“Before the session, if anyone looked at me I would look down and would not share things with anyone. Now if someone talks to me I can talk to them and look at them” – Tayyab, Big Partner
About
Partners in Learning (Seekho Sikhao Saathi) started as a response to pandemic-induced school closures, aimed at bridging learning gaps for children at risk of dropout and lacking access to digital education. Drawing upon a Child-to-Child model, through this we equip older children (Big Partners or Baray Saathi) to deliver playful early lessons for younger children (Little Partners or Chotay Saathi) at the preschool level, within their communities. This is a powerful, replicable programme that builds crucial foundational and school readiness skills for younger children, while also building important socioemotional skills including confidence, communication and empathy for the older children.
Learning and Impact
Our response to school closures following the COVID-19 crisis was to take learning to the communities. In partnership with the Pehli Kiran School System (PKS), from July to September 2020 we piloted the Seekho Sikhao Saathi (Partners in Learning) programme in the urban slums of Islamabad, Pakistan. Since then we have completed 6 iterations of the programme reaching over 3,300 children in diverse contexts, from open-air and community-based schools (with PKSS and Junior Jinnah Trust); to a girls school in the rural Shangla valley (with Zindagi Trust); to a School of Sanctuary supporting refugee children in London.
Seekho Sikhao Saathi is based on an evidence-based Child to Child school readiness model, training older children (Big Partners) to engage younger children (Little Partners) in early learning activities in small groups, within their communities. In line with our ethos, we have added a layer of play and socioemotional learning to the core materials, including games, sensory-motor and crafts-based activities and now, with the help of technical partner Science Fuse, experiential science sessions.
The project was supported at different stages by a seed grant from SAP-Ashoka ChangemakerXchange exchange, Montessori Centre International. Scaleup is now being supported by the Malala Fund Girl Programme.
