India

“Globally, school readiness is gaining currency as a viable strategy to close the learning gap and improve equity in achieving lifelong learning and full developmental potential among young children. It does so by considering all children, especially the vulnerable and disadvantaged, including girls, children with disabilities, ethnic minorities, and those living in rural areas. 

School readiness supports the adoption of policies and standards for early learning, expanding the provision of opportunities beyond formal center-based services to target those who are excluded. School readiness has been linked with positive social and behavioral competencies in adulthood as well as improved academic outcomes in primary and secondary school, both in terms of equity and performance.

Children's brain and physical development is at its fastest pace during their early years (age birth 8). Within this period, the first thousand days are a unique window of opportunity, where the foundations of growth and development are established, with implications stretching across a person’s lifespan. 

A child’s ecosystem is one of the most important factors when considering their development during the early years. However, our experience shows that in India, many households in rural communities and urban slums do not have access to the resources, knowledge, or time to properly engage with children. Moreover, in India, public provisioning for early childhood (from birth to age 6) is available through Anganwadis, which only targets health and nutrition for children aged birth-3. There is hence no focus on the development of cognitive, language, and social-emotional skills.