Gambia School Support (GSS) currently assists 12 community nursery schools (3-7 years) with 1,700 pupils, 47 qualified teachers and 16 trainees.
GSS does not own the schools, our approach is to help them become self-reliant centres of excellence.
To receive GSS assistance, the schools must adhere to best practices:
- class size max 35 pupils, each taught by a qualified teacher
- safeguarding policies properly implemented
- all teachers must attend the GSS’s bespoke training and development program
- work with our ‘on the job’ coaching and inspection/monitoring team
- demonstrate good accounting, administration and governance
In return GSS pays for and ensures:
- well maintained and equipped buildings, toilets and classrooms
- full supplies of teaching materials, educational toys and playground equipment
- contributes 80% of the cost of the staff’s remuneration
The GSS project is implemented by the ‘Good Schools Project Charity’ an organisation registered under the Gambian Companies Act 2013. It has 8 executive members who are a tried and tested team with expertise in education, construction, finance and administration.
It is well led and has demonstrated that it is an effective service provider, capable of delivering GSS’s projects to a high standard.
Why support GSS? Here are six good reasons:
1. GSS’s schools provide an exceptionally good early years education. The Gambia is one of the World’s poorest countries (174 of 193 UN Human Development Index). ECD (Early Child Development) enrolment is only 55%, there is an acute shortage of good pre-primary places and pupil attainment is poor. This means the children start behind “Starting behind in the early years means staying behind” UNICEF
2. We are training teachers to become excellent. GSS operates one of the most advanced teacher training programs in the country through regular 2-dqy workshops and ‘on the job’ follow up coaching from a team of 3 trained coach/inspectors who visit the schools. We also pay for the most promising trainees to qualify at Gambia College. This program is run by our project leader who is one of the foremost ECD educators in The Gambia.
3. We measure the outcomes. The Head Teachers (12) and Qualified Teachers (34) are appraised at the end of each term. The teaching is shown to be improving steadily term by term.
Importantly, we are now assessing the development of each child over their career at pre-primary through the adoption of the UNICEF ECDI2030 (Early Child Development Index). After a successful pilot last term (Term3 2023-24), this will be rolled out to all schools.
4. A strong track record. GSS’s impact has grown rapidly, increasing the schools we assist from 3 to 12 since 2021. Ten were at risk of failing and the other GSS founded (Jun 21 in JV with the Ministry of Basic & Secondary Education ‘MoBSE’). These schools are now restored, turned around and thriving. We think that this is a good achievement given that many of these schools had experienced years of neglect, mismanagement with unhappy poorly paid teachers. The teachers now feel they are valued and being invested in – their morale has soared along with their teaching skills.
5. Successful partnering. GSS recognises the importance of building partnerships with charities with similar or complimentary aims. We also work particularly closely with the Ministry of Basic & Secondary Education (MoBSE).
6. GSS is well run. GSS has no overheads, every penny is spent in The Gambia. GSS is lean, efficient and ambitious. The cost of GSS’s assistance per child per year is £50.
We have built a platform from which we intend to scale the project and make a significant contribution to ECD provision in The Gambia.