How does the Perivoli Schools Trust work?

The Perivoli Schools Trust operates through a structured training programme for nursery teachers, introducing them to a play-based methodology, using locally available resources to create teaching aids. The training covers child development, class management, and creating stimulating environments.

Our Trainers deliver the 16 Modules over a two-year period to Groups of up to 25 nursery school teachers. Sessions are every four to eight weeks, usually in community halls. In between Module sessions, the Trainers run support groups and undertake class visits. The Modules are designed to last 90 minutes and be interactive and good fun. They explain how play activities enhance a child’s development, and how to make educational aids and toys from locally available recyclable waste materials.

The first eight Modules show teachers how to structure their week, organise their classrooms and how to make play the centre of everything they do. The goal is to help children develop social skills, audio and visual perception, fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, language and simple arithmetic.

The second set of eight Modules reinforces these key teaching messages but also addresses the importance of activity centres, personal hygiene, nature, safety and wellness, gender and inclusion and preparation for school.

Between module days, the same teachers meet in Support Groups, led by the Trainer, to reinforce key ideas and swap the homemade learning materials they have created.

Trainers also carry out class visits to each participating teacher. In the first year, visits are monthly; in the second year, they are every second month. During these visits, the Trainer observes, coaches and gathers data.

Once a teacher has attended all 16 modules, they receive a Perivoli Certificate at a public Graduation Ceremony held in the community; for many, it is the first formal recognition of their work.

After graduation, the teacher moves into the Maintenance Phase. Trainers now return once a term to ensure classroom standards stay high and to keep graduates in the pipeline for other Perivoli initiatives.

Trainers use a tablet-based app that geolocates every visit and uploads attendance, classroom and child-level data to the central Perivoli database. The digital backbone means reach and impact are understood, and that those teachers who need extra help are identified.

Oversight follows a clear pyramid: Trainers report to Regional Coordinators (teams of four or five); these report to Senior Regional Coordinators (again in groups of four or five); the Seniors report to the joint CEOs, who in turn are answerable to the trust itself.