Every child has a right to learn

Educating children around the world

Save the Children runs programs around the world dedicated to helping girls and boys access an education. Whether it's in a remote part of the world, in a refugee camp or right after a disaster, we make sure children can continue to learn in a safe and positive environment.

Our key approaches focus on ensuring young children gain strong literacy and numeracy skills. We establish and strengthen early childhood education, because those early years can impact how a child learns and develops in the future. We also train teachers and offer support and professional development to ensure children receive the best education possible.

Our international education programs

We consider the experiences of girls across all our education programs – because girls are often excluded from the same education as boys. Equally important is how children with disabilities access school, and the life-changing opportunities an education can provide for them.

We also know early learning gives children the best chance to learn, grow and prepare for school. That's why we've established Play to be School Ready programs in places like Solomon Islands, so children have the best start to their education.

In Papua New Guinea, we're strengthening elementary school education by training teachers and providing them with great resources, because children learn best when they have competent teachers, a supportive community and quality resources.

Our education programs in Australia

We've been supporting education for children in Australia since the 1950s and we remain committed to giving all children the best start to school.

We run Play2Learn supported playgroups in more than 200 places across Australia, to improve early childhood development, parenting skills and connection to community for the families that attend.

We support schools to promote the social and emotional development of students to reach their full learning potential. Our Hands on Learning program runs in more than 100 schools across four states in Australia, building wellbeing, engaging students, and supporting them to develop the skills to thrive at school, at work and in life.

We strive to reach children who don't feel comfortable in Australia's mainstream education system. Our mobile education vans supports young people transitioning out of the juvenile justice system. 

Ensuring our programs are culturally appropriate is critical to our work, which is why we employ or engage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people wherever possible to deliver services and programs to communities. In particular, we work to increase school attendance for children from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities who may need extra support to remain connected to school.

Education in emergencies

Emergencies cause serious disruptions to a child's education. It is crucial for their development, safety, and recovery for children to return to school as soon as possible.

In emergency situations, where the education system is unable to function as normal, Save the Children establishes temporary learning centres and provides safe environments for children to learn and play. Find out more about our current emergencies.