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18 EFA Mid-Decade Assessment●The relationship which children make with other children and with adults are ofcentral importance to their development. (Holdsworth, 1997:12-13 in Evans,1998:8)Many children face challenges when they enter school because they have not had thechance to develop the skills, habits and attitudes. They are often ill-equipped to adaptbasic academic and social skills, have a low alertness, suffer lack of concentration, etc.expected of the average child in kindergarten and first grade.This lack of development is manifested in their low scores on tests measuringintellectual or scholastic ability and/or failure to complete primary education. Whilepoor children may be developmentally advanced in other respects, their lack ofpreparedness for school can lead to unnecessary (and preventable) placement inspecial education classes, to being held back a grade, to repeated scholastic failureand to dropping out of school at an early age.And in addition to preparing children for school, an important intervention in ECCE is tomake schools prepared for children. This calls for a child-centred learning approach,including social interaction with adults and other children, and play providingopportunities for exploration, experimentation and manipulation that are essential forconstructing knowledge.In other words, core principles of ECCE are also beneficiary to the primary level ofschooling. Rather than ECCE being an extension of primary school, the quality of theteaching methods in primary schools would benefit from adapting child-centred learningapproaches used in quality pre-primary schools.Children who are better prepared physically, mentally, and socially for school have aneasier transition from home to school. Therefore, drop-out and repetition rates arelower and the need for remedial programmes isWhat puts school readiness and reduced. This will reduce the current costs ofability to learn at risk? primary school, freeing resources to improveschool facilities or other social purposes. Earlychildhood interventions can also bring about costLow birth weightLack of breast feedingStuntingIron and iodine deficienciesLack of stimulationBiased gender socializationExposure to violence, disruptionsavings in other sectors. Through preventivemeasures in programmes, health costs can bereduced due to better health, fewer accidents,etc. Effects can also be seen in relation to lesslikelihood for delinquent behaviour and relatedproblems as children tend to stay longer in school.Education for All: Reaching the Unreached