Building Learning Foundations

Through our Building Learning Foundations (BLF) programme, we worked with the Rwandan Ministry of Education, Rwanda Basic Education Board and National Inspection Authority to strengthen Rwanda’s education system.

The five-year programme focused on improving learning outcomes in English and mathematics in all 3,000 public and government-aided primary schools in the country. Our approach connected three foundations:

• teacher development - building the capacity of teachers of English and mathematics
• leadership for learning - promoting a peer-led coaching programme and professional development courses for school leaders
• system strengthening - fortifying the broader education system infrastructure to improve the management and oversight of education reform.

Impact

Over the course of the BLF programme, which impacted 5 million learners in its lifetime, teaching proficiency and leadership skills substantially improved:

• 90% of maths teachers are now at benchmark proficiency levels (an increase from 27% in 2018).
• 69% of English teachers are at benchmark proficiency (an increase from 22% in 2018).
• After completing the CPD course in leading learning, 90% of headteachers are benchmarked as competent leaders
• More than 90% of headteachers attend monthly professional learning community meetings.

As a result, 59% of Primary 3 pupils were achieving grade-level proficiency in English by endline in 2023 (up from just 17% at baseline) and 46% were achieving this proficiency in mathematics (up from 22% at baseline).

Find out more about the Building Learning Foundations programme.