PlayMatters

The PlayMatters project aims to improve holistic learning and wellbeing outcome for 800,000+ refugee and host community preprimary and primary school children aged 3-12+ in Uganda, Ethiopia and Tanzania using learning through play methodologies.

At PlayMatters, we seek a better, more hopeful future for refugee and host community children living in Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Uganda. We believe that if we provide these children with more opportunities to build their holistic skills and psychosocial well-being, then girls and boys can become agents of positive change and build a better, more hopeful future for themselves and the planet. Everything we do at PlayMatters is in service of this vision.

PlayMatters is being implemented by a consortium led by the International Rescue Committee and includes Plan International, War Child Holland, Innovations for Poverty Action and the Behavioral Insights Team in partnership with the Lego Foundation

Our Approach

The learning through Play (LtP) approach is Ethiopia is intended to transform the traditional learning and teaching process conventionally known as Chalk and talk to an interactive, joyful and active learning through the convening power of learning through Play as a means to promote quality Education for Refugee and Host community children.

 Achievements so far

• LtP Content development: Content Development Committees (CDCs) identified
• Teachers Professional Development on LtP: Trained Master Trainers, selected from regional education offices as well as Teacher training Colleges,  in Educators’ Content from Key Education Stakeholders:
• Trained 12 System actor -Master Trainers in Somali region and co-cascaded to 213 Teachers though Whole School Approach.
• Through trained teachers we reach an average of 14,910 children through learning through play activities.
• Trained 22 Master Trainers in Educators’ content and rollout to 298 Teachers in Benishangul Gumuz, Gambella and Afar regions. Currently, an average of 20,860 students participate in learning through play activities and teachers included LtP sessions in their daily lesson plans.
• Overall, we have active 34 Master Trainers in Educator Content and 511 Teachers reaching 35,770 students through LtP sessions in Ethiopia.
• Teachers Continuous Professional Development on LtP: Conducted Classroom observation, coaching and mentorship to the teacher trained during their implementation of gained skill in classrooms.
• Generated learning from the observation for refinement of content
• Prototyping and piloted other intervention ideas: proto typing process (for Care givers and Educators) was conducted to prototype (test) the intervention ideas.
• Awareness raising: Through various social mobilization events and UN commemoration events, more than 35,000 community members are aware of LtP and mobilized to promote LTP in schools, at home and in the community.
• Learning: Baseline assessment conducted targeting Children and Educators in piloted 20 schools.
• Recent monitoring visits in May 2022 confirmed that teachers have already started using learning through play activities in their lesson plans.