GPE Safe Learning Technical Assistance Initiative (2023-2027)
Building country capacity to prevent and respond to violence
The Global Partnership for Education (GPE) Safe Learning Technical Assistance Initiative (TAI) aims to build country capacity to prevent and respond to violence in and around schools. The initiative is supporting efforts in Honduras, Nepal, Sierra Leone and Sri Lanka.
The TAI supports country level implementation of the Safe to Learn Call to Action and leverages the collective expertise of the Coalition partners to support government-led, evidence-based, and cross-sectoral reforms.
A mid-term review of the GPE technical assistance portfolio is planned for 2026, to inform the future direction of these initiatives in the next strategic period.
What the Initiative supports
Across participating countries, the TAI supports Ministries of Education to:
- Identify system strengths, gaps, and priorities related to violence prevention and safe learning.
- Embed prevention and response standards within education sector plans, policies, and budgets.
- Strengthen school-level prevention, reporting, and referral mechanisms.
- Build capacity across education systems for positive discipline, whole-school approaches, and gender-transformative practice.
- Generate and use data and evidence to inform policy dialogue, planning, and investment decisions.
How the Initiative works
While each country pathway is tailored to national context and priorities, the TAI typically supports a cycle of system strengthening:
- Joint scoping and inception. Alignment with Ministry of Education priorities, existing sector plans, coordination mechanisms (including Local Education Groups), and ongoing policy dialogue.
- Evidence-based system review. Use of Safe to Learn benchmarking and/or diagnostic assessments to identify strengths, gaps, and feasible entry points across policy, prevention, response, financing, and data systems.
- Prioritization and action planning. Government-led identification of priority actions, roles, sequencing, and costing to inform education sector planning and implementation.
- Implementation support, learning, and exchange. Ongoing technical assistance, capacity development, and peer learning to support implementation, adaptation, and cross-country learning.
This approach is designed to reinforce government ownership, strengthen coordination across education, child protection, gender, and social and behaviour change sectors, and ensure alignment with GPE-supported planning and financing processes.
Accordion
Phase 1: Piloting System-Level Support (2024–2026)
Phase 1 of the GPE Safe Learning TAI piloted the approach in Nepal and Sierra Leone.
To date, Phase 1 has confirmed the value of:
- Diagnostics and benchmarking as tools for policy dialogue
- Cross-sectoral coordination
- Government-led prioritization linked to sector planning
- Meaningful engagement of children and young people
Lessons from Phase 1 directly informed the design of Phase 2, including stronger links to education sector plans, clearer capacity development pathways, and more structured learning and knowledge exchange.
Phase 2: Deepening Impact and Regional Learning (2025–2027)
Phase 2 expands the initiative through two complementary components:
1. Country-level implementation
Phase 2 provides in-depth technical assistance in two pilot countries:
- Honduras
- Sri Lanka
Support will focus on embedding safe learning priorities within national education systems, aligned with education sector plans, partnership compacts, and existing national strategies, while strengthening coordination, data use, and system capacity
2. Regional learning and capacity development
A strengthened regional learning and capacity development component extends the impact of the initiative beyond pilot countries to engage countries across Latin America, the Caribbean, and South Asia.
This component:
- Supports benchmarking or diagnostic assessments in at least five countries.
- Builds national capacity to apply Safe to Learn tools and use findings for policy dialogue.
- Facilitates peer learning, regional webinars, and communities of practice.
- Produces country briefs, case studies, and global synthesis products.
Learning from both country implementation and diagnostics is systematically documented and shared to strengthen regional collaboration and inform future scale-up.
