Programme 01 — Early childhood education

The first five years decide how the next fifteen go.

Pre-school sessions, learning material and teacher support for the years before a child ever sits an exam.

Programme 01Hyderabad and aroundEvery month, not once
Young children at a foundation learning session

Early childhood is where a child learns to hold a pencil, wait their turn and believe they can answer. Miss those years and the primary classroom becomes a place where a child falls behind quietly and never catches up.

We run pre-school sessions with an age-appropriate curriculum — rhymes, stories, counting with objects, drawing, and a great deal of play — and we train the teacher or volunteer who runs them.

How it is run

Sessions run in the school or anganwadi the children already attend, with the worker who will keep running them after we leave.

What it includes

The short list, agreed with the school, the home or the household.

01Pre-school sessionsThree to five year olds, small groups, an hour of songs, numbers, shapes and stories.
02Learning materialsPicture cards, counting frames, slates and crayons — the things a pre-school room is made of.
03Teacher supportA short training for the anganwadi worker or volunteer on what to teach and how, and follow-up visits.
04Parent orientationWhat a parent can do at home in ten minutes — talk, count, read aloud, ask questions.
05School readinessGetting the enrolment, the uniform and the first week right, so the child stays.
Children at a foundation session
A session with children of pre-school age.
A school function
An anganwadi and school gathering.

How you can help

Three ways that actually move this programme forward.

01

Sponsor a pre-school group

Materials and a teacher's stipend for a group of twenty children for a year.

02

Give play material

Picture cards, blocks, crayons, story books — the cheapest thing on our list.

03

Read aloud once a week

Half an hour of stories is the whole programme in one act.

Write to [email protected] or sign up as a volunteer. We answer within three working days.