System strengthening

We have been working on at-scale education reform for nearly 40 years, both as researchers investigating powerful international case studies of successful school reform, and as practitioners working in partnership with Ministries of Education to deliver school improvement at scale in jurisdictions from Brunei Darussalam to England, Dubai, and Rwanda.

We work in partnership with governments, NGOs, and donors to develop and support effective education reforms which improve teaching and learning across whole education systems. Using evidence-informed benchmarks and tailoring interventions to local contexts, we help to maximise gains in learning outcomes – especially for the most marginalised learners.

Our consultants have expertise in supporting education at all levels of the education system – from designing solutions to bolster foundational skills, such as literacy and numeracy, to interventions to support students’ transitions into further education and work. Our recent consultancy work includes the design of teacher training reforms to improve early grade reading and mathematics skills in Sierra Leone, in partnership with UNICEF, and supporting the provision of careers information, advice, and guidance for young people in Jordan.

In strengthening school systems, we employ our distinctive school System Reform Framework. Drawing on our public research and wider international literature, our framework identifies the six core capabilities of rapidly improving school systems, culminating in improved outcomes for all learners. These are: vision and leadership, coalitions and capacity building for change, delivery architecture, data for accountability and improvement, teacher and school leader effectiveness, and evidence-informed policy.

Our work in system strengthening also includes more than 20 years’ work in fragile and conflict-affected states and supporting education in emergencies. In addition to providing rapid-response support and advice to ministries of education around the world during the Covid-19 pandemic, our experience ranges from large-scale post-conflict education capacity building and reform in Cambodia (1997-2017), Rwanda (2001-2016), and Somalia (late 1990s-2017), to providing immediate technical assistance in Ethiopia, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Nigeria, South Sudan, and Uganda, among others.

Our work in system strengthening in Africa

Our recent work in system strengthening in Africa includes:

Delivering the teacher professional development component of the TEACH (Teacher Effectiveness and Equitable Access for All Children programme) in Zimbabwe, bolstering the foundations of the education system and enhancing teacher effectiveness to improve the quality of education.
Our UK Aid-funded Building Learning Foundations (BLF) programme, which focused on establishing solid foundations at lower primary level in all government and government-aided schools.
Our TARGET programme in Ethiopia, which supported the World Bank’s General Education Quality Improvement Programme for Equity (GEQUIP-E) by training government agencies, reforming school leadership training, improving school planning and activities, and strengthening monitoring and evaluation.
Our Wasichana Wetu Wafaulu programme in Kenya, part of the UK Aid-funded Girls’ Education Challenge (GEC), which encourages and supports vulnerable girls to transition into secondary school and alternative pathways.

System strengthening on our programmes

TEACH: Zimbabwe

The TEACH programme is designed to enhance teachers’ effectiveness and deliver this impact through better learning outcomes across Zimbabwe.

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Building Learning Foundations

Through our Building Learning Foundations (BLF) programme we are working with the Rwandan Ministry of Education, Rwanda Basic Education Board and National Inspection Authority to strengthen the education system.

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TARGET: Ethiopia

The TARGET programme provides training and support to over 9000 school 'leaders of learning'. Through TARGET, we now reach 4.5 million learners. Our projections indicate that we will reach more than 5.5 million beneficiaries by the end of the programme.

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