Education
Helping children living in extreme adversity get the education they need to unlock their full potential.
We work with partners to ensure that children living in extreme adversity receive the education they need to unlock their full potential. Inclusive, high-quality education is a critical ingredient for a just and dignified life. That is why Porticus designs and funds programmes that support communities to advance education.
Our vision
We envision a world where a holistic approach to child development – encompassing physical, emotional, social, and cognitive needs – drives inclusion for those in extreme adversity, enabling them to fully realise their potential.
The problem
Out-of-school children
234 million children today cannot access education and are not supported to learn. 200 million of these live in adversity, in low-income countries. They are marginalised by education systems. Entire generations miss out on their potential.
Children often fall behind because education systems are not designed for the needs of children living in adversity. Their struggles go unnoticed. Their development and learning are held back, and this diminishes their life chances.
In-school children
Being in school does not mean children will learn. There is a global learning crisis. Nearly two-thirds of ten-year-olds are unable to understand simple text. 135 million children are at risk of dropping out before finishing. 130 million children affected by conflict struggle to attend school. These children in adversity often experience prolonged stress, which negatively affects their social, emotional, and physical well-being. Long-term damage to individuals in turn damages economies and societies.
Our work
We work with our partners to shift educational systems to support children in adversity, especially through Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). By incorporating SEL, education systems become more inclusive and adapt to the needs of their students and their communities. Inclusive education systems address both cognitive skills – such as literacy and numeracy – and socio-emotional skills.
The people we are here for
We focus on foundational learning for school aged-children, so our target age group is 3-15 years old.
We listen to and enable communities to shift the power dynamics in their education systems. We work to change mindsets in the system so that SEL is prioritised, and we develop and deploy tools, models, and approaches to change how school systems operate.
