Good Start Project

Project addresses the issues of poor access to education by preschool children and limited access to teaching tools, especially in remote areas of Cambodia. Investment in high quality early years education will lead to higher intellectual development and improved social skills resulting in increased capacity to be better in future.

The “Good Start” project is designed in accordance with the real needs of children and families. With Cambodia in the midst of a youth boom, children are the country’s best asset, with huge potential as human resources for social and economic development. Unfortunately, vast numbers of marginalized children in Cambodia are still neglected and have limited access to good standards of education. This poor access is most severe in remote, disadvantaged communities, where distance and terrible road conditions.

The Good Start project improves education access and quality, with a particular focus on early childhood education. The Good Start project extends best-practices in early childhood education to impoverished communities that have no access. These practices include: providing health interventions that remove barriers to learning; building capacity of teachers to implement best practice education methods including the introduction of software applications that enhance learning; delivery of preschool education programs such as teaching reading skills. In doing so, it is providing children with a “good start” to their education, which will improve their chances at successful primary education, and reduce the risk of dropout (particularly for girls).

COCD’s expertise in early childhood education interventions in Cambodia assists local teachers to motivate young children to learn and gain cognitive thinking skills, linguistic skills, artistic skills, physical and psychosocial skills as their emotional and social needs.  

 The rates of preschool children who are attending school in Cambodia are currently very low. According to the Cambodian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport data, only 20.33% of 3-year-old children, only 37.37% 4-year-old children and only 66.55% 5-year-old children attended all aspects of Early Childhood Education programs in 2015-2016. The preschool attending rate in rural areas is lower compare with the national rate, in Kampot province ( one out of twenty five provinces of Cambodia), the rate of attending preschool only 14.23% of 3-year-old children, only 20.39% 4-year-old children and only 56.20% 5-year-old children attended in 2015-2016.

COCD implements Good Start in partnership with the Cambodian government including Ministry of Education Youth and Sport (MOEYS) and Commune Council for Women and Children (CCWC).

 It is well recognized by education experts that high quality early years education forms strong foundations for strong and capable students. The Good Start project focusses on three essential elements: capable teachers who have access to high quality teaching resources; high quality health and nutrition services; best practice preschool education programs. These elements lead to improved access to primary and secondary education for children. Better educational outcomes create more skilled and capable workers.

Community preschools will be established in geographical areas where student enrolment rates are low and the student dropout rate is high. These areas will also have limited services in relation to nutrition, child care, prevention, and health services. During this 12-month timeframe, the project plans to set up 44 new preschools and support 26 existing preschools and aims to enroll at least 1800 vulnerable children from 3 to 5 years of age. 20 teachers will be supported to educate the students using educational software. The project will be implemented with cooperation from local communities and the provincial department of education.

Enrollment list - 1800 young children aged from 3 to 5 years old are enrolled in preschool.

Number of community preschool operate in the target areas.

- 90% of 70 community preschools of ECE service achieved agreed quality standard.

Number of community preschools have budget allocated by CCWC.

- 85% of target preschools that are taken over by communities and government within 5 years.

Good Start Project is to support mental development for human who the most vulnerable in target areas, particularly in report areas of Cambodia. The project is dealing with cross-cutting issues including limited access community preschools, quality of preschool education, nutrition food for helping to build physical and mental development.  Good Start's approach is the community-led development model, in order to implement project toward sustainable manner, Good Start implement activities strongly collaboration with relevant stakeholders, especially local authorities and strengthen them to be ready to take over when project end. 

Good Start Project aiming at narrow the gap between urban and remote areas of Cambodia by introducing technology to children from poor families. Useful information and teaching and learning materials are uploaded on the internet that is very challenge for the poor people and remote areas because they cannot access important information. Dealing with the issues the project will provide a supportive learning environment for young children. We modernize the technology with existing curriculum developed by MOEYS. The initiative will provide increased creative learning and teaching methodologies and assist teachers in teaching their preschool children with creative participation of children. 

Upon selection of target communities and formal partnerships being developed with CCWC, all families living in poverty in the local target area will be invited to send their children aged 3 – 5 to the preschools. The CCWC will contribute to the running costs of the preschool and families will not be asked to contribute. The project will provide 10 tablets to 10 existing preschools. Teachers who received table will be trained to use an application namely Rean Khmer developed by World Education. Rean Khmer application download by connecting to the internet and teachers can teaching students reading offline. 

COCD committed with local authorities for providing preschool for five years and we have in place an exit strategy with each preschool. The Good Start Project “Early childhood care and development (ECCD)” is the foundation for providing the next generation of healthy, skilled and knowledgeable citizens able to contribute to the socio-economic development. By extending ECCD to rural and marginalised communities, as determined by Cambodian Government’s Education Strategic Plan 2014-2018 and the National Action Plan on Early Childhood Care and Development 2014-2018, the proposed project will provide young children with care and development services, in line with the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia. The project designed is partnership with CCWC. Local government is committed to contributing resources, financial and human to run preschools in the communities. In addition, the communities are required to express their commitment to running their community preschools when the project ends.

Good Start Project works collaboration with local government of Cambodia to run its preschools in target areas of Cambodia. Change in government policy for local government a part of affect to the project. To cope with the issue, the project continue working with parents by encourage them to support the preschools. 

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Recognized and well-known for our strong commitment to child safe guarding, accountability, innovation and collaboration, professionally, our integrated work takes us into the heart of communities, where we help children and families assist themselves.

We implement the project activities by collaboration with all stakeholders including Ministry of Education Youth and Sport, provincial department of education, district of education office and commune council for women and children. Local government plays very important roles in monitoring and contribution financial and on-going running preschools when project ended. 

Aide et Action, 40k, Cambodian Children Trust