Gambia School Support (GSS) currently assists 11 nursery schools (3-7 years) with 1,506 pupils, 46 qualified teachers and 17 trainees. 

Today GSS’s intervention is providing c. 3% of the good quality pre-school places and 1.5% of all pre-school places in The Gambia. Through maximising each sites potential and assisting more schools we expect to be assisting close to 2,000 pupils (4% of the good quality places in The Gambia) by the end of 2023.

Through working closely with MoBSE (Ministry of Basic & Secondary Education) we plan to scale the project to make a significant impact on the crucial and much needed early years education provision.

We only assist community operated schools and do so through our implementing partner the ‘Gambian Management Team’. In 2018 GSS helped to set up this organisation which is staffed by tried and tested locals with expertise in education, construction, finance and administration. The team has demonstrated that it is a highly effective service provider, capable of delivering GSS’s projects to a high standard.

Why support GSS? Here are six good reasons:

1. The Gambia is one of the World’s poorest countries (174 of 189 UN Human Development Index).

2. There is a chronic under provision of pre-school places (38%) and most of the schools are poor quality. (UNICEF 2018). This means they start behind.  “Starting behind in the early years means staying behind” – quote from the 2019 OECD paper on Early Learning (see the link below).

3. GSS’s approach is backed by the latest research from UNESCO/UNICEF/IIEP and to receive GSS support the schools must follow best practices on class sizes, facilities, safeguarding and teaching methods

4. GSS operates one of the most advanced teacher training programs in The Gambia through workshops and ‘on the job’ coaching. The program is backed up by a team of 4 trained coach/inspectors who visit the schools regularly.

5. GSS recognises the importance of building partnering arrangements with charities with complimentary aims and particularly working closely with the Ministry of Basic & Secondary Education (MoBSE).

6. GSS has no overheads, every penny is spent in The Gambia. GSS is lean, efficient and ambitious. We have built a platform from which we intend to scale the project and make a significant contribution to ECD provision in The Gambia.

How you can help us help the children.

Please click on “GSS report March 2023” below to see how we deliver our aims and spend our ‘investors’ donations.