Cambridge, the world’s largest provider of international education programmes, is launching its first early years education programme which will help support early childhood schooling in Nigeria in children as young as 3.

The new play-based programme, which has been developed following a successful roll out in India, has been expertly designed to give children aged 3 to 6 the best start in life, helping them meet key early milestones and thrive in and out of school.

Cambridge Early Years will form the first stage in the Cambridge Pathway, a high-quality and joined-up path for educational success for children aged 3 to 19.

Multiple studies confirm that education during early years is crucial. Research from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) International Early Learning and Child Well-being Study shows that, among other benefits, a high-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC), compared to an average one, can double the growth in children’s verbal comprehension.

The decision to expand its education pathway will see Cambridge help schools in Nigeria and around the world strengthen their early years education provision, something it believes will reap dividends for parents and teachers as children progress through their school careers.

Rod Smith, Group Managing Director for International Education at Cambridge commented:

“We all know that the early years of a child’s life are crucial to their development. Research shows that the better we support children at this stage, the more positive impact we can have on their future. Our new Cambridge Early Years programme draws on Cambridge’s unrivalled expertise in high-quality education to help schools in Nigeria give children as many exciting and stimulating learning experiences as possible – making the most of this key phase of brain development and getting children off to a good start in life.”

Play-based learning that supports the transition to primary school

The Cambridge Early Years programme draws on Cambridge’s worldwide research on curriculum principles from high-performing education systems, as well as analysis of best practice in early years education and the characteristics that have most impact.

The research resulted in 12 key principles that underpin the programme. The principles were developed in collaboration with world-class scholars, researchers and practitioners in early years education.

The importance of play-based learning, and the need to move children gradually towards more formal teaching in readiness for primary education, are two of the principles that guided the development of every element of the programme.

The principles ensure that children not only acquire knowledge from a young age but also the essential skills to navigate and adapt to a rapidly changing world.

The Cambridge Early Years programme provides a flexible structure to support each child’s progress and can be adapted to the needs of different schools in Nigeria, providing a bespoke teaching package.

Specially created classroom resources and assessments will help teachers understand each child’s progress while fostering their all-round development far beyond the classroom.

Juan Visser, Regional Director, Sub-Saharan Africa for International Education at Cambridge, added:

“We know that good early years education can benefit a child’s whole academic career and so I’m thrilled that we are adding this new stage to the Cambridge Pathway – it’s what schools have been asking for. Our Cambridge Early Years programme brings together the best approaches from around the world with extensive teacher support. We want to help schools in Nigeria support children’s long-term development and help them be ready for the world.”

Providing coherence to early years education

Cambridge’s research with schools around the world found that early years provision can be fragmented, drawn from a mix of different resources, curricula, assessment and training. This can make it hard to understand how children are progressing or to determine what approaches have the best impact on their development.

By ensuring all the different elements work well together, Cambridge helps schools give their learners a comprehensive and high-quality early years education.

…In the inaugural EdTech programme, fellows have been appointed from 13 countries across Sub-Saharan Africa, namely: Botswana, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe

This September, 25 of Africa’s most influential education technology (EdTech) leaders will head to Cambridge on a new fellowship programme from Cambridge Partnership for Education and HP.

The HP Cambridge Partnership for Education EdTech Fellowship is a seven-month programme that aims to grow participants’ knowledge and skills to lead impactful EdTech transformations in their education systems.

The first cohort of EdTech fellows will work to increase the quality and equity of learning through digital transformation in education systems across Sub-Saharan Africa. Learning with technology has the potential to create societies that are not only more inclusive and prosperous, but also ensure that young people are equipped with the skills they need for their careers. 

Cambridge and HP selected the group from 400 applications. The first cohort of their HP Cambridge Partnership for Education EdTech Fellowship includes government officials working in education and leaders from private and not-for-profit EdTech organisations.

The Cambridge HP fellowship programme will encompass inclusive EdTech for disadvantaged groups, the role of AI, and digital strategy, policy and governance. The fellows will also develop an equitable solution to an education system challenge using user-centred design while developing their leadership skills.

With Africa experiencing rapid population growth, the first fellows’ influence on global education is set to have a significant impact.

The first fellows include senior government officials responsible for national digital education initiatives, with the goal to improve learning for more than 120 million children across Botswana, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia.

The programme, which starts with online study next week, will include a residential course in September 2023, held at Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge in the UK, as well as one-to-one coaching over the course of seven months. 

Fellows joining the programme on scholarship include Dr Frances Alimigbe, Assistant Chief Education Officer at the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria. Dr Frances works with more than two million teachers across 36 states, including on teacher selection, standards and policy. Some of the key challenges she plans to focus on during the fellowship are infrastructure and tools and teachers’ digital skills and capacity in schools, especially in rural areas. “The wealth of contacts and ideas that will be acquired by being a member of the fellowship will form an immense database and viable resource for us to fall back to. With the fellowship, we form a community of practice where best practices are shared across borders and generate quality research ideas for improving EdTech transformation in teaching and learning globally.” said Dr Alimigbe.

Other fellows include Mrs. Catherine Agyapomaa Appiah-Pinkrah, Director of General Administration at the Ministry of Education in Ghana. She said:

“There is the need to put in place reliable and credible fidelity of implementation strategies for quality assurance in all our programmes and policy implementation. I believe the fellowship will expose me to new ideas, exchange of ideas and experiences and best practices from other participants.”

Jane Mann, Managing Director of Cambridge Partnership for Education, said:

“Our first EdTech fellows have huge remits, and huge strengths. They are responsible for turning policy into action. Supported by one another, tutors and coaches, the fellows will build healthier EdTech ecosystems where grassroots innovations are promoted, effectively evaluated and successfully scaled to help combat learning crises today and increase education system resilience for the future.”

Mayank Dhingra, Senior Education Business Leader at HP, said: “The next breakthroughs in EdTech will come from emerging visionary leaders in unique national contexts. This programme will enable cross-border discussions and development to help overcome barriers, from infrastructure to curriculum content.”

Cambridge Partnership for Education developed the inaugural EdTech fellowship programme with HP during the AfricanBrains Summit in Lusaka, Zambia in 2022.

The programme is led by Cambridge Partnership for Education Head of Education Technology Solutions Julia Citron. It is supported by the Digital Education Futures Initiative (DEFI) at Hughes Hall at the University of Cambridge and Dr Bjoern Hassler’s team at EdTech specialist NGO, OpenDevEd.

HP Cambridge Partnership for Education EdTech fellows:

Botswana

• Nicodemus Merafhe, Chief Education Officer, Government of Botswana, Ministry of Education & Skills Development, the Department of ICT and Media Services, Botswana

Eswatini

• Martha Shongwe, Chief Inspector for Secondary Education, Ministry of Education and Training, Eswatini

Ethiopia

• Dr Zelalem Assefa Azene, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), ICT and Digital Education, Ministry of Education, Ethiopia

Ghana

• Catherine Agyapomaa Appiah-Pinkrah, Director, General Administration, Ministry of Education, Ghana
• Akwasi Addae-Boahene, Advisor to former Minister, Transforming Teaching, Education and Learning, T-Tel, Ghana
• Miracule Daniel Gavor, Executive Director of Ghana Society for Education Technology, Ghana
• Gyamfi Adwabour, Executive Director, Centre for National Distance Learning and Open Schooling, Ghana

Kenya

• John Masika, Assistant Director – TVET Digital Transformation, Technical and Vocational Education and Training Authority, Kenya

Malawi

• Dr Joshua Valeta, Director of Open, Distance and e-Learning, Ministry of Education

Nigeria

• Dr Frances Alimigbe, Assistant Chief Education Officer, Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria
• Ayodele Odeogbola, Co-Founder, Hybrid Learning Specialist, TedPrime Support Initiative, Nigeria
• Dr Adetola Salau, Political Aide to the Executive Governor of Lagos State on Education, Nigeria
• Soji Megbowon, Principal Education Officer/Lead Researcher, Lagos State Ministry of Education

Rwanda

• Bella Rwigamba, Chief Digital Officer, Ministry of Education, Rwanda

Sierra Leone

• Victor Abu Sesay, Director of Technology and Innovation, Ministry of Technical and Higher Education, Government of Sierra Leone

South Africa

• Dr Neo Mothobi, Chief Education Specialist, Ministry of Education, South Africa
• Roche Mogorosi, Chief Director – Schools Technology Support Services, Gauteng Department of Education, South Africa
• Shunmugam Padayachee, Deputy Director General: Teachers, Education Human Resource and Institutional Development, Department of Basic Education, Pretoria, Republic of South Africa
• Emmanuel Pillay, CEO, iTMaster (PTY) Ltd, South Africa
• Michael Mavimbela, Senior Education Specialist – eLearning, Mpumalanga Department of Education, South Africa
• Adv. Jana Du Plooy, CEO, Acorn Education NPC / into space NPC, South Africa

Uganda

• Kenneth Bagarukayo, Commissioner Research and Development, Ministry of Information and Communications Technology, Uganda

Zambia

• George Mutale, Assistant Director for ICT, Ministry of Education, Zambia

Zimbabwe

• Addi Mavengere, CEO, Learning Factory, Zimbabwe

Pan-Africa NGO

• Hakeem Subair, Chief Executive Officer, 1 Million Teachers.