First Steps Forward

A safe place to learn,
The best start in life

Restoring safe learning

Pre-school is a place of fun and learning, bright colours, fun toys, new friends. People don’t always remember their early school experiences, but it still has a huge power to influence potential futures. After 4 years of full-scale invasion, many Ukrainian children are facing the possibility they will miss out on preschool completely, impacting their futures irrevocably.

Since the full-scale invasion in 2022, access to preschool for children in Ukraine has plummeted. Schools being severely damaged in the war has left preschool places, resources and safe conditions at a critical low.

Communities need support to optimise the limited facilities and resources available to impact Ukrainian children. Moreover, educators need to master new techniques to work with children in this context and require psychological support for working in crisis conditions.

Building scalable solutions

The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine approached Theirworld to help solve the lack of access to early years education in Ukraine. First Steps Forward is a pilot project with big ambitions that will serve as a scalable model to be used across Ukraine.

1,611 schools damaged

Since the start of the full-scale invasion, the UN has verified that 1,611 schools have been damaged, though the actual number is likely much higher (UNICEF, 2025).

An estimated four in ten children, aged 3 to 6 years, are missing out on regular attendance at kindergartens. In frontline regions, the absence of in-person early childhood education and care has led to heightened stress, reduced social-emotional skills, and diminished self-esteem among more than 80% of children, according to surveys (UNICEF, 2025).

Ukraine’s Ministry of Education and Science Framework

Sarah Brown, Chair of Theirworld, Justin van Fleet, President of Theirworld and Oksen Lisovyi, Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine at the Summit of First Ladies and Gentleman in Kyiv.

Theirworld has successfully scaled projects with Ukraine’s Ministry of Education and Science multiple times before, delivering laptops to children and teachers who need them for school and even and supporting the completion of a new Museum of Mathematics in Kyiv.

So, we were in the unique and trusted position to be one of the first organisations engaged to take forward the Ministry’s new framework to target early years education.

Through this programme, an initial 1,000 preschool children will gain access to safe, high-quality and inclusive educational services in preschool.

Investing in early childhood education is vital for the country’s future... We want to give these children the best possible start in life, and we are proud that, together with our partners, we can take this step. Oksen Lisovyi, Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine

How the programme will work

Representatives of local governments and stakeholders will learn how to optimise the preschool education network and child-centered budgeting.
Over 400 preschool educators will learn how to implement modern models of preschool education. Throughout their careers these educators have the potential to reach thousands of children at this crucial stage in their life.
Parents and caregivers will receive extra guidance, so they know how to best support their child’s early years education.

Theirworld is investing $250,000 that will cover educator training, facility upgrades, and tailored service design for local families. We’re working with NGO Zadzerkalya who will be implementing the project on the ground in Ukraine.

Ukraine is setting an example for the world. If it can act for early years and make preschool a national priority in the midst of conflict, then every country has the power to do the same. Justin van Fleet, President of Theirworld

Help us reach more children

With more funding we can scale pilot programmes like this to reach more teachers who will then reach more and more children. The potential of early years education is unlimited and is vital to the future of every country.

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