INSPIRED

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Overview

In 2024, we commenced INSPIRED, a three-year UK-funded programme that aiming to improve foundational learning skills for 200,000 children in Kenya, including 100,000 of the most marginalised and vulnerable children in the country’s arid and semi-arid lands, specifically in the northern counties of Wajir and Mandera. 

We provide technical assistance for national education reforms in Kenya, supporting the country’s Ministry of Education to develop and finalise the national education policy with a focus on equity in foundational learning. We are also working to strengthen early childhood education (ECE) services in Wajir and Mandera, with a focus on marginalised girls, children with disabilities, and ongoing ECE policy reforms. We are conducting an impact evaluation to generate evidence on how to deliver and sustain high-quality ECE outcomes in low-resource contexts. 

Edt is delivering INSPIRED alongside partners Aga Khan Foundation (AKF), Sight Savers, Wajir Peace & Development Agency (WPDA), and Voice of Peace for All (VOPA).

The programme has three main components, seeking to achieve quality and equitable, inclusive and sustainable impact: 

support Presidential Working Party on Education Reform (PWPER) foundational learning reforms, building a strong policy environment for effective delivery using locally driven embedded technical assistance. 
deliver strong, evidence-based ECE models in Wajir and Mandera for existing government-funded ECE centres, strengthening ECE management and teacher capabilities, as well as building community support for ECE. 
generate robust evidence on effective strategies for delivering ECE to influence policy and practice, using this evidence to support adaptive programming and engage in policy dialogue.

Equity considerations cut across all interventions on the programme, and we draw on our own expertise, and that of our partners, to ensure support for marginalised groups, girls and children with disabilities. 

The INSPIRED programme supports the wider UK-led G7 objective of speeding up global progress in enrolling millions more disadvantaged children, especially girls, in schools and other learning environments. As we deliver technical assistance through the INSPIRED programme, we are capturing key learnings along the way and incorporating them into our evidence base – supporting global efforts to strengthen education systems and transform lives in the future.

Key points

Improving foundational learning skills for 200,000 children in Kenya
Targeting 100,000 of the most marginalised and vulnerable children in Wajir and Mandera
Providing technical assistance for national education reforms, supporting with policy development, and strengthening early childhood education services

Our impact in 2025

In 2025, working with the Ministry of Education, local governments, the Aga Khan Foundation, and other consortium partners to improve foundational learning and early childhood education, our training has reached over 1,300 preschool teachers and 600 headteachers or early childhood centre managers, providing critical insights on child-centred pedagogy and inclusive practices. Early classroom observation findings point to improvements in both of these areas.

We also trained over 300 Kenyan government officials in coaching, classroom observation, and monitoring to better facilitate high-quality professional development and accountability in early childhood centres. As well as this, we are driving impact on a national scale by collaborating with the Kenyan government on its early childhood education policy reforms. This includes supporting legislation at a national level to strengthen teacher training, develop the curriculum, and improve assessment and governance.

“After attending the INSPIRED Pre-Primary Teacher Training, I completely transformed my teaching approach from traditional rote methods to a vibrant, play-based, learner-centred classroom. I saw my learners become more confident, expressive, and engaged. Parental involvement also increased through take-home play tasks. This experience reignited my passion for teaching and positioned me as a peer mentor in my subcounty. I now believe every child deserves a joyful and inclusive early learning settings and I am proud to be part of this transformative change.”