Impact at Scale Labs - Foundational Literacy And Numeracy (FLN)
Impact at Scale Labs - Foundational Literacy and Numeracy seeks to transform education systems by working with promising innovators. The Labs aims to do this by carefully selecting locally-led organisations and supporting them with:
- Intensive coaching: We work with organisations to build and implement their evidence-based scale strategy.
- Funding: We offer up to $200,000 towards making the organisation’s scaling action plan a reality; with a mutually agreed percentage allocated to strengthen MEL outcomes.
- Extended duration with no “cliff-edge”: Our intensive support lasts up to 18 months after which organisations continue to engage and learn as part of the GSF community.
- A focus on evidence: We measure and share evidence about each solution’s impact and the scaling process.
- Relationships for scale: We support organisations to embed solutions in the broader system.
Who will the Lab support?
The Labs will focus on selecting approaches to improve teaching and pedagogical approaches, including structured pedagogy and teaching at the right level, and other proven pedagogical approaches. The focus will be, in order of priority, on in-school interventions focused on primary grades 1-3; higher grades of primary; and remedial programmes.
Impact is integral to how we think about scale at GSF. We recognise that selecting the right organisations at the right stage is important. Therefore, we support medium-sized or large education organisations that have solutions at either the launch phase or at the growth stage. Please see examples of solutions and stages of previous Lab participants here.
Announcing the seven finalist organisations and their innovations
Angaza Elimu and Axium Education
Name of Organisation: Angaza Elimu
Innovation: Kalamu
Innovation Description: Kalamu uses GenAI to advance practical structured teacher support to Teach at the Right Level framework for enhanced foundational literacy and numeracy outcomes in Kenyan public primary schools.
Name of Organisation: Axium Education
Innovation: Nobalisa Literacy Programme
Innovation Description: The programme trains and supports young people, employed through the government's Social Employment Fund, to deliver twice weekly one-hour isiXhosa language lessons a week to 4500 learners in Grades R-3, using a Teaching at the Right Level approach.
Centre for Learning Resources and Duara Education
Name of Organisation: Centre for Learning Resources (CLR) (in partnership with Leadership for Equity LFE)
Innovation: Improving Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Outcomes at Scale
Innovation Description: CLR, in partnership with LFE, aims to improve the foundational learning outcomes by a three-pronged approach by building the capacity of teachers on FLN subject and pedagogical knowledge; strengthening academic leadership for in-class observation and mentoring; and supporting district administrators with learning governance & data-based decision-making.
Name of Organisation: Duara Education
Innovation: Duara’s teacher-owned, community-based microschools
Innovation Description: Duara Education transforms female teachers into entrepreneurs of their own community-based microschool, leveraging the power of innovations and decentral networks. The microschools are montessori-inspired, project-driven and integrated into the community, enabling impactful Teaching at the Right Level to achieve FLN outcomes.
Inspiring Teachers Ghana and Peepul
Name of Organisation: Inspiring Teachers Ghana
Innovation: Tools for Foundational Learning Improvement (TFLI)
Innovation Description: This curriculum-aligned, structured pedagogy programme helps teachers use systematic phonics teaching and in-classroom assessment-informed targeted instruction.
Name of Organisation: Peepul
Innovation: CM RISE Schools in Madhya Pradesh, India
Innovation Description: Peepul implements a ‘high-engagement classroom pedagogy’ at scale to enhance learning outcomes in Madhya Pradesh state government’s flagship CM RISE Schools. They do this through need-specific teacher training, rigorous academic mentoring, and strengthening governance and institutions to enable systemic mindset shifts.
Room to Read
Name of Organisation: Room to Read
Innovation: Improving Early Literacy Outcomes in Non-Formal Schools in Tanzania
Innovation Description: This holistic programme improves learning outcomes by frequent in-service teacher training (and pre-service support) in early grade literacy; and engaging dedicated literacy facilitators who provide coaching and mentoring support to an appropriate number of schools.
Feedback from previous Lab participants
Sabre Education
"The Impact at Scale Labs has been a fantastic opportunity for Sabre, and an excellent learning experience for us as we enter the private school market. The ongoing coaching and mentoring, interspersed with the step-bystep workshops, has been incredibly valuable. Thank you very much for your support and expertise."
Dignitas
“Engaging through the Labs with other participants and with the GSF team has helped us to refine our strategic vision. This happened to be very timely for Dignitas, as we’re also in the process of launching our new strategy for 2023-2028. This means we have been able to align the strategic vision for our innovation, our strategic vision for scale, and our strategic vision for impact in powerful ways."
Gyan Shala
"In the last year, GSF has helped Gyan Shala to constantly step back and evaluate the APS program based on new MEL data and learnings. This has helped Gyan Shala develop a more effective business model, a more accurate financial model, and has helped the organisation take strategically more sound decisions for its APS program."
Learn about the shortlisted organisations and their innovations below
EducAid Sierra Leone and eKitabu
Name of Organisation: EducAid Sierra Leone
Innovation: EducAid’s Top Ten Strategies for Remediation
Innovation Description: EducAid’s intervention focuses on training school teachers and leaders on its “Top Ten Strategies for Remediation” to adopt positive behaviour management approaches, respectful relationships and radically advancing teaching practices to improve learning outcomes.
Name of Organisation: eKitabu
Innovation: Digital Story Time, an eKitabu innovation
Innovation Description: The innovation transforms classrooms into sign-language-rich learning environments. The solution’s components tackle persistent problems affecting deaf children’s language & literacy development.
Instill Education and Link Community Development
Name of Organisation: Instill Education
Innovation: Micro-credentialing: expanding access to teaching qualifications across Ghana
Innovation Description: The solution speaks to the heart of the African education crisis; we need more, better-trained teachers. The micro-credentialing model delivers locally accredited teaching degrees in a scalable, affordable, and practical manner. Their blended delivery model removes the barriers of finance and access and can develop teaching talent across Ghana.
Name of Organisation: Link Community Development Malawi
Innovation: Inclusive Complementary Basic Education
Innovation Description: The solution provides training packs and continuous professional development materials that support the use of Inclusive Education techniques at all stages of teaching, from lesson planning to delivery to assessment.
Link Community Development Malawi and Right to Play Ghana
Name of Organisation: Link Community Development Malawi
Innovation: Inclusive Complementary Basic Education
Innovation Description: The solution provides training packs and continuous professional development materials that support the use of Inclusive Education techniques at all stages of teaching, from lesson planning to delivery to assessment.
Name of Organisation: Right To Play Ghana
Innovation: Innovative Teaching for Improved Foundational Learning in Ghana
Innovation Description: Enhancing the quality of the cascading of the Teacher Professional Development for teachers in public and private schools with a focus on Basic 1-3 through a blended (online and in-person) training.
Get in touch with us if you are interested in engaging as an expert/advisor or for general inquiries
Find out more about Global Schools Forum's Impact at Scale Labs programme below
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Schools2030, HundrED, and Global Schools Forum have come together on the Scale Project, aiming to create clarity and enable key stakeholders, in particular practitioners, to understand and navigate the various pathways to scaling impactful education solutions within and beyond their context.
Learn about our first Impact at Scale Lab focusing on Innovations For Learning Recovery. Discover how the Lab supported Dignitas, Sabre Education and Gyan Shala to scale their innovations
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