The Federer Foundation – School Readiness Initiative 

Impact and Process Evaluation Partner – Project Overview 

In sub-Saharan Africa, only a quarter of young children access early childhood education, creating a major barrier to school readiness at scale. Expanding access to quality foundational learning is therefore essential to helping children thrive.  

In this case study, Southern Hemisphere shares its experience as the Impact and Process Evaluation partner for the Federer Foundation’s School Readiness Initiative.  

The School Readiness Initiative, implemented from 2018 to 2025/26, aims to ensure that children have access to at least one year of structured, quality early learning before entering primary school. 

The initiative operates across six countries, namely Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe and targets the most vulnerable and underserved communities.

Grounded in Sustainable Development Goal 4.2, the program views school readiness as a systemic outcome that depends on capable educators, safe and enabling learning environments, engaged caregivers and communities and responsive education systems that work in concert. 

The School Readiness Initiative aims to achieve the following outcomes:

• Joint Responsibility: Establishing processes for shared responsibility for early learning among government actors, schools, communities, and caregivers. 
• Improved Environments: Enhancing the quality and safety of early childhood education (ECE) facilities so they are age-appropriate and stimulating. 
• Educator Competency: Strengthening the competencies and professional practice of ECE educators in play-based learning and developmental monitoring. 

Outcomes

Southern Hemisphere’s evaluation process empowered RFF as an organisation to learn, adapt, and plan for the future and were used in the formulation of their new strategy 

• Evidence-Based Strategy Formulation:  

The 2025 Annual Report outlines the strategy that is rooted grows directly from experience and the findings of the independent evaluation. Southern Hemisphere provided the evidence base necessary for RFF to transition from a project-based approach to a systems-level strategy.

• Validated Insights and Contextual Relevance:  

We held Validation Workshops with stakeholders across six countries to ensure the evaluation findings were accurate and contextually relevant. This process helped refine and prioritize recommendations to ensure they were feasible, contextually appropriate, and action-oriented for RFF’s next phase. 

• Strengthened Accountability and Learning:  

The evaluation provided a structured process to examine “how and why” the program worked, strengthening RFF’s internal accountability and its commitment to evidence-based decision-making. 

• Identification of Scalability Guardrails:   

Southern Hemisphere identified the non-negotiables for scaling the program, such as the need for layered support systems and the risk of diluting quality if district-level ownership is not secured. 

Resources  

We produced a Synthesised Process Evaluation Final Report and six in-depth Country Process Evaluation Reports. These resources provide actionable evidence on cost-effectiveness, sustainability barriers, and scaling potential to inform future programming. 

Southern Hemisphere Team:  

Team Leader: Nana Davies 

Project Manager: Danielle Lemmon  

Consultants: Cathy Chames, Dena Lomofsky, Lisa Petersen, Leila Thesen, Zimingonaphakade Sigenu, Debbie Budlender, and Linda Biersteker, George Mosima. 

In partnership with Social Surveys Africa