GES to Scale Up Transformative Kindergarten Programme Nationwide

Accra: The Ghana Education Service (GES) has announced plans to scale up the innovative GES-Lively Minds kindergarten programme across all 16 regions of the country, targeting every public kindergarten school.According to Ghana News Agency, the nationwide expansion follows the programme's success in 64 districts across eight regions in northern Ghana, where it had significantly improved school enrolment, boosted retention, and enhanced children's cognitive, emotional, and physical development. The initiative is funded by a consortium of international partners including USAID, UNICEF, Global Innovation Fund, Grand Challenges Canada, the French Innovation Fund, and ELMA Philanthropies, with technical support from Lively Minds, a UK-based NGO specializing in early childhood development.Since its inception, the programme had reached more than 3,500 schools and impacted over 290,000 children, combining play-based learning with parental engagement to enhance both school and home learning environments. The initi ative operates on three main pillars: Play Schemes run by trained mothers, Monthly Parenting Courses, and active involvement of kindergarten teachers.Mothers are trained to lead small groups of children in educational games, storytelling, and physical play while teachers oversee the sessions and deliver parenting workshops aimed at improving home-based care and nutrition. During a recent monitoring visit to beneficiary communities in the Upper East Region, Ms Adisa Tassa, National Director of Early Childhood Education, GES, announced the upcoming national rollout of the programme.Ms Tassa remarked on the programme's success in the north, noting significant enrolment, better learning outcomes, and more parental involvement. She stated that with continued technical support from Lively Minds, this success could be replicated nationwide. Countries such as Ethiopia, Burundi, Uganda, and The Gambia are studying Ghana's model as a reference for improving early childhood education in their own systems.A nationa l study revealed that only 13 per cent of Ghanaian parents engage in early learning play with their children, an alarming gap the programme aims to close. Ms Tassa explained that the programme trains mothers to lead play sessions for children aged three to six using fun, interactive games, bridging the gap between homes and schools and supporting holistic child development.At Azudoone Primary School in the Kassena-Nankana West District, Mr Akubase Dominic, Headteacher of the school, reported a dramatic rise in enrolment and academic performance since the programme's introduction. He noted that kindergarten enrolment was previously low and retention was a major problem, but now children stay in school and excel, especially those who have gone through the play schemes.Mothers involved in the programme shared how it had transformed their parenting and revived traditional games that fostered learning. Madam Lydia Adogbire praised the cultural relevance of the activities, while Mrs Apala Hammedu noted she had learned time management and how to prepare nutritious meals for her children.Mr James Adongo Awini, Director of Programme Delivery for Lively Minds in Ghana and Uganda, highlighted that the programme's design was rooted in years of testing and research. Piloted between 2017 and 2019, the initiative underwent a Randomised Controlled Trial led by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (UK) and Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA Ghana), which showed that children in the programme achieved learning gains equivalent to an extra year of schooling.Following those results, the Ministry of Education fully adopted the programme in 2019 for implementation across Upper West, Upper East, North East, Northern, Savannah, Bono, Bono East, and Oti regions. In 2021, a partnership agreement between GES and Lively Minds was reached for national scale-up. Mr Awini emphasized that the model is 'cost-effective, sustainable, and fully embedded within GES structures,' utilising local kindergarten teachers, district education officers, and regional directors for delivery and accountability.Ms Alison Naftalin, Lively Minds CEO, praised the programme's impact and encouraged continued parental involvement, stressing that 'quality early childhood development is achievable in rural areas when parents, where especially mothers are actively involved.' Currently, districts in the Upper East Region benefitting from the programme include Builsa North and South, Kassena-Nankana West, Talensi, Bolgatanga East, Bawku West, Binduri, Garu, and Tempane.