New Study Reveals Scalable Path To Delivering Quality Early Learning To Every Child

A new study by SmartStart reveals compelling evidence that early learning programs run in homes and community venues can significantly boost children’s outcomes, even at scale. The findings underscore the critical role that can be played by accessible, community-based early childhood education in breaking the cycle of educational inequality.

A team of independent researchers found that the proportion of children “on track” increased by a remarkable 20 points from 45% to 65%, while the proportion of those “falling far behind” nearly halved.

The study’s most striking revelation is the dramatic reduction in the achievement gap between children from low- and high-income households, falling from 25 points to just 6 points. This substantial narrowing represents more than a statistical triumph; it demonstrates a powerful mechanism for social mobility and educational equity.

“These findings show the transformative role that can be played by women living in low-income contexts, when they are empowered to deliver early learning programs in their homes and other community settings. The study, therefore, has profound implications for policymakers because it shows an affordable, scalable path to early learning for every child,” says Grace Matlhape, Chief Executive Officer of SmartStart. “Accessible, high-quality early learning programmes have the potential to break intergenerational cycles of educational disadvantage, offering children from all backgrounds a more level playing field for future academic and personal success”

Commenting on the study, Chief Director for Foundations for Learning in the Department of Basic Education, Kulula Manona, observed that “this study shines a light on the incredible potential of our children when provided with the right developmental and learning opportunities. It also underscores the critical role of community-based early learning programmes, and the dedicated practitioners who deliver them, in bridging the early learning access gap”.

Researchers for the study, including Professor Sarah Chapman from the University of Cape Town as the principal investigator, used South Africa’s Early Learning Outcomes Measure (ELOM) to track the progress of 551 children in SmartStart ELPs over eight months. The results revealed that the SmartStart cohort outperformed the national Thrive by Five Index benchmark, a monitoring tool developed to track early childhood development progress in South Africa, providing robust evidence that well-designed, community-integrated early learning programmes can deliver scalable and measurable improvements in child development..

“The implications of this study demonstrate that effectiveness isn’t contingent on costly infrastructure and equipment, but on empowering practitioners with the right tools, skills and support. Simple, everyday practices, including nurturing care, lots of talk, and child-centered play, can transform outcomes for young children,” Chapman adds.

“The crucial thing about the SmartStart model is that it honours the inherent strengths of our communities. Our programmes run in homes and community venues, which means they offer an immediate and affordable solution to close the access and quality gaps for excluded children. This underscores the need for governments to establish enabling policy and funding frameworks that recognise and support these practitioners where they are,” says Matlhape.

Celebrating its tenth year of impact, the SmartStart network currently has over 13,000 ELPs serving over 125,000 children every week. Its network model is deeply rooted in social capital and community empowerment, underpinned by the principle of meeting communities where they are and leveraging their existing assets.

“Today we salute the extraordinary ordinary women across our network who are using simple but transformative practices every day, to create a better future for young children. These women are powerful agents of change, beacons of hope for future generations,” Matlhape emphasises.

“We also salute the dedication of our implementing partners and the unwavering support of communities who stand united for their children. Their collective efforts show the power of a collaborative implementation model to transcend socio-economic barriers and, ultimately, to bridge the equity gap in early learning.”

At the time of publication, this is the largest ELOM evaluation of a South African early learning intervention to date.

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