Annual Meeting 2017

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Hello!Welcome to the 2017 Global Schools Forum Annual MeetingWe look forward to spending the coming three days getting to know the 80 exceptional school operators, investors, funders and others who are building strong, quality-focused and diverse education systems in the countries you work and live in.

This year we will be looking at what it takes to create and strengthen schools and school networks; build a stronger and more cohesive non-state sector; and consider how the non-state sector contributes to the larger education system. The agenda is full, with a lively mix of sessions, including formal presentations, dynamic discussions and interactive exploration. We’ve also built in plenty of time for informal networking, because we understand the tremendous value in you all having time together.

The Annual Meeting is one of the cornerstones of the Global Schools Forum. It is part of our commitment to connect and provide support to great school operators from around the world, so that you are all able to better able to deliver quality education to children from low-income communities. Through these opportunities for collaboration and networking; the development of practical tools and resources; a shared commitment to a set of core principles; and the collection and dissemination of an agreed number of shared metrics, the Global Schools Forum team hopes to help each organisation here today to deliver on your ambitious goals.

Thank you for being here and enjoy GSF 2017!

Aashti Zaidi Hai / Global Schools Forum, Katelyn Donnelly / Pearson Affordable Learning Fund, Maya Ziswiler / UBS Optimus Foundation, Susannah Hares / Ark, and Vineet Bewtra / Omidyar Network.

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12.00–15.00 Arrival, registration13.30–15.00 Lunch15.00–15.45 Opening session: Welcome and plenary

Welcome by John Fairhurst / UBS Optimus Foundation Introduction to GSF 2017 by Aashti Zaidi Hai / Global Schools Forum (GSF) Plenary by Justin Sandefur / Center for Global Development

15.45–16.30 Session 1: Getting to know the GSF delegatesAn Ice-breaker with Peter Colenso / Independent Consultant and Meeting Facilitator

16.30–18.00 Session 2: Shifting sands in education delivery across the worldA look back at the big issues and milestones within the non-state education sector over the last year. What have been the big steps forward with government partnerships? What are the main risks and opportunities for the sector? Where do future innovations lie and how can we support them?

Panellists: Norman Atkins / Relay Graduate School of Education, Fathima Dada / Pearson Affordable Learning Fund, Harry Patrinos / World Bank, Asif Saleh / BRAC Moderator: Peter Colenso / Independent Consultant and Meeting Facilitator

18.00–18.30 Break18.30–19.30 Cocktail hour19.30–20.30 Dinner

Day One: Wednesday, February 8 2017 The big picture: Reflecting back and looking forward

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8.00–9.15 Breakfast9.15–9.30 Opening session: Recap of Day One and introduction to Day Two9.30–11.00 Session 3: Creating and scaling a high performing school network

Three representatives of large school networks will share their experiences of creating and scaling a high performing school network, focussing on their approach to achieving quality at affordable cost.

Panellists: Rowena Janeo-Lopez / Affordable Private Education Center (APEC), Shannon May / Bridge International Academies, Brian Sims / Ark Moderator: Amy Klement / Omidyar Network

11.00–11.30 Coffee break11.30–13.00 Session 4: Creating and scaling a high performing network: what’s working and what isn’t?

Breakout case-studies by themeChoose among four crowd-sourced themes and join a group activity to think through solutions to a particular challenge to scaling a school network. The themes are a) Teacher recruitment and training, b) Leadership and school management, c) Use of technology in education, d) Provision of non-state education in crisis and conflict areas. Moderator: Peter Colenso / Meeting Facilitator

13.00–14.30 Lunch14.30–16.00 Session 5: Promising practices in management and pedagogy. Parallel panel discussions

Choose between parallel streams that will delve into specific management and pedagogical questions. The School Management stream will elaborate on “Strategic Growth: What do you centralise versus decentralise?”, while the Pedagogy stream will elaborate on “Personalised Instruction: How to effectively reach and teach students at different levels?” Introduced by Peter ColensoModerator for School Management: Arvind Nagarajan / Pearson Affordable Learning Fund Panellists: Stacey Brewer / SPARK Schools, John Rendel / PEAS, Paul Skidmore / Rising Academy Network, Alain Guy Tanefo / Omega Schools

Moderator for Pedagogy: John Fairhurst / UBS Optimus FoundationPanellists: Vandana Goyal / The Akanksha Foundation, Chitra Rao / Hippocampus Learning Centres, Melanie Smuts / Streetlight Schools, Ekta Sodha / Sodha Schools

16.00–16.30 Coffee break16.30–18.00 Session 6: Approaches to measuring student progress

What are the different ways to approach and measure student progress — how do different school networks think about measurement and evaluation across their schools and what do funders look for when they commission evaluations of their investees?

Panellists: Ian Attfield / Department for International Development (DFID), Steph Dobrowolski / Rising Academy Network, Oliver Sabot / Nova Pioneer Academies, Bailey Thomson / SPARK Schools Moderator: Katelyn Donnelly / Pearson Affordable Learning Fund

18.00–18.30 Break18.30–20.30 Dinner and fireside chat: How can government, the private sector and philanthropy strengthen

education systems and outcomes? A fireside chatDavid Laws / Ark and former UK Minister of Schools, Sizwe Nxasana / Future Nation Schools, Irene Pritzker / IDP Foundation, and George Werner / Minister of Education, Government of LiberiaModerator: John McDermott / The Economist

Day Two: Thursday, February 9 2017 Building high quality networks

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8.00–9.00 Breakfast9.00 –9.15 Opening session: Recap of Day Two and introduction to Day Three 9.15 –10.45 Session 7: Engaging government: building effective partnerships

What are the different ways that funders and operators have developed partnerships with government, including public private partnerships, implementation support, and service delivery.

Panellists: Laura Brown / PEAS, David Harrison / DG Murray Trust, Amitav Virmani / The Education Alliance, George Werner / Minister of Education, Government of Liberia Moderator: Susannah Hares / Ark

10.45–11.15 Coffee break11.15–12.45 Session 8a: Working with media: a masterclass for school operators

Media masterclass for school operators on how to best leverage the media for our collective mission and your own school networks.

Moderator: Susan Feeney / GMMB

11.15–12.45 Session 8b: A focussed session for funders/investorsWhile operators are in the media masterclass, funders and investors will have a focussed opportunity to discuss existing and future investments, opportunities and risks of engaging with the non-state sector.

Moderator: Peter Colenso / Meeting Facilitator

12.45–13.45 Lunch13.45–14.45 Session 9: Innovative finance: managing access to finance, risk and sustainability

Join us for a panel discussion on accessing finance, including debt, equity, venture philanthropy, and innovative financing mechanisms as well as the related risks and challenges.

Moderator: Vineet Bewtra / Omidyar Network

14.45–15.30 Session 10: Launching the Global Schools ForumWe will share our proposed thinking on the Global Schools Forum as a member organisation that serves to strengthen the non-state education sector and create linkages and collaboration between school operators.

Presented by Aashti Zaidi Hai / GSF With Vineet Bewtra / Omidyar Network, Katelyn Donnelly / Pearson Affordable Learning Fund, Susannah Hares / Ark, and Maya Ziswiller / UBS Optimus Foundation

15.30–16.00 Closing session: Summary and wrap upModerator: Peter Colenso / Meeting Facilitator and Aashti Zaidi Hai / GSF

Day Three: Friday, February 10 2017 Strengthening the ecosystem

Subject to changes

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We are facing a learning crisis. Year after year cohorts of children leave primary school without being able to read, write or do basic mathematics. For example, a recent study found that in South Africa and Zambia, 26 and 33 percent of children respectively leaving primary school are functionally illiterate, despite having at least six years of schooling. In India, a national survey finds that only half of the students can read a simple paragraph after five years of schooling. These are crippling findings that not only limit the life chances of those children and the prosperity of their families, but of their larger communities and nations. It shouldn’t be like this.

A thriving non-state sector can play an important role in stemming and indeed reversing the learning crisis. While overall a small percentage of total enrolments, we are witnessing a rapid increase in the percent of children enrolled in non-state schools across low- and middle-income countries. A recent study finds that over 30 percent of children in India are enrolled in non-state schools at the primary level. The corresponding figure for Ghana is 25 percent at the primary level.

Non-state schooling is not a panacea, but it should be a welcomed part of the solution to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 4: “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong

learning opportunities for all”. Even with an increase in domestic public expenditure on education, UNESCO conservatively estimates that the financing gap for delivering quality universal education through to junior secondary levels by 2030 in low income countries will be $10.6 billion on average, between 2015 and 2030 — over four times the level currently provided by official donors. This gap continues to widen as education’s share of official development assistance has fallen from 13 percent to 10 percent since 2002. The role of non-state education is critical because it can provide capacity where the state system hits constraints and because the sector is well placed to innovate to raise standards, increase access, and reduce costs.

The SDGs call for bold, constructive and innovative partnerships between governments, the non-state sector, civil society and donors. Put simply, we need to leverage the massive resources and regulatory frameworks of government with the efficiency and entrepreneurial energy of the non-state sector to better prepare children for success in school and beyond. The non-state sector, when regulated and funded effectively, can bring innovation, expertise and talent into the education system, and provides a more diverse range of schooling options.

About the Global Schools Forum

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The Global Schools Forum (GSF) is being designed to support and represent non-state operators in low- and middle-income countries, so they are better able to deliver quality education to children from low income families. It was one of the requested outcomes of the first Global Schools Forum meeting, where delegates agreed on the need for an organisation that focused on strengthening the non-state schooling sector through increased collaboration, targeted expertise, influencing policy narrative and building greater transparency. The founding hosts of the first Global Schools Forum meeting — Ark, Omidyar Network, Pearson Affordable Learning Fund and UBS Optimus Foundation — provided seed funding to incubate the design work for the Forum as well as host the next Annual Meeting.

GSF is intended to be an independent not-for-profit membership organisation of pre-primary, primary and secondary school operators. The Forum is focused on building and strengthening the non-state sector, and aims to focus on operators who are committed to the following set of principles:

1. deliver quality education to children from low income backgrounds at an affordable cost (a focus on the bottom 50 percent);

2. strive to deliver and measure high quality education;

3. be rigorous and transparent about intakes and results;

4. recognise governments’ role and duties as a part of a shared and collaborative education system — including teaching agreed or shared curricula, participating in common assessments, and meeting agreed standards;

5. ensure that opportunities for quality education are equally available to all children regardless of gender, socio-economic background, religion, ability etc.

6. we are agnostic about an operator’s financial model; whether they are for-profit, not-for-profit, fee-charging, free of cost, or operating in partnership with government — so long as they are focused on improving student outcomes.

GSF believes that cooperation and partnership between the non-state sector and governments can help deliver high quality education for all students. We believe that government should be the guarantor, but not necessarily the sole provider of education. We believe that government should set high expectations for all children — regardless of whether they attend government or non-state schools — and that we should work alongside government to improve regulatory frameworks and accountability mechanisms for all schools.

The focus of the Global Schools Forum is to support school operators in the developing world to strengthen the quality of education they are providing to low income communities. School operators are intended to be the primary stakeholders and full members of the organisation. Though managed professionally by a small London-based team, the organisation will receive strategic direction and guidance from an international Board that will be largely made up of school operators, but also includes representation from funders and other key stakeholders in the sector.

Based on extensive consultations with school operators and other stakeholders, the Global Schools Forum proposes to include a focus on four areas that will build the capacity of operators and contribute towards greater transparency and cohesion across the sector. The four areas are:

¢ Encourage Collaboration: Providing opportunities for school operators to collaborate with one another and more effectively with funders and investors. GSF will do this in several ways including hosting the annual Global Schools Forum which

“ The Global Schools Forum (GSF) is being designed to support and represent non-state operators in low- and middle-income countries, so they are better able to deliver quality education to children from low income families.”

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brings together our members with funders and investors in the non-state education sector, and developing an online platform where operators can network, collaborate, seek advice, share tools and resources and discuss shared challenges on an ongoing basis.

¢ Provide Expertise: Being responsive to the needs of operators, GSF will provide access to high quality expertise, talent and resources. This will include a pool of best-in-class experts in areas of high demand that operators can draw down; access to high quality and relevant resources ranging from monthly Webinars and toolkits that operators can access in their own time; as well as access to a pool of talent through a Fellowship programme and Job Board that we are developing.

¢Represent and Communicate the non-state sector: In the face of vocal critics, there is a need for a collective voice across the sector to communicate with stakeholders, including key multilateral and bilateral

organisations and governments. GSF intends to respect the bilateral dialogue that all operators will have with their own stakeholders, and will not step into those — it is intended to offer general support of the sector and not to interpose itself in bilateral channels. This will include the development and dissemination of communication materials that are underpinned by evidence and our agreed core principles; a searchable repository of rigorous research on the non-state sector available for our members and the global education community.

¢Promote Common Metrics: Given the dearth of quality aggregated data on the non-state sector, we believe there is a growing need to bring greater rigour and transparency to benefit the sector. GSF intends to collect and share data on set of basic metrics that members disclose and report on a regular basis; over time we will collate a longitudinal dataset that contributes to the global evidence base on the non-state sector.

“ The Sustainable Development Goals call for bold, constructive and innovative partnerships between governments, the non-state sector, civil society and donors.”

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“ GSF believes that cooperation and partnership between the non-state sector and governments can help deliver high quality education for all students.”

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Global Schools Forum info@globalschoolsforum.org globalschoolsforum.org @GSF_talks

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