On 15th to 16th August 2023, Sabre Education, VVOB, Right To Play, and AfriKids met with Ministry of Education officials in a two-day workshop in Accra to launch an innovative new 18-month project called ‘Strengthening Play-Based Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Ghana through Leadership Communities of Practice’.
The project aims to set up ECE Leadership Communities of Practice (LCPs), which bring together the Ghana Education Service, education NGOs, and community leaders to share ECE knowledge and insights, show leadership in support of play-based learning, and promote collaboration and professional development in the sector.
Quality ECE is critical for achieving Ghana’s Education Strategic Plan 2018-2030. With this vision, Ghana’s ECE policy was developed to advance the physical, cognitive, psychosocial, and emotional growth of all 4 and 5-year-old children. However, several challenges remain, such as inadequate teacher professional development, leading to poor understanding of the play-based curriculum. Engaging leadership is therefore critical to the success of quality ECE.
August’s Inception workshop marked the beginning of the project and set the basis for the LCP’s activities and objectives. This will be followed by the training of LCP facilitators, before the collection of beneficiary stories, and the dissemination of learnings to partners and government.
In essence, the community, including parents and local stakeholders, is a vital support network that can enhance the educational experience for young learners. When educators, families, and community members collaborate, they create a powerful foundation for learners to thrive academically. Thanks to all four partner organisations for their continuous support and ideas for helping Early Childhood Education in Ghana.
Ms. Vida Barbara Ntow, National Director of Early Childhood Education
The inception workshop for the leadership communities of practice project was a wonderful learning opportunity. It allowed our partner organisations to come up with some fantastic ideas that will drive this project towards achieving our ultimate objective of enhancing play-based ECE in the selected districts and beyond.
Lucy Ama Berma, Programme Manager, Sabre Education