
training teachers and supporting community-based
activities. In Ethiopia, this has increased school
attendance as well as reading levels:
In Ginchi village, 12-year-old Biruk says, “I’m happy that now
I can read and know things. I like studying English best.”
Two years ago, he could not read at all. With the help of a
teacher trained by Save the Children, Biruk began to learn
letters. He attended study groups and gradually learned to read.
With our support, Desa and Hailu Ayu from Necho village run
a weekly reading camp for 60 local children. First grader Kuma
(10) and his sister Embet (8) join in a letter matching game,
draw illustrations representing letters and read in small groups.
At the end of the session, the children borrow a book from
the village’s new mobile library. Kuma talks about his choice,
saying, “I like books with stories about sports,” while Embet
selects a workbook filled with letters and colourful
illustrations.
12-year-old Biruk attends the Sengota Primary School,
a government school in Ginchi, Ethiopia which is part
of Save the Children’s Literacy Boost programme.
Credit: Susan Warner
9
Children with their teacher, Edulin, at a Save the
Children-supported infant school in Marcaconga, Cusco,
Peru. At this school children are taught in both Spanish
and the traditional regional language, Quecha, so that
children don’t fall behind because of language difficulties,
and they can understand and appreciate their local
culture.
Credit: Laura Kennedy/Save the Children
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SA V E T H E C H I L D R EN’ S GLO BAL EDU C ATIO N S TRATEG Y TO 2015
Strategic objective 1: Basic education
All children have access to a good quality basic education –
especially those who are excluded, marginalised or living in
conflict-affected fragile states (CAFS).
All children stand to benefit from acquiring basic education skills such as literacy, numeracy
and general life skills including communication, negotiation and critical thinking. These skills
last a lifetime and improve life chances.
Girls living in developing countries, children from extremely poor or marginalised families, children with
disabilities and those who live in politically unstable regions are more likely to have disrupted schooling, or
no schooling at all. Recent estimates suggest that more than 28 million children in CAFS are out of school.7
Yet these children and their communities are in particular need of the economic, social and health benefits
of education.
Simply getting children into school is not enough – to learn effectively and develop positively, children need
good quality teaching and support, a suitable learning environment and adequate learning resources that
have been adapted to their needs.
To achieve this objective, Save the Children will ensure that:
• Schools and informal learning situations supported by Save the Children are Quality Learning
Environments (QLEs).8
•
•
Children enrolled in basic education learn literacy, numeracy, life skills and understand their rights.
Excluded and marginalised children have increased access to inclusive, good quality basic education.
Example approaches
•
Working with government and non-governmental partners to train teachers in using participatory
learning methods and teaching materials that engage children. For instance, in Nicaragua we are
working with a partner organisation to develop engaging and age-appropriate textbooks for
children.
•
Supporting alternative approaches to increase marginalised children’s access to schooling,
such as catch-up classes and informal, temporary schools for refugee children. For example,
our inclusive education programme in Vietnam is encouraging parents, training teachers and
providing specialist support so that children with disabilities can attend mainstream schools.
•
Adopting innovative approaches to financing education that will allow the poorest families to keep
their children in school. In Cambodia, we run community micro-credit schemes to help parents
afford the costs associated with sending their children to school.
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SA V E T H E C H I LD R E N’ S GLO BAL EDU C ATIO N S TRATEG Y TO 2015
Strategic objective 2:
Education in emergencies
Children and youth at risk of, or affected by, emergencies
have access to quality education as a fundamental part of all
humanitarian responses.
Millions of children are affected by natural disasters every year. Many others live among, or
flee from, armed conflict. In such emergencies, children may miss out on weeks, months or
even years of education. Despite recent funding increases, this area is still woefully underresourced.
Schools are vital for vulnerable children in volatile situations. They are secure places to meet friends,
recover from painful experiences and avoid risks such as trafficking. They are essential channels for
teaching basic hygiene and other simple practices to reduce the health risks associated with many
emergencies. Schools also play an important role in helping children understand how to stay safe in the
event of future emergencies.
To achieve this objective, Save the Children will ensure that:
• Education in emergencies is rapidly scaled up, to benefit at least 25% of the children affected by
emergencies each year.
•
Partnerships, including the Global Education Cluster that is co-led by Save the Children and UNICEF,
ensure a more coordinated response to education in emergencies and systematic evaluation of
innovative approaches.
•
Awareness of and commitment to education as a key part of any emergency response, as well as
including training on disaster risk reduction (DRR) practices in curricula, is strengthened within Save
the Children and the wider humanitarian community.
Example approaches
12
•
Increasing the capacity of governments and communities to implement education programmes in
emergency situations, and support the transition of these programmes into sustainable education
systems.
•
Building links and collaborating with other sectors, including child protection, shelter, health and
sanitation, to increase the awareness and effectiveness of education in emergencies.
•
Increasing Save the Children’s education in emergencies capacity in key regions. For instance, we
have developed a roster of deployable emergency response personnel for education who are able
to travel at short notice to areas affected by emergencies to provide support and promote
expertise and approaches to meet specific local needs.
SAV E T H E C H I L D R EN’ S GLO BAL EDU C ATIO N S TRATEGY TO 2015
Strategic objective 3:
Early childhood care and development
An increased number of young children have access to
quality early childhood care and development programmes
that ensure their rights to survival, health and education.
Early childhood represents the time period that starts with conception and continues until a
child turns 8. Early childhood care and development helps to give all children an equal start
in life.
In developing countries, more than 200 million children’s mental and physical development is hampered by
poor health, malnutrition, inadequate care and few early learning opportunities.
A growing body of evidence shows multiple benefits for children who participate in early childhood care
and development programmes, particularly those from ethnic minorities, extremely poor families or other
marginalised groups. The most effective initiatives combine education, healthcare and nutrition to have
long-term positive benefits for children.
Early childhood care and development programmes are associated with higher levels of primary school
enrolment and lower school drop-out rates. They also help to reduce social inequality by improving
children’s ability to learn and, consequently their achievement levels, as well as enabling more mothers to
work. Despite all these positive benefits, early childhood care and development provision worldwide is
extremely uneven.
To achieve this objective, Save the Children will ensure that:
• Marginalised, vulnerable and hard-to-reach children from 0-8 years old have greater access to early
childhood care and development.
•
Early learning environments for young children are high-quality and incorporate community
participation as well as a holistic understanding of children’s physical, socio-emotional, linguistic and
cognitive needs.
•
There is an increased commitment to relevant and holistic early childhood care and development
within Save the Children and among international development organisations.
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SA V E T H E C H I L D R EN’ S GLO BAL EDU C ATIO N S TRATEG Y TO 2015
Example approaches
•
Leading and participating in advocacy and policy activities to secure support and investment in
early years education. For example, we are working together with several partners including the
government of Malawi to assess the impact of early childhood care and development programmes
on children’s levels of achievement in education. The findings will help shape Malawi’s national
policy and increase investment in the coming years.
•
Sharing successful and innovative early childhood care and development programmes with
professionals working in nutrition and health. For instance, we have worked with El Salvador’s
Academy of Paediatricians to design a developmental screening tool for paediatricians and
healthcare workers to use during routine growth check-ups. Following the check-up, each child
is assigned to a community health worker, who is equipped with a toolkit of resources that
enables them to work with young children across different developmental issues and ages.
•
Enhancing existing early childhood care and development programmes and scaling them up to
reach many more young children. For example, with Save the Children’s support, the government
of Mozambique is scaling up and improving the quality of early years education using evidence of
successful approaches demonstrated by an World Bank evaluation of our programmes in the
country.9
Credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/Save The Children
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SA V E T H E C H I L D R EN’ S GLO BAL EDU C ATIO N S TRATEGY TO 2015
Strategic objective 4:
Education for youth empowerment
To empower vulnerable youth (aged 12-24) in rural and
urban areas through education and training to become
active economic, social and political citizens.
Early years and primary education make a dramatic difference to children’s life opportunities,
but aren’t enough on their own to provide young people with the skills they need to secure
decent employment and exercise their democratic rights. In addition, millions of young
people have low literacy skills because of insufficient or inadequate primary and secondary
education.10
Young people with low literacy, employability and life skills are less able to make responsible life choices
such as practising safe sex, and are excluded from taking part in decisions that affect their lives and that of
their communities. This can leave them vulnerable to poverty, hopelessness and exploitation. These
challenges are becoming more acute as the world is facing the largest generation of youth ever.11
To achieve this objective, Save the Children will ensure that:
• Vulnerable youth have increased access to second chance education including basic literacy, numeracy
and employment skills.
•
•
•
Youth improve their life skills and learn to organise themselves to make their voices heard.
Youth get access to decent jobs including youth-friendly capital to start up their own business.
We share lessons between our own and other organisations’ education, literacy and education for
youth empowerment programmes to empower children and youth.
Example approaches
•
Improving the socio-economic status of more than 40,000 vulnerable rural youth in five African
countries through an innovative programme developed in partnership with the MasterCard
Foundation.
•
Partnering with private sector organisations to match young people’s skills with labour market
demands and providing apprenticeships that lead to decent jobs.
•
Building Save the Children’s expertise in education for youth empowerment through research,
training and knowledge sharing.
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SA V E T H E C H I L D R EN’ S GLO BAL EDU C ATIO N S TRATEGY TO 2015
Strategic objective 5:
Driving global and national policy change
To secure global and national policy change so that all
children benefit from their right to a good quality
education.
Save the Children’s education programmes achieve immediate and lasting change for
millions of children, but we can accelerate positive changes and achieve even greater impact
by persuading others to prioritise children’s education. To do this, we collaborate with and
push national and global decision-makers to secure children’s right to education. For
example, children’s access to quality education is increased when we focus on improving
international investment in education, government policies and local practices.
This advocacy work is based on two key things – what children and their families tell us they need, and
sound evidence from our successful education programmes. Much of our advocacy involves working in
partnership with community-based organisations, helping to strengthen their ability to speak out for
children, as well as with high-level global players.
To achieve this objective, Save the Children will ensure that:
• Learning and equity are key components of the development agenda that will replace the Education
for All (EFA) Framework and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) after 2015.
16
•
Children’s right to a good quality education and the importance of learning is championed among
governments and donor agencies, highlighting the importance of learning outcomes and the links
between early childhood care and children’s right to survival and development are highlighted.
•
Children’s right to a good quality education is not interrupted by emergency situations and they have
the opportunity to learn regardless of the circumstances they find themselves in.
SA V E T H E C H I L D R EN’ S GLO BAL EDU C ATIO N S TRATEG Y TO 2015
Example approaches
•
Ensuring children, youth and communities as well as education experts in the countries we work
in have a voice in the discussions on how education should be incorporated into any the post2015 development framework. For example, in collaboration with the African Union
Commission’s Education Division and the Africa Network Campaign on Education for All
(ANCEFA), we hosted post-2015 consultations in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with representatives
from government, academia, and civil society.
•
Working at the highest levels and coordinating with governments, UN agencies and civil society
to follow up on UN resolutions on children’s right to education in emergency situations. For
instance, adopting a high level framework called Education Cannot Wait12 to ensure education in
emergencies is recognised as key humanitarian sector.
•
Establishing key partnerships and empowering national civil society organisations to become
involved in national and global education financing processes, for example securing active civil
society participation in Local Education Groups associated with the Global Partnership for
Education.
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Strategic breakthroughs
13
Achieving Save the Children’s vision of a good quality education for every child will require
significant and sustained shifts in education policy and practice – ‘business as usual’ will not do.
We will continue to make direct improvements to children’s lives through our education programmes, as
well as use evidence from these programmes to influence global and national decision-makers to change
policies and practices.
In addition to these proven approaches we are striving to change the education that children and young
people receive – for the better, and forever. To do this, we will take a leading role in two breakthrough
areas.
Save the Children can only achieve this kind of change over several years, and by working in partnership
with local organisations, national governments and international agencies. The challenge is huge, but we are
well placed to achieve it. Save the Children has a long history of leading and inspiring global breakthroughs
for children, including the concept of playschools, the importance of school meals and the practice of family
tracing for children separated from their relatives in emergencies.
Breakthrough 1: Children caught up in humanitarian crises
have access to quality education
Children caught up in armed conflict or natural disasters tell us that what they want most – alongside
medicine, food and shelter – is to get back to school. Education is a lifeline for children in emergencies,
helping them to stay safe, recover from their experiences and build a positive future.
Save the Children has helped the world to recognise the importance of delivering education in
humanitarian emergencies through our Rewrite the Future campaign and our joint leadership of global
responses to education needs in emergencies.14 Despite this progress, more still needs to be done to
deliver education for children in emergencies.
We plan to build on the success of Rewrite the Future and the Education Cluster by focusing our efforts
during 2012-2015 to achieve breakthroughs in two key areas:
Direct change for children
We will:
Increase the number of children we reach to 25% of all children affected by emergencies.
• Ensure greater provision of timely, appropriate, quality education programmes based on best practices
and strong evidence and research.
•
18
Provide early childhood care and development support to children through our humanitarian
response programmes and ensure closer linkages between early years education and primary
education in emergency situations.
SA V E T H E C H I L D R EN’ S GLO BAL EDU C ATIO N S TRATEG Y TO 2015
•
Strengthen our education response capacity across the sector, ensuring technical assistance through
trained education in emergency response staff in every country where we work and a pool of regional
and global experts available for rapid deployment to emergencies.
•
Successfully lead the Education Cluster in 20 countries.
Influencing decision-makers:
We will lead advocacy with governments, donors, policymakers and other key stakeholders to ensure an
increase in support to education in emergencies including by securing commitments to:
•
Double education’s share of humanitarian aid from all sources.
•
Ensure that education is recognised by all donor and multilateral agencies as an essential part of
humanitarian responses.
•
Recognise the role of education and DRR in reducing the impact of disasters and reducing the future
risks to children by helping children to prepare for the effects of climate change.
•
Ensure the Global Education Cluster has the resources and recognition to expand its reach as an
effective leader and coordinator.
Breakthrough 2: All children can read by the time they
leave primary school.
It is vital that children learn reading, writing and mathematical skills early in life. These are the foundations
for all future learning. Acquiring these skills means children are more likely to remain in school, which has
multiple life-long benefits. These skills are particularly important for the most marginalised children – girls
from low-income families and children from conflict-affected fragile states.
Save the Children has made significant improvements in children’s ability to read and write, through
Literacy Boost and other programmes designed to improve children’s level of achievement in education.
By giving teachers specific literacy training and by engaging communities we have developed a culture of
reading in some of the world’s poorest communities.
We plan to achieve our breakthroughs by focussing our efforts in two key areas:
Direct change for children
During 2012-2015, Save the Children will:
•
Design and test literacy programmes that measurably improve children’s achievement levels and
implement them in at least 20 countries, reaching 600,000 children with literacy programming.
•
Assess the reading skills of 100,000 children.
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SA V E T H E C H I L D R EN’ S GLO BAL EDU C ATIO N S TRATEG Y TO 2015
Influencing decision-makers
Our advocacy messages will include specific suggestions for policy changes to take the literacy debate
beyond the narrow focus on Early Grade Reading Assessment. Our approach will reflect the multiple and
complex social dimensions of literacy acquisition especially for children from non-literate communities,
including:
•
Learning to read needs to encompass reading with comprehension.
•
Reading with comprehension cannot be achieved in 90 days.
•
Quality reading instruction in the classroom needs to be supported by community activities in order
for the children to become literate.
Measuring our impact
As with all other areas of our work, Save the Children monitors and evaluates our education programmes
to measure and demonstrate our positive impact on children’s lives. This enables us to ensure we use our
resources efficiently. It also helps us to be fully accountable to our partners and supporters – and, most
importantly, to children.
In line with best practice, we commission independent evaluations of our education programmes and
publish annual progress reports in key areas. As well as sharing our findings across Save the Children, we
share knowledge with partners to benefit as many children as possible.
The importance we place on effective monitoring and evaluation means we are able to develop and expand
our education programmes based on evidence of what works. This maximises the impact of our education
policy and advocacy work as well as the outcomes of our programmes.
Every Save the Children education programme has measurable aims and objectives, but all our education
programmes also contribute towards four overall global indicators and outcomes (see table).
Save the Children global education indicators
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Global indicator
Target
1. Quality of learning environment (QLE)
Measurable improvement in the quality of
children’s learning environment15
2. Learning outcomes
Measurable improvement in learning outcomes for
600,000 children
3. Access
Measurable increase in the number of children
with access to education16
4. Increase access to education in emergency
situations
Provide quality education support to 25% of children
affected by emergencies
SA V E T H E C H I L D R EN’ S GLO BAL EDU C ATIO N S TRATEG Y TO 2015
Case study
11-year-old Moustafa* has been living as a refugee in Lebanon since his family fled
conflict in Syria in the middle of 2012. Moustafa is starting school in Lebanon through
a Save the Children, UNICEF and UNHCR back-to-school project for refugee
children. He has received a new school bag and vouchers for school materials.
“I was only able to go to school for two months last year. Because they burned down my school,
I had to stop going. Here, I’m adapting. But I walk around on my own and I think about having
friends again.”
Mustafa’s mother explains: “The schools were attacked every night. Two of [my children] were
supposed to take their exams. They were thinking about going to university. Now, all that’s been
crushed. If they go to school, my children can get out of this place.”
Moustafa*, 11 years old, has been living as a refugee in Lebanon for six months, even since he fled his
native Syria when growing conflict erupted too close to home. His school in Syria burnt down during
the fighting, Moustafa is now getting back into the classroom in Lebanon.
Credit: Save the Children
* not his real name
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SA V E T H E C H I L D R EN’ S GLO BAL EDU C ATIO N S TRATEG Y TO 2015
Appendix – global development goals for education 2000-2015
Education For All (EFA) goals17
Millennium Development Goals and
targets (MDGs) relating to education18
1. Expanding and improving comprehensive early
childhood care and education, especially for the
most vulnerable and disadvantaged children.
2. Ensuring that by 2015 all children, particularly girls,
children in difficult circumstances and those belonging
to ethnic minorities, have access to and complete
free and compulsory primary education of good
quality.
3. Ensuring that the learning needs of all young people
and adults are met through equitable access to
appropriate learning and life skills programmes.
4. Achieving a 50% improvement in levels of adult
literacy by 2015, especially for women, and equitable
access to basic and continuing education for all
adults.
5. Eliminating gender disparities in primary and
secondary education by 2005 and achieving gender
equality in education by 2015, with a focus on
ensuring girls’ full and equal access to, and
achievement in, basic education of good quality.
Goal 2. Achieve universal primary
education
Target 3. Ensure that, by 2015, children
everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to
complete a full course of primary schooling.
Goal 3. Promote gender equality and
empower women
Target 4. Eliminate gender disparity in primary
and secondary education, preferably by 2005,
and to all levels of education no later than 2015.
6. Improving all aspects of the quality of education and
ensuring excellence of all so that recognised and
measurable learning outcomes are achieved by all,
especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills.
Credit: Katie Drew/Save the Children
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SA V E T H E C H I L D R EN’ S GLO BAL EDU C ATIO N S TRATEG Y TO 2015
End notes
1.
UNESCO (2011). The Hidden Crisis: Armed Conflict and Education (Education for All Global
Monitoring Report).
2.
UNESCO (2012) Youth and Skills: Putting Education to Work (Education for All Global Monitoring
Report). Around 20% of children never make it to school or drop out before their fourth year, and
another 20% fail to acquire basic skills while they are there.
3.
Figure cited by Ibid UNESCO (2011), p35.
4.
Ibid UNESCO (2011).
5.
Ibid UNESCO (2012).
6.
As well as making positive differences in children’s lives, Save the Children is committed to inspiring
breakthroughs in the way the world treats children. A global breakthrough requires a very significant
shift from the current trend and a sustainable change in the way the world treats the majority of
children.
7.
Ibid UNESCO (2011).
8.
Save the Children’s guiding principles for Quality Learning Environments are: 1. Save the Childrensupported education programmes meet the emotional and psychological needs of learners; 2. Save the
Children-supported education programmes are protective of children’s physical wellbeing; 3. Save the
Children-supported education programmes encourage and support active engagement for learners,
child-centered teaching, and improved learning outcomes of all learners; 4. In Save the Childrensupported education programmes, parents and local communities are actively involved in planning,
decision-making and action to improve education.
9.
World Bank and Save the Children (2012) The Promise of Preschool in Africa: A Randomized Impact
Evaluation of Early Childhood Development in Rural Mozambique.
10. Ibid UNESCO (2012).
11. Ibid UNESCO (2012).
12. Education Cannot Wait: Protecting children and young people’s right to a good-quality education in
humanitarian emergencies and conflicts.
13. Save the Children defines a breakthrough as a remarkable shift from the current trend and a
sustainable change in the way the world treats children, as experienced by the majority of affected
children in the world.
14. Save the Children and UNICEF co-lead the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Global Education
Cluster to strengthen humanitarian responses, standards and partnerships for education in
emergencies.
15. A specific target for the quality learning environment indicator will be set following the identification of
baseline against which to measure improvement, which is being developed using data collected in 2012.
16. As part of our Rewrite the Future campaign, Save the Children committed to securing access to
education for 3 million children living in a select group of conflict-affected fragile states. To date, we
have been able to secure access for 1.7million in these countries. Ensuring children’s right to
education in all contexts, especially emergency situations and humanitarian crises, continues to be a
priority for Save the Children until 2015 and beyond. However, we have decided to expand our focus
on access to a broader set of countries. As a result, we will no longer track access against a target of
3 million children but will develop a new, specific target during 2013 along with new tools to measure
access to education in a larger number low- and middle-income countries.
17. Full information on the Education for All goals is available at http://www.unesco.org.
18. Full information on the Millennium Development Goals is available at
http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/.
23
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