The Perivoli Schools Trust Early Child Care and Education Model: Lived Experiences and Wider Social Impacts Technical Report

This report presents the findings of the research study to provide a preliminary evidence base in relation to the Perivoli Schools Trust (PST) early child care and education model in Namibia. The evidence presented here intends to inform the PST’s further development of the programme in Namibia and other countries where it is currently running (i.e. Botswana, Malawi, Zambia), and to support an application for the accreditation of the programme with the National Qualification Authority (NQA) for registration of the qualification on the national Qualifications Framework (NQF).

More widely, this report responds to the identified needs for evidence from the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture and the Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare (Republic of Namibia, 2017 & 2007), to offer knowledge to inform and strengthen the expansion of existing ECD policy and programming for children aged 0-8 years under the Integrated Early Childhood Development Service Framework (IECDF). Findings presented in this report lay a strong foundation for the development and strengthening of existing ECD programming in Namibia with an emphasis upon the value of sustainability as prioritised in Namibia’s 5th National Development Plan (2017-22) (Republic of Namibia, 2017). This is in relation to two of the Plan’s four strategic pillars, namely ‘Social Transformation’ specifically concerning early childhood as a critical developmental window when children are enrolled in ECD programmes (s.3.22, p55), and ‘Environmental Sustainability’ in relation to the PST TTP’s repurposing and upcycling of waste materials to build educational resources and activities for early years education, simultaneously decreasing levels of waste and pollution within communities (s.4.1, p83).