Ensuring Early Childhood Care & Development
Sharing experiences from Chittoor Dist, AP
Creating enabling learning environments for children
Save the Children in partnership with Target, Mattel and P&G together have had
the opportunity to help children meet their lifelong potential, by giving them
access to a child focused, gender sensitive and inclusive teaching-learning
environment.
Reaching over 12,000 children aged 3-8 years in 292 Anganwadi centers and 102
Government Primary schools
Using Play to Lean to help Each Childhood Development (ECD) programmes create
strong foundations for future school success
The continuum of development
Programme Approach
A large number of children miss out on pre primary educational
opportunities at a critical stage of their development.
There is a focus on the most marginalized groups of children who
face various forms of social exclusion, such as caste and gender
discrimination and also migrant children
Girls receive priority focus, so they can benefit from equitable
educational opportunities not only in primary school, but more
importantly during their early development years (3-6 years)
Create convergence between the Government Departments of
ICDS & Education
Addressing diversity
Children may not speak the language of the classroom; are at risk
of dropping out because they are sick, hungry, or not achieving
well; or they belong to a different religion or caste. They may also
be children affected by HIV/ AIDS, and all girls and boys who
should be in school but are not, especially those who work at
home, in the fields, or elsewhere (migrants).
Anganwadi teachers and school personnel are being challenged
increasingly ‘to change’ in order to meet the new challenges
presented within the learning environments
‘Inclusive” in the programme is not limited to only children with
disabilities, but means including ALL children who are left out or
excluded.
Key Programme Activities
Providing access to a stimulating learning environment in early childhood programs
Bridging the gap between Schools and real life by linking schools and communities
they serve, ensuring that schools equip children for a rapidly changing society
Providing access to health and nutrition services
Capacity building at various levels – ICDS, Education & community levels
Engaging and working with a variety of governmental and community stakeholders and
comprise of an integral partnership
Initiatives on Early Childhood Education – 3-8 years
Early Literacy & Math Skills – in
pre schools / centres
School Readiness – to ensure a
smooth transition from pre
primary to primary
Literacy Boost – in primary schools
Key Emergent Literacy Knowledge Areas
Knowing about
the Alphabet
Knowing what
Books are
Understanding
about Words
and Sounds
Understanding
Print
Talking and
Listening
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Key Emergent Sorting
Math
Knowledge
Areas
and
Comparison and
Measurement
Classification
Patterns
Geometry
Numbers and
Counting
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Literacy Boost – Why?
To strengthen children’s
access to literacy and
language experiences
To improve reading
instruction
To measurably improve
children’s reading and
learning
To attain these
objectives, three
components are
implemented:
1. reading assessment
2. teacher training
3. community action
ALL CHILDREN IN SCHOOL AND
STAYING IN SCHOOL
Key Partners
State Government Department of Education
Department of Women and Child Welfare
District Institutes for Education Training (DIETs)
Panchayati Raj Institutions
Mother Committees
Parent Teacher Associations
Local Implementing partner
Sharing Experiences from Brick Kilns in West
Bengal
India’s brick kiln industry
is the second largest in
world after China. It has
more than 1,00,000
operating units
producing about 140
billion bricks annually
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Brick Kilns in West Bengal
The Gangetic plains of North
India accounts for 65 % of
the total brick production.
Punjab, Haryana, Uttar
Pradesh, Bihar and West
Bengal are major brick
producing states in this
region
Brick making is a traditional,
unorganized industry
confined to rural and periurban areas
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Concerns
Brick Kilns are least
regulated by law as this
industry falls into nonformal sector
Not many NGOs/ INGOs are
involved advocating for
rights of child labourers
who remain quite invisible
to society
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Result- Increased Demand for Bricks
Increased Child Labour in
Hazardous Sector
1,60,000 migrant children in
West Bengal’s Brick kilns
Every year thousands of
children, invisible and
unheard arrive into approx
4000 brick kilns situated
across West Bengal
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Sharing experiences from Brick Kilns in West Bengal
Creating enabling learning environments for children in Brick Kilns
Save the Children in association with partner NGO NMCS and RCHSS provided very
foundation for basic education and life long learning and development to children in
brick kilns in a inclusive, gender sensitive and child friendly learner environment.
Reached out to 4588 children 2 to 5 years spread over 70 creches and 40 Anganwadi
centres in two district – North 24 pargans and Malda district of West Bengal. 2248
children enrolled into primary schools from cercehe and Anganwadi centres and
accessed early childhood care and education in child friendly inclusive learning
environment
Using Play to Lean to help Each Childhood Development (ECD) programmes create
strong foundations for future school success
Programme Approach
Children in brick kilns 2 to 5 years are devoid of government schemes
and services in areas of health, nutrition and early education - as a
result, large number of children in brick kilns lose out on opportunity to
access early childhood care at a critical stage of development
 Children in brick kilns are from diversified groups; Creche volunteers
and Anganwadi workers capacitated to provide early education to
children in inclusive, multi-lingual and child friendly environment
.
 Creating links with the Anganwadi Centres for institutionalized Early Childhood
Care and Education services to children who face various forms of exclusion –
such as caste and gender discrimination
Advocating with the Departments of Health and Women & Child Welfare to
establish Anganwadi Centres in the brick kilns to provide easy and accessible
Early Childhood Care Education (ECCE) and health services; immunization and
health check-up.
Addressing diversity
Creche volunteers, Anganwadi workers and school teachers
adopted innovative methods – joyful learning, multi-lingual
teaching methodology, diversified classroom management
for children in brick kilns
The training manual conceptualized as a resource for crcehe
volunteer and Angawadi workers for addressing diverse
needs in learning environment for children in brick kilns
All inclusive approach for children in brick kilns who do not
speak the language of the classroom; drop-out because of
seasonal migration; belong to different religion and caste.
Programme Activities /Achievements
Establishing creche in brick kilns to
provide early childhood care and
education to marginalized children
70 creche equipped with Teaching
Learning Materials to provide early
education to diverse group of children
in a multi-lingual child friendly learner
environment,
Creche volunteers provided care and
early education to children whilst
their mothers were working to avoid
risks of burning and hazardous
pollutants in brick kilns
Reached out to 6455 marginalized
children 3 to 5 years in brick kilns and
developed skills on - colour, shape,
space and direction and motor skills,
language skills and cognitive skills
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Programme Activities /Achievements
70 Creche volunteers and 50
Anganwadi workers were
capacitated on child care,
nutrition, growth
monitoring, immunization,
health & hygiene and
education- early literacy
encompassing knowledge of
alphabets, books, words,
talking and listening, and
mathematical skills including
numbers, pattern, sorting,
measurement, and
geometrical shapes in a
multi-lingual child friendly
environment
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Programme Activities/ Achievements
4588 children from brick
kilns mainstreamed with
Anganwadi centres and
accessed pre- school
education, supplementary
nutrition, safe drinking water
and growth monitoring
2248 children transitioned
from pre -school (Anganwadi
centre) to primary schools for
quality elementary education
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Programme Activities/ Achievements
•8 Aganwadi Centres have been
established by Child Development
Department in brick kilns of North
24 Parganas and Malda district to
provide easy and inclusive
accessibility to early childhood care
and education to children in brick
kilns
• 4588 children were immunized,
accessed health check ups and
nutritional support through
Anganwadi
•Safe Drinking Water and hygienic
sanitation facilities for Children in
Anganwadi centres resulting in low
incidence of water borne diseases’
among children in brick kilns
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Challenges
Language barrier for
migrant children in
Anganwadi centres
New group of migrant
children coming every year
to brick kilns in West Bengal
Tracking of immunization
and health needs of
children
Support from
government/Brick Kiln
Owners
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Initiatives in Jharkhand
Consultation
meeting with Sarva
Siksha Abhiyan,
Labour and Social
Welfare department
in Jharkhand to
ensure early
childhood care and
education to
children of migrant
workers in brick
kilns
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Thank You