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Early Childhood Care and Development
The first six years of a child’s life is a time of great promise and rapid change, when their developing brain is most open to the influence of relationships and experiences. However, millions of children across the world are at risk of not reaching their full potential because they do not get the care and stimulation they need in the early stages of life.
To achieve the SDGs and ensure that all girls and boys, especially the most deprived, are developmentally on-track we need to start early. Save the Children works with families and communities to help children to develop foundational learning skills in the years leading up to school. Save the Children also works with communities and partners to advocate for policies and practices that recognise the value of starting early and investing in cost-effective, inclusive quality approaches to ECCD.
Our goal is that all children will access quality inclusive early childhood care and demonstrate improved child development outcomes.
Save the Children’s experience shows that to reach the most vulnerable children, we need to go beyond preschools. High quality caregiving must be supported both in homes and in early learning centres to build strong foundations for young girls and boys. Moreover, rural, linguistic minority and refugee children need urgent support as they are falling behind. Save the Children works to address these gaps through targeted interventions, such as early learning programmes that support children’s learning at home in emergency and post-disaster settings, among remote and nomadic communities, and in areas where preschools are not available or accessible.
Explore the library for more education resources.
Photo: Jack Taylor/Save the Children
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Assessment of School Readiness Skills in Children Aged 3-6 Years Across 27 ICDS Centres in Bangalore (Urban)
Save the Children India, with funding from Target, has implemented the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) program in Bangalore since 2014, which focuses on giving children an opportunity to transition from pre-school to elementary school. This repo
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Liberia Ministry of Education Post-Ebola School Reopening Plan
This program intervention for the re-opening of schools is useful for COVID-19 response, when looking at supporting MoE to prepare guidelines on safe school reopening and were used after the Ebola response in Liberia. It can be used for phase 4 recovery o
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Ethiopia ELM Endline: September 2015
Save the Children supports the Ethiopian government to strengthen Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) in Tigray, Oromia, Gondar (Amhara), Afar, and the Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples Region (SNNPR) through both grants and sponsorship f
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Zambia Lufwanyama Sponsorship Baseline Progress Report
This report examines the results of the International Development and Early Learning Assessment (IDELA) implemented in Lufwanyama district in Zambia in October 2015. The assessment covered 318 children at the age of six, 168 of which who had received an E
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Protocols for Safe Schools Environments in the Ebola Outbreak in Liberia
These protocols are useful for COVID-19 response, when looking at supporting MoE to prepare guidelines on safe school reopenings and were used after the Ebola response in Liberia. The checklist is on page nine, used for phase 4 recovery of Save the Childr
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Key Messages for Parents: Liberia Ministry of Education
These key messages are useful for COVID-19 response, when looking at giving key messages to parents on safe school reopening, and were used after the Ebola response in Liberia. This can be used for phase 4 recovery of Save the Children’s COVID-19 Program
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MELQO-IDELA Bangladesh Baseline Report: June 2015
Aligned with the government’s vision for universal pre-primary education in Bangladesh, Save the Children has been implementing one-year pre-primary education programs for children aged 5 years through different projects in multiple districts in Banglades
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Emergent Literacy & Math Toolkit: Math at Home, Parent Outreach Component, Facilitator's Guide
This is a facilitator’s guide for the parent outreach component of Early Literacy and Math (ELM). This resource engages caregivers/parents of 3-6 year old children in regular workshops (8 sessions in the course of 3-4 months) with the goal of sharing with
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Early Learning and Maths (ELM) Parent Cards
These cards are intended for use by parents or caregivers when meeting with children. They cover such issues as books, counting, communication, organization, reading and routines.
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Save the Children Standard Product Catalogue
This catalogue covers the Save the Children standard product range and recommended product specifications for use in the Save the Children programmes. This catalogue is a tool designed to: Set global quality standards and specifications for projects and e
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Zambia School Readiness and ECCD Baseline Report: November 2013
This baseline report presents the results of a school readiness assessment administered to children ages 3-5 in new sponsorship areas of Lufwanyama, Zambia, as well as a survey of their caregiver and a more general community questionnaire, focused on Ear
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Save the Children and Children's Early Learning: Our International and U.S. Qualifications, Programs and Leadership
Save the Children invests in childhood—every day, in times of crisis and for the future. In the U.S. and around the world, Save the Children is dedicated to ensuring every child has the best chance for success. This qualifications document details Save th