Help children have access to a holistic approach to education!

A holistic approach to education – that addresses students’ learning, social and emotional needs – is crucial, especially in times of crisis. School closures related to the COVID-19 pandemic meant that students from diverse backgrounds are at a higher risk of losing support and the extra services they require for their education. are less likely to receive the support and extra services they need. These students are likely to lose the most in terms of educational outcomes and the support provided by schools if countries take insufficient measures to promote educational equity and inclusion.

With the pandemic still looming large over our heads, the childhood of Students from marginalised sections of society has been disrupted. Many of them have faced extreme vulnerability because of their family member’s loss of livelihood, they had no access to their peer network and experienced adversities in fulfilling their learning needs. 

Going forward, the major task of the public education system would be still to welcome back our students to their lost childhood. An equitable and inclusive sports education will help the schools to cope with this daunting task. Sports education symbolizes childhood as it provides joy, experiential learning, an equal playing field and a sense of belongingness.

We want to ensure children's right to play and learn. Sports have a tremendous impact on young children and we are working with local community-based organizations and education departments to provide these children with rightful access to play, learn, compete, and prosper. It helps young children, especially girls, learn invaluable life skills like leadership, communication, problem-solving, collaboration and negotiation. These children, who live in some of the remotest places in India, deserve a holistic education.

Key Activities to be taken up by ELMS Sports Foundation:

• Training Workshop: 80 hours of workshop support will be given to NGOs spread across the year.
• Equipment for the schools: Equipment that is required in the schools will be provided to ensure
• Holding the monthly circles: Every month, the NGOs will go through the monthly circle to troubleshoot, share the best practices, and share insights.
• Field visits: Every quarter NGOs will receive 2 days of field support, which will be provided by ELMS Sports Foundation.
• Support in teacher training workshops: ELMS Sports Foundation will provide subject matter expertise to NGOs to organize teacher training workshops. 

We are raising funds for the equipment for the program and not for the whole program. This is an effort to get likeminded people with similar motivation, purpose and passion join us on this mission.

The cost for the equipment in each school is as follows:

Project Chhalaang in the very first year aims to provide 1,00,000 children with a chance to participate in a gender-equitable, inclusive, activity-based, system-driven sports program.

Gender equitable classroom:

ELMS Sports Foundation is focused to ensure the program results in gender-equitable classroom practices. We do this by focusing on coed activities i.e., girls and boys take part in the same activities, together (at least in primary) and creating activities that are gender-equitable and break down the stereotypical gender roles. This enables boys to see girls as equal peers as well as aids in the development of necessary skills in girls. 

Improving learnability:

ELMS Sports Foundation is focused to ensure the improvement of learnability in all the students, resulting in better cognitive learning outcomes and employability in the long run.

Creating a curriculum that is completely gamified and helps students to engage their heads, heart, and hands to solve problems. Mapping problems against age-appropriate life skills and physical skills. A sustainable intervention with students from primary to middle grades helps students journey to achieve developmental milestones, which enables them to perform cognitive tasks better. 

Building the capacity of the school and community:

ELMS Sports Foundation is committed to ensuring sustainability by engaging with stakeholders from the school and the community. We strive to implement these programs by supporting the grassroots NGOs who are already embedded in the communities. Co-building the program with such NGOs who in the long run would inculcate this program as one of their focus areas, which is going to ensure sustainability. 

Measurable Outcomes at the student level:

• Enhancement in learning outcomes of the students in physical skills by 35% to 40%, and will improve life skill learning outcomes by 15%.
• Students with athletic potential would be identified and provided requisite guidance and support
• 40 hours of yearly physical education would be ensured for every student.     
• Statistically significant improvement of girl child participation in sports activities.
• Statistically significant improvement in attendance in female students. 

The project will enable the 1,00,000 students to achieve life skill learning outcomes, and physical skill learning outcomes. This will in turn improve the involvement of the girl child in the school processes, empower her in terms of resources, agency, and achievement and help the school to improve its standing on gender equity indicators. The school will become a more fear-free, joyful place, which celebrates childhood and embraces positivity. Local organizations and institutions are deeply involved in the program, which will ensure the cultural sustainability of the program.