Save the Children has been named a top 10 finalist for the Klaus J. Jacobs Best Practice Prizes 2022, a set of three awards each worth CHF 200,000 that honor outstanding achievement and practice in advancing quality education. Headquartered in London, UK, and formed in 1919, Save the Children is one of the world’s leading humanitarian aid organizations for children.
Catch-up Clubs
Save the Children’s Catch-up Clubs (CuC) are the organization’s solution to overcome the impact of the pandemic on children’s education around the world. COVID-19 disrupted learning for 1.6 billion students globally, putting an entire generation of children at risk of never achieving their potential. CuCs provide children with the foundational learning needed to successfully return to school. They support children aged 8-13 in upper primary grades who are furthest behind to achieve basic proficiency in literacy and numeracy. Activities are delivered in intensive cycles to accelerate learning, accompanied by ‘wrap-around support’, such as child protection services and cash vouchers for families to cover education expenses, to address barriers to education and promote regular attendance.
Pilot CuCs have launched in Uganda, Myanmar, and Colombia, and preparations are underway to launch or further scale clubs in Nigeria, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Malawi, and the Philippines during 2022. Early results from CuC pilots show improvement in children’s literacy in just 13 weeks. In Uganda, six times more children achieved the highest reading level than at the start of the program. In Colombia, 100% of children who remained in CuCs reached foundational literacy skills. Additionally, qualitative insights from beneficiaries, including children and their parents, demonstrate positive impact in engagement and progress in learning.
The three recipients of this year’s Best Practice Prizes will be announced at a ceremony in Zurich on 30 September 2022. For the first time, the 10 finalists will convene for a co-creation event, taking place on 1 October 2022. They will exchange knowledge and ideas on advancing learning, and will have the opportunity to partner with other shortlisted applicants to develop proposals for new projects. Two concepts will receive follow-on funding of up to CHF 150,000 each.