Reach & Match Inclusive Education

Reach & Match is a multi-award winning holistic learning program that has been designed through focused research and user testing to support early childhood learning outcomes and the inclusion of children with disabilities in mainstream Early Childhood Education (ECE) services, preschools and early primary schools. Reach & Match leaves no child behind and ensures that the most vulnerable children are provided with inclusive quality pre-primary education that will prepare them for school and a successful education journey, giving then a fair chance to reach their full potential.

Reach & Match is currently supporting young children with and without disabilities aged 2-9 years old.

The Reach & Match program is an innovative, inclusive play-based learning program for children of all abilities. It enables children with disabilities to play and learn alongside their peers and to build the foundational physical, cognitive, language and social-emotional skills that support a child’s wellbeing and learning journey. The program consists of four key components:

1.     The Reach & Match Learning Kit, which consists of large double-sided sensory play mats, braille and print alphabet double-sided sensory tiles containing four sounds, a cushion and portable bag. The play mats can create 2D and 3D configurations that provide distinct ways for individual and group learning through play.

2.     Over thirty play-based individual and group learning activities that focus on seven core foundational learning outcomes: Braille and print literacy, cognitive skills, sensory integration, sense of satisfaction, language enrichment, body movement and social interaction. The education activities are adaptable and easily integrated to support national curricula learning outcomes.

3.     Training of educators through a comprehensive teacher professional development (TPD) activity manual focused on developing the capacity of educators to create an inclusive learning environment and promotes play-based teaching and learning for children of all abilities.

4.     M&E tools using globally recognised standards in inclusive education and pre-primary learning outcomes.

Problem Statement 

The Reach & Match program addresses critical gaps in the provision of inclusive quality early childhood education (ECE). The importance of early childhood development is reflected in the Sustainable Development Goal for education (SDG 4), specifically objective 4.2 that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education. The link between quality early childhood education (ECE) and school readiness is significant. UNICEF (2019) reveal that children who have enrolled in at least one year of pre-primary education are twice as likely to be on track in early literacy and numeracy skills, more likely to develop the critical skills they need to succeed in school and less likely to repeat grades or drop out.[1]

 Yet, around half the world’s pre-primary aged children (more than 175 million children) are not enrolled in pre-primary education, with the highest rates of non-enrolment being in low-income regions, such as South Asia (23%) and Africa (32%), and in countries affected by emergences, where it is estimated that only one in three children are enrolled in pre-primary education. For children with disabilities, where a lack of reliable, up-to-date data on their access to quality education persists, the situation is likely to be even more severe. It is estimated that 80% of the 100 million children aged five and under with a disability live in developing countries, where basic service provision is inadequate and where children with disabilities are often not integrated into mainstream education services. In emergency contexts, children with disabilities are commonly forgotten and invisible to society.

 Implementation Approach and M&E

Reach & Match is underpinned by a gender and disability sensitive programming approach. It includes all children and excludes none. Teachers are trained utilising a Training of Trainers (ToT) cascade model that supports the implementation of Reach & Match at scale and within emergency and geographically remote contexts. Teachers are trained in inclusive education pedagogy and are equipped with the skills and competency to adjust activities based on the learning needs of all children. The program takes a holistic approach to education, involving parents and community in supporting their children’s learning.

Reach & Match has established a strong M&E platform that can be adapted to accommodate specific requirements of the host organisation or funding agency. M&E forms include a) Head-teacher key informant interview; b) Teacher self-assessment, c) Lesson observation; and d) Parent/caregiver Focus Group Discussion (FGD) that can be adapted to the local context and the specific information and data needs of the program.

Please check out this short video which demonstrates our education in the emergency project for children in the Philippines for the Marawi response:

OpenIDEO EiE Challenge Winner - Reach & Match provides children with educational and therapeutic support in Marawi Response

[1] UNICEF, A World Ready to Learn: Prioritizing quality early Childhood education, April 2019.

Reach & Match was developed by founder Mandy Lau through her Master’s research in 2010 for children with differing abilities to develop literacy and social skills through play-based learning. The research was developed with a range of educators and specialises in utilising a human-centric methodology and co-design approach.

The Reach & Match program is being implemented in a variety of educational settings and contexts in both developed and developing countries, such as the Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD), Inclusive Education (IE) and Education in Emergency (EiE) sectors.

Since 2016, Reach & Match expanded its reach to support developing countries and countries affected by conflict throughout Asia and the Pacific. Reach & Match was contextualised and applied to meet the education and complex psychosocial needs of children in emergency settings.

In the Philippines, Reach & Match utilised its Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) innovativeXchange award to partner with Save the Children and Plan International to support the delivery of the Inclusive Conflict-Sensitive Protection and Education for Children in Mindanao (iCOPE) program in response to the Marawi siege, which killed more than 1,000 people and displaced 350,000 people, including 100,000 children. We have reached 2,430 children (52% female; 48% male) caught up in the 2017 Marawi siege. 

Baseline and end line evaluations found improvements in children’s participation, learning outcomes, attendance rates and emotional wellbeing, with parents and teachers reporting that the integration of Reach & Match activities provided the children with a sense of normalcy and helped them to process what they had experienced during the siege. Teacher pedagogy was improved by enhancing the capacity of teachers to differentiate lessons and use creative and innovative pedagogy in the curriculum to meet the needs of all learners. In 2019, the Australian Government DFAT has endorsed the Reach & Match Program for its educational and therapeutic support for children in emergencies.

Within the Pacific, Reach & Match has been implemented in partnership with Save the Children in the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea (PNG), with findings in three provinces of PNG showing promising results, with dramatic learning improvements observed in children with disabilities as a result of their improved engagement. In 2022, Reach & Match partnered with UNICEF PNG to apply it as an inclusion intervention to support young children under the COVID-19 Education in Emergency Response and Recovery Plan.

The Goal of the Reach & Match program is that young children irrespective of ability develop physical, cognitive, language and social-emotional skills for a successful transition to primary school.

The Long-term outcome is to support young children irrespective of ability to achieve learning outcomes, including the physical, cognitive and language and social-emotional skills through learning Reach & Match play-based program.

This is supported by three intermediate outcomes: IO 1) Teachers are equipped with skills and competency to use Reach & Match learning kits effectively; IO 2) ECE centres promote Reach & Match as an effective inclusive teaching and learning program; and IO 3) Caregivers participate actively in the Reach & Match program. 

The Short-term outcomes (STO) are:

STO1: Teachers receive training on the Reach & Match learning program

STO2: Teachers receive follow up coaching to support classroom Reach & Match activities

STO3: School calendar accommodates Reach & Match lessons

STO4: Consultations with school leaders and management on Reach & Match program structure is held

STO5: Workshops are held for teachers to socialise the Reach & Match program

STO6: Workshops are held for caregivers to socialise the Reach & Match program

Activities to achieve the STOs are:

A1. Roles and responsibilities are agreed upon based on the capacity of the host organisation and Reach & Match presence in country

A2. Staff are recruited to fill the required roles of the program

A3. The teacher training program and activity booklet are adapted to the local context and national curriculum

A4. Follow up coaching guidance and M&E tools are developed for Reach & Match supervisor

A5. Reach & Match information pack for teachers and caregivers is developed which provides an overview of Reach & Match program

A6. A schedule for caregiver participation in Reach & Match activities is socialised

A7. A R&M schedule is developed and visually promoted in the ECE centre/preschool

A8. Regular monitoring is undertaken using the M&E monitoring tools

The Reach & Match program has matured in its design and application since the first prototype was developed in 2010. Its adaptation in different countries and school/community environments has seen the emergence of a theory of change that guides the design of new Reach & Match programs.

This theory has been informed by experience and evidence captured in project reviews and evaluations since its beginning. It is now possible to identify the critical success factors that enable Reach & Match to drive positive change for children with disabilities in the early years. Central to Reach & Match’s goal being reached are the strategies to engage parents, the commitment of the school community and the capacity of teachers to use Reach & Match effectively.

The Reach & Match program has developed monitoring and evaluation (M&E) tools using globally recognised standards in inclusive education and pre-primary learning outcomes. The M&E tools support the integration of the Reach & Match program in inclusive early years education programs. The two primary M&E tools include a lesson observation instrument that collects data on the use of Reach & Match in the classroom and a teacher survey on the strategies used by the teacher to integrate Reach & Match learning games and their observations on the changes they have observed in children’s learning and development as a result of Reach & Match. Supplementary tools including a Key Informant Interview (KII) guide for the Principal or Head Teacher and a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) guide for caregivers and parents is also available to complement data collected in the classroom.

Based on Nesta’s Standards of Evidence, we are at Level 4 evidence integration. Our intervention has been purchased and applied in multiple countries for different contexts across different settings, e.g., developed countries/development and emergency settings in the world.

Reach & Match established a strong M&E platform that can be adapted to accommodate specific requirements of the host organisation or funding agency. In our Logical Framework, we designed indicators and means of verification for the Long Term outcomes, Intermediate Outcomes and Short Term Outcomes.

A baseline assessment is strongly encouraged to ensure sufficient understanding of the local Early Childhood Development centre or preschool context and children’s development is known. This informs the program direction but also the focus on monitoring during the implementation period. Records of trainings, workshops and consultations are kept and include data on attendance, minutes and follow up actions. Either on a quarterly or six-monthly basis monitoring using the forms attached is conducted by field staff from the host organisation who are responsible for overseeing the program and supporting the teachers in the classroom.

The monitoring forms include:

a) Head-teacher key informant interview

b) Teacher self-assessment

c) Lesson observation

d) Parent/caregiver Focus Group Discussion (FGD).

Inclusive Play-based Program accelerates school readiness and promotes social welling for young children with all abilities in emergencies

We would like to have fellows who have related experience to support us:

To develop a roadmap for strategic global partnership and identify the gaps and needs required to scale the business in the next 3 and 5 years. With the interest received from different countries, we need to adapt our product and program into different languages and contexts, we hope to receive advice for the process and development required to grow the business. Also, it may include identifying opportunities for product and service expansion.

To examine and improve our current establish Monitoring & Evaluation tools  in order to enhance our impact evaluation and even develop new self service tools so those that adapt R&M can do their own assessments and monitoring. If possible, to advise how the globally recognised child assessment, e.g., IDELA can measure the effectiveness of our program. Also, to examine methods to evaluate the value versus the actual cost of the product across its lifespan.

To  understand our competitive market and provide different business models that could be applied to R&M. Also, to improve the efficiency of partnership development by developing a system or tool to facilitate the partnership development journey, e.g., information sharing and identifying the needs of each party.  

We understand the time limitation of the program and are available to select the most important questions to tackle for this program.