Creating lifesaving inclusive Accelerated School Readiness (ASR) for age 6 IDP children and Accelerated Learning Program (ALP) for age 7 -14 IDP children in Legehidha, Qubi and Salahad Woredas of Somali Region The provision of Early Childhood Care and Education is critical in both humanitarian and development contexts for child health, safety and security. It helps to promote the physical and socio-emotional wellbeing of the child. On the top of its contribution to cognitive and psychomotor developments, ECCE helps as an entry point for provisions of lifesaving support including nutrition, WASH, and peace education in IDP contexts.

According to DTM data, in Ethiopia 277,615 primary school aged children (118,284 girls) are affected by conflict and live in an emergency context. Of these, 98,627 children (50.979 girls) have no access to lifesaving learning opportunities in Somali Region. However, more than 50% of children aged 4-6 do not have access to ECCE services in Ethiopia. According to round 15 IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) released in February 2019, 50,612 children aged 4-6 years (26,183 girls) lack lifesaving ECCE services in Somali region alone. Legehidha, Qubi and Salahad Woredas of Erer Zone are among the Woredas with the highest population of IDP children aged 4-6 (758 (438 girls), 689 (402 girls) and 469 (266 girls) respectively) without access to any form of ECCE services the reasons being lack of Life Saving Spaces for ECCE which also provide emergency food, water, and psycho-social support.

Furthermore, there is a lack of vital and lifesaving primary education for IDP children aged 7-14. DTM data further reveals that there are 6,112 IDP pre-primary and primary school age children (3,356 girls) in Legehidha, Qubi and Salahad Woredas specifically who have not had any access to any form of lifesaving learning opportunities in the last 7/8 months. According to information obtained from Save the Children’s Field Office and the Somali Regional Education Bureau, the main challenges that prevents emergency-affected primary school children from attending educational services include: a lack of Life Saving Spaces for Learning (LSSL) which serve as entry points for other services such as the provision of emergency school feeding and water insecurity fear and trauma which all deter children’s learning.

In an emergency situation, it is challenging to implement 3 years of comprehensive ECCE programming which requires a substantive investment. Similarly, the implementation of one-year, O-class education which serves as an annex to primary school requires well established primary schools for management and control. Given the realities and challenges on the ground with regards to comprehensive primary education, this project aims at providing lifesaving Accelerated Learning School Readiness (ASR) for 573 IDP age 6 children (235 girls) about 30% of 4-6 age children (1,916) in Legehidha, Qubi and Salahad Woredas. This will help to compensate for missed lessons and enable children to continue with learning opportunities in the next academic year, with life-saving services like food, water and health. SC further proposes to target 4,197 primary school age 7-14 children (2,050 girls) with Accelerated Learning Programs/catch classes during the summer season (July and August) The intervention will include the following activities which will serve both ASR and ALP.

	Organize community awareness raising and sensitization session on peace education, inclusive education, lifesaving ASR and ALP
	Establish Life Saving Spaces for Learning (LSSL) for use by both ASR and ALP target groups in a shift system
	Construct sex segregated pit latrines 
	Furnish LSSL with low cost education materials (mats and blackboards) 
	Provide energy biscuits for ASR and ALP target children
	Train teachers, head teachers and Woreda education supervisors on abridging the curriculum and accelerating learning, learner centered-pedagogy, inclusive education, psycho–social support for children and ASR methodology
	Training PTSA members on EiE situation analysis and local EiE responses and LSSL management, ASR and ALP