Assistant Chief Executive Officer for Curriculum and Design at the Ministry of Education and Culture Inipene Simanu has told the Pacific Community that Samoa takes Early Childhood Education very seriously.

She made the statement to the Pacific Community media last year at the School Readiness Reflection Workshop last year where educators, policymakers, and stakeholders from across the Pacific shared experiences and insights on improving Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE).

Over four days, participants explored the outcomes of the project’s pilot phase, which aimed to enhance early learning environments across the Pacific. The School Readiness Tool, a cornerstone of the project, has been contextualised to meet the unique needs of diverse Pacific communities.

This workshop provided an opportunity to reflect on the implementation of this tool, share lessons learned, and plan the way forward for scaling and sustaining the initiative.

Simanu shared her insights on contextualising and implementing the School Readiness Tool in the country.

1. What were the main considerations when contextualising the School Readiness Tool for Samoa?
For Samoa, there were several areas we considered. Firstly, the purpose of the tool needed to reflect its aim—progression and transitioning—and be age-appropriate in accordance with our ECE policy. We also ensured the language used was suitable, the items or questions were relevant, and the tool was aligned with the ECE curriculum. The level of questions had to be age-appropriate, and we accounted for the learning environment, particularly differences between rural and urban areas.

2. How has this project shifted perspectives on ECCE in Samoa?
The implementation of this project in the three pilot schools clearly highlighted areas where teachers can improve both inside and outside the classroom. Moreover, the Ministry has started focusing on strengthening its role in assisting the National Council of Early Childhood Education in Samoa (NCECES) with monitoring and facilitating support for ECE. The transition of young children from one level to the next, ensuring they are ready, is now taken very seriously.

3. What strategies will Samoa employ to ensure the tool’s long-term integration and success?
This activity will be included in the Curriculum, Design, and Materials Division (CDMD) Annual Management Plan. Its implementation will also feature in either the local budget or the budget support of the division. Most importantly, the tool will be used for Classroom Based Assessment (CBA) as both a baseline and end-line assessment across all schools.

4. How has the SPC's Educational Quality and Assessment Programme (EQAP)’s support added value to the development and implementation of this initiative in your country or region?
The training workshops conducted by SPC enhanced the knowledge and skills of participants from Samoa for this work. The integration of our indigenous knowledge and skills into the tool ensured that Samoa’s voice and perspectives taken into account. The step-by-step guidance on developing the tool and reviewing items to make them meaningful for our children was fundamental to the process.

In saying that, SPC’s support for Samoa was always nearby. Even when meetings and trainings were conducted virtually, SPC’s support and assistance were tremendous. The technical support and assistance added value to how this work started. Our fellow island brothers and sisters have also benefited from this work, and from the feedback we have read from other island countries, we have gained insights on how to improve what we are doing.

SPC introduced PacSIMS to the Ministry, and discussions are ongoing. It would be wonderful to integrate school readiness data into PacSIMS. We hope SPC will conduct training on data entry and analysis, as well as on creating resources based on the analysis. This is an area of need for Samoa, and introducing PacSIMS provides an opportunity for our teachers to learn more about data analysis and how to use the results to improve our work.