Description of the main objectives of the Component and the Main role of the Ministry’s Units responsible for implementing this component and sub-component.

Component 2 aims at supporting the development, update, and implementation of ECE quality standards, including those related to ECE materials, facilities, training, staffing, and development of learners’ assessment tools.

The country must have a National Quality Standards (NQS) to benchmark the delivery of quality ECE services. ECE is gaining ground both in the public and private sectors.
Detailed Description of the expected Results of this sub-component
The objective is to support updating and further developing the ECE NQS, including the rollout of standards in targeted areas, and identifying a ‘minimum package’ of ECE learning and teaching materials, and playground equipment.
ECE NQS will be articulated to include structural, processes and learner outcome areas:

• Infrastructure and physical environment; – i.e specify the classroom size in line with set standards in NQS – age-appropriate toilets, play park, enabling environment.
• Curriculum, teaching practices, and student assessment;
• The promotion of child-centered instruction and playful teaching;
• and learning materials that support early stimulation, and physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional growth. provide input to the ECE curriculum,
• Propose guidelines as regards teaching practice for ECE, assess student teachers by the examinations set standard
• Classroom materials and equipment; – procurement of teaching aids-prescribe the teaching and learning materials for ECE, prescribe appropriate indoor and outdoor equipment to be used by the ECE learners

Sub-Comp 2.2.- Promoting the development of strategies and instruments for assessing learners’ progress

Description and Expected Results

This subcomponent will develop, validate, and adapt strategies and instruments to adequately assess and monitor student learning to provide ongoing feedback used by ECE teachers and caregivers to improve their teaching. This subcomponent will build capacity and the systematic use of ECE-specific formative assessment tools, including the launch of formative assessment protocols and instruments in project-targeted areas.

ECE teachers and caregivers will be trained on the use of user-friendly formative assessment instruments to be developed under this subcomponent. ECE teachers and caregivers will have the instruments, skills, and competence to perform continuous assessments of children’s development and learning, which they can use to make individualized instructional decisions by drawing on teaching-at-the-right-level methodologies. They will also be able to share these assessments with other ECE teachers, caregivers, and parents, providing information that they can employ to monitor the developmental progress of students. The use of these instruments will help build a picture of the progress of each child as well as of the children as a group over time, with reference to developmental and learning objectives defined in the ECE curriculum for different age groups.