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"Partners in Learning" by Cities for Children

Happy memories build resilience for children to keep coping, hoping and learning.

Partners in Learning is a unique solution for vulnerable children at risk of dropout, motivating them to enter, stay in and thrive in school. This participatory programme involves training older children as champions of education, delivering playful early learning sessions for younger children. It is designed to build key socioemotional skills, promote wellbeing and associate learning with joy.

HundrED 2025
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Overview

HundrED has selected this innovation to

HundrED Global Collection 2025

Web presence

2021

Established

4.2K

Children

2

Countries
Target group
Students early
Updated
November 2024
We hope to see an emphasis on SEL and wellbeing alongside academic outcomes, and for schools to support the development of the whole child. Working with teachers, we want to not only create safe and nurturing spaces within schools, but transform adults' perceptions of what children can do. We want to see children coming forward as happy, resilient stakeholders in their own lives and learning.

About the innovation

Why did you create this innovation?

Cities for Children initially launched this as a response to school closures in COVID-19, to support learning and wellbeing for disadvantaged children, facing high stress. It was powerful in supporting school readiness and foundational skills for Little Partners (younger children), and building key socioemotional skills and resilience for Big Partners (older children) without digital access.

What does your innovation look like in practice?

We establish strong partnerships with formal and informal schools, building buy-in and training teachers from selected grades to support implementation.

Following a Child to Child model, we train Big Partners aged 10-12 years to lead creative learning sessions for groups of up to five Little Partners aged 3-5 years, at the preschool level. They are supported on a weekly basis to deliver a set of curated sessions including literacy, numeracy, socioemotional learning (SEL) and experiential science content. Our playful learning ethos means emphasis on art, games, poems and storytelling. Montessori-inspired sessions and sensory activities help scaffold learning for the younger children, while older children make gains in SEL domains like confidence, empathy, leadership and agency.

Baseline, endline, and ongoing monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) activities including weekly reflections by Big Partners help us adjust in real-time, as well as capture impact.

How has it been spreading?

It was first delivered with 1,000 children in open air spaces in informal settlements, following COVID-19. To date, it has reached over 4,200 Little and Big Partners in diverse contexts, including urban community schools; a rural girls’ school; and most recently, 10 girls’ government schools in Pakistan. It is currently being tailored to support out-of-school children, drawing them towards learning. It is also being implemented with a secondary School of Sanctuary for refugee boys and primary school in London.

Scaling the innovation relies on partnerships, with schools as vital collaborators. We constantly seek synergies, tailoring the core programme to work across contexts. With Malala Fund support, our new links with government represent fresh opportunities to scale up and scale out.

If I want to try it, what should I do?

Please get in touch to adapt the programme for your context. We curate content from our session plans to align with local curricula and children’s learning levels. It is crucial to have buy-in from school management and teachers for implementation. When sessions are in the timetable, both teachers and Big Partners need to be regularly supported to maximise academic, SEL and wellbeing outcomes.

Impact & scalability

HundrED Academy Reviews

Absolutely love the student agency in this program. The older mentoring the younger - that is how culture is transmitted from one generation to the next. The older develop their leadership skills+ confidence, the younger learn through fun connection.

Successfully scaled from 1,000 to 4,200 children in diverse contexts, including the UK. Its adaptable, child-led model supported by partnerships, notably with the Malala Fund, allows for tailored implementation across various educational settings.

- Academy member
Academy review results
Impact
Scalability
Exceptional
High
Moderate
Limited
Insufficient
Exceptional
High
Moderate
Limited
Insufficient
Read more about our selection process

Implementation steps

School selection and content curation
Schools should have easily identifiable cohorts of Big Partners (Grades 5-6) and Little Partners (Nursery/Preschool). If both levels are not available on-site, we have also worked by creating partnerships between secondary and primary schools. Sessions are chosen according to the cultural context and skills of older children and learning levels of the younger children.
Teacher orientation
Teachers from the older and younger grades need to be brought on board for implementation. Training content includes an introduction to the underlying principles, including the importance of children’s participation and playful learning; where necessary, guidance around creating safe and nurturing spaces; and details of their role in supporting Big Partners and ongoing monitoring and evaluation.
Partners' enrolment and orientation
Big Partner selection criteria should aim to form a diverse group of students, with emphasis on those who could benefit from participation. We are not just looking for high-achieving students, but those who can be supported to tap their potential. They are given a short orientation session to get them excited and on board. Little Partners are organised into consistent groups of up to five children.
Partners in Learning sessions
Each week, Big Partners need time for a demo session in which they review the content and are equipped with the knowledge and confidence to lead that week's session for Little Partners. In the actual sessions, the role of adults should be mainly logistical support, safeguarding and overall supervision. We have seen 10-12 week programmes to be effective and manageable in terms of scheduling for schools, but they can be longer.
Debriefs and coaching
After each session, Big Partners have had opportunities to debrief with our Programme Officers. During these, they share their reflections, discuss any challenges and what worked to address them. The most powerful iterations included coaching and goal-setting exercises with Big Partners, starting from the mid-point, to boost agency and self-confidence.
Show and Tell events
In the end, each school organises a Show and Tell event to celebrate the progress made by the Big and Little Partners during the programme. Schools invite parents and students from other classes to celebrate. Big and Little Partners showcase their newly acquired skills through vibrant and colourful performances, including demo sessions, poems, speeches and songs.

Spread of the innovation

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