*Farah attends a non-formal education programme in North Lebanon. Photo: Chantale Fahmi/Concern Worldwide 2017.*Farah attends a non-formal education programme in North Lebanon. Photo: Chantale Fahmi/Concern Worldwide 2017.*Farah attends a non-formal education programme in North Lebanon. Photo: Chantale Fahmi/Concern Worldwide 2017.

Education

Education

Why education? Education is at the heart of development and is key to breaking the poverty cycle, and improving health, nutrition, income and opportunities for all children.

Key focus areas

Three key focus areas of our work on education are:

  • Increasing access to education
  • Improving the quality of teachers and learning literacy, in particular, literacy through the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) tool
  • Improving child well-being by providing safe and encouraging learning environments.
Kabale Halkamo received a back to school kit including books, soap, solar lamps, uniform, shoes, school supplies and sanitary towels from Concern Worldwide, Maikona Primary School, Maikona, Kenya Photo: Jennifer Nolan/ Concern Worldwide.
Kabale is a student of Maikona Primary School, Kenya Photo: Jennifer Nolan / Concern Worldwide.
Maikona Primary School, Maikona, Kenya Photo: Jennifer K Nolan/Concern Worldwide.
Maikona Primary School, Maikona, Kenya. Photo: Jennifer K Nolan / Concern Worldwide.
Female Students attend the SHG literacy and numeracy classes. Photo: Marco Gualazzini/ Concern Worldwide.
Female students attend SHG literacy and numeracy classes. Photo: Marco Gualazzini / Concern Worldwide.
Mercy is at a low cost private school (St Francis) thanks to a cash transfer from Concern. Her parents Olivia Onderi (30) and Anthony Kinuthia (42) work on the Dandora dumpsite in Nairobi. Photograph: Abbie Trayler-Smith/Panos Pictures for Concern Worldwide.
Mercy attends class in Nairobi. Photograph: Abbie Trayler-Smith / Panos Pictures.
Farah* and Nadia* attends a non-formal education programme in an informal settlement that focuses on early childhood education in Akkar, north Lebanon. Photo: Chantale Fahmi/Concern Worldwide.
Farah* and Nadia* attend an education programme in Lebanon. Photo: Chantale Fahmi /Concern Worldwide.
Syrian children attending Concern’s non-formal education in Lebanon. Photo: Chantale Fahmi/Concern Worldwide.
Syrian children attending Concern’s non-formal education in Lebanon. Photo: Chantale Fahmi / Concern Worldwide.

A closer look at our education programmes

We aim to contribute to lasting improvements in the lives of extremely poor people through the implementation of high-quality, multi-dimensional education programmes. Here we spotlight two of our approaches.

Improving literacy with EGRA

At least 250 million school-age children worldwide currently do not know the basics in reading and mathematics. This poor level of literacy drives school drop-out and exam failure and blocks students from progressing to secondary school. Ultimately, it puts millions of children at a cruel disadvantage for the rest of their lives. In order to accurately assess, improve and monitor literacy levels, Concern has refined and expanded the sector-leading Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) tool among the most vulnerable communities.

Our EGRA tool – a series of short oral tests taken in the early grades of primary school – allows us to assess and then address children’s learning needs at an early age. It also allows us to identify knowledge gaps, gather robust data and monitor progress so we can accurately evaluate the success of programmes over time. 

Safe Learning Model

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