In India, 77% of total population complete primary school without being able to read a simple paragraph or 72% without performing simple subtraction (ASER,2024). While schools shoulder the immediate responsibility, a quiet truth sits beneath the surface: children spend most of their time at home. Parents, regardless of their own literacy, deeply influence learning. Yet, parents are rarely equipped, informed, or have clarity on what a child should know in each grade, feel intimidated by the education system or assume learning is solely the teacher’s job. This gap between “parental willingness” and “parental capability” is one of the biggest, most overlooked barriers to foundational learning.
CEFL was designed to close this gap. The innovation emerged from years of observing that parents want the best for their children but often don’t know where to begin. We saw mothers fearful of reading with their children, fathers unsure of how to support homework, and families relying entirely on schools- even when children were struggling. At the same time, communities lacked structured ways to collaborate, learn, and hold schools accountable.
CEFL reframes parents from passive bystanders to powerful allies. It builds their awareness of learning outcomes, strengthens their agency through simple, culturally rooted learning tools, and connects them to teachers and school governance processes. CEFL was created to transform the home into an active learning space and communities into long-term
CEFL transforms how families (especially low-literate mothers) support foundational learning through a structured, community-led model built on the 3A Framework of Awareness, Agency, and Allyship. In practice, CEWs lead monthly sessions using CEFL’s proprietary curriculum: a parent booklet aligned to state learning outcomes, simple learning-outcome charts, a visual report-card tool, and a step-by-step six-session engagement sequence. These tools help parents understand what children should know in Grades 1-3, recognise their child’s current level, and build clarity about how learning progresses.
As parents gain confidence, they build Agency through joyful home-learning routines demonstrated by CEWs - reading with expression, asking children about daily learning, using household items to teach maths, and tracking progress using CEFL’s visual guides. Technology reinforces these behaviours: multilingual WhatsApp nudges, audio explainers, micro-videos, quizzes, and the CEFL App help parents practise consistently. With 74%+ read rates, digital engagement is high even among low-literate households.
In the later months, CEFL nurtures Allyship. Highly engaged parents are identified as Parent Allies, trained to support neighbours, convene small learning circles, and represent families in SMCs. CEWs shift from leading to mentoring, enabling a sustainable, parent-led model.
Evidence shows 24% rise in parental awareness and 20% higher learning outcomes in CEFL households.
Over the last two years, CEFL has grown across six blocks in Tamil Nadu, reaching over 20,000 parents through a structured Parent Engagement Journey led by trained CEWs. Parents begin with an introductory meeting to reflect on their aspirations for their children, followed by six sequenced sessions that build clarity about foundational learning, help them identify their child’s learning level, and strengthen home-learning practices.
They learn to interpret report cards, track progress through simple tools, practise joyful literacy and numeracy activities at home, and build confidence to speak with teachers, participate in PTMs, and engage in SMCs.
Parents who once hesitated to read with their children now confidently describe learning outcomes, practise daily routines, and engage constructively with teachers. Our endline analysis (2024) shows % students (treatment group) who transitioned to grade level by endline in Tamil, English, and Math are 71%, 65%, 71% respectively, tremendous progress as a result of our intervention.
In the next 3 years, CEFL aims to deepen and expand across 10 districts/10 blocks, build a cadre of over 2000 trained Parent Allies, create block-level parent networks, and institutionalise parent-led assessments and SMC engagement. With government interest in adopting the model, CEFL aspires to become an integral part of Tamil Nadu’s foundational learning ecosystem - ensuring communities sustain learning improvements long after the programme exits.
To adopt CEFL in your context, begin by identifying a small cluster of schools or communities where parents are eager to support their children but may not know how. CEFL works best when it begins with trust, so the first step is to identify and train CEWs who understand the local culture, speak the community’s language, and are naturally trusted by families. With our parent booklets, report cards, and workshop modules, CEWs facilitate conversational monthly sessions that help parents realise, often for the first time, that they already have everything they need to nurture learning at home.
Through simple digital channel (usually WhatsApp) to send weekly nudges, activity prompts, and short videos in the local language. These gentle reminders help parents stay connected, confident, and consistent, even on busy days. After six months, look for parents who show steady engagement and a natural desire to help others. These become Parent Allies or champions within the community who lead small circles, encourage other families, and begin participating in school structures like School Management Committees.
To implement CEFL effectively, you need:
• Foundational training for CEWs
• Workshop materials and home-learning tools
• Translated digital content
• A simple monitoring system to track participation and behaviour change
Organisations interested in adopting CEFL can partner with us for workshops, training, toolkits, digital templates, and contextualisation support.
