Delivering accessible, holistic and scalable early childhood development services: the evidence and the challenge

Title: Scaling up early childhood development without sacrificing equity Presenter: S. Cameron Although the benefits of early childhood development (ECD) are generally well-established, universal coverage remains elusive for... [ view full abstract ]

Title: Scaling up early childhood development without sacrificing equity
Presenter: S. Cameron

Although the benefits of early childhood development (ECD) are generally well-established, universal coverage remains elusive for most developing country governments. Several countries have pilot programmes or formal pre-primary systems which are funded at levels which would not be affordable for the whole population. Total spending on ECD and pre-primary education remains very low. The population is split between publicly-funded provision for a minority; and either no provision at all, or private provision at unpredictable quality and cost.

This paper examines the costs and cost-effectiveness of ECD; mechanisms for financing ECD; and experiences of scaling up ECD, with a focus on developing countries. Countries that have scaled up have used a variety of institutional and governance models. In order to reach marginalised parts of the population such as poorer people and those in remote rural areas, they often adopt a patchwork approach with different forms of service delivery in different areas. Several combine relatively well funded, high quality but small scale flagship programmes, with much larger scale and cheaper community based services. As salaries are the largest cost component, low cost services often rely on voluntary or low-paid labour contributions from parents or other community members, or on financial contributions from parents or local taxation. Although the evidence base is limited, this paper argues that there may be fairer and more efficient ways of ensuring that some form of regulated ECD is rolled out to the whole population.

Title: What hinders access to early childhood development programmes and how can these be alleviated? Presenter: A. Loizillon ECD programmes aim to enhance young children’s developmental opportunities. High-quality... [ view full abstract ]

Title: What hinders access to early childhood development programmes and how can these be alleviated?
Presenter: A. Loizillon

ECD programmes aim to enhance young children’s developmental opportunities. High-quality programmes which provide children with a safe, healthy and caring environment help develop essential socio-emotional, motor, cognitive and language skills; and these benefits accompany children in their school lives (e.g., improving attendance, completion of basic education) and adulthood (e.g., more likely to be employed, higher earnings, less likely to exhibit violent behaviour). Yet, often vulnerable and marginalised children who would benefit most from these opportunities are least likely to be accessing them due to background and contextual barriers.
This evidence review has two objectives. First, it identifies the combination of barriers based on individual and household characteristics, environmental factors and supply-side challenges that create limiting factors for equitable access and participation in ECD programmes. Household poverty; low maternal education levels; disability; orphanhood; conflict; and poor supply and coverage of ECD services are identified as key factors which undermine access. The paper then gathers evidence from recent programmes and national plans in developing countries which have succeeded in overcoming such barriers. Successful initiatives include cash transfer schemes, parental support mechanisms, participatory programme designs and interventions that seek to overcome geographical impediments to access. Public investment in ECD programmes, with a policy priority for vulnerable children, builds a long-term strategy towards increasing equity in delivering ECD. In doing so, solutions must be adapted to individual contexts to maximise opportunities for the most marginalised groups.

Title: Lessons from delivering a large-scale early nutrition and stimulation programme for migrants families in rural China Presenter: J. Cai This presentation discusses a practitioner’s experience of delivering an ongoing... [ view full abstract ]

Title: Lessons from delivering a large-scale early nutrition and stimulation programme for migrants families in rural China
Presenter: J. Cai

This presentation discusses a practitioner’s experience of delivering an ongoing large-scale early nutrition and stimulation programme in rural Shaanxi Province. Approximately 58 million children are left with caregivers in villages when their parents migrate to cities for employment. Traditional parenting practices and absence of parents leave young children without the connection, attention and interactions needed to acquire age-appropriate cognitive, motor, social and emotional abilities. In 2013, a survey of 2,000 rural infants in Shaanxi showed that around 40% of infants were delayed in either their cognitive or psychomotor development. The National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) is responsible for monitoring and improving the health of mothers and infants using China’s existing infrastructure of local family-planning units. It is presently designing and evaluating interventions that improve ECD in poor rural areas by tackling existing access barriers and improving outcomes cost-effectively and equitably. NHFPC’s pressing challenges pertaining to financing, scaling up and expanding access cut across a number of policy dimensions; including the use of child care centres or home visits, the frequency of monitoring growth, and the training received by caregivers. How does the NHFPC’s experience relate to the existing academic and grey literature on ECD financing and access barriers, discussed in previous papers? How can the practitioner’s experience of these challenges enrich our understanding of delivering a holistic and scalable ECD programme to some of the most vulnerable populations?

Organisers: 3ie & Oxford Policy Management Contact person: sourovi.de@opml.co.uk Some of the most cost-effective interventions in the life-cycle of human development occur in early childhood; and policies aimed at early... [ view full abstract ]

Organisers: 3ie & Oxford Policy Management
Contact person: sourovi.de@opml.co.uk

Some of the most cost-effective interventions in the life-cycle of human development occur in early childhood; and policies aimed at early learning and development cannot be ignored in a debate on learning for sustainable futures. Current and future global development goals to promote equitable and sustainable development, including reducing the inter-generational transmission of poverty and inequality, will be met only with attention to the overall development of young children.

Expansion and improvement of ECD is the first EFA goal. While progress has been made, most governments still do not prioritise early childhood in their health, education, poverty reduction or other national plans. Many countries still lack credible ECD policies, strategic plans and laws. Even where these exist, universal coverage remains elusive for most developing country governments, with vulnerable families experiencing the most complex and challenging barriers to access.

Drawing from evidence within and outside education, this symposium addresses how quality ECD services can be financed and delivered at scale, cost-effectively and equitably, prioritising the most vulnerable populations in developing countries. In its structure and format, it will facilitate dialogue between researchers who study national ECD policies and programmes, and practitioners who implement them. The presentations will review evidence on scaling up ECD towards universal coverage; what hinders access to ECD especially for vulnerable and poor children; and recent experience of delivering a large-scale early nutrition and stimulation programme for children of migrants in rural China.