We believe every child deserves to be recognised, understood and supported — before difficulties become entrenched.
Every Child Thrives Education is an independent research and development initiative working to strengthen how education systems identify and support children with additional learning and developmental needs.
Starting in the classroom
Too many children with additional learning and developmental needs wait too long before the right support reaches them. By the time a formal assessment is completed, a referral is made, or specialist intervention begins, months or years may have passed — and the gap between a child and their peers has grown.
We believe the classroom is where early identification must begin. Teachers are often the first to notice that something is different about how a child is learning, communicating or participating. Our work is focused on understanding how that moment of recognition can be better supported — and how the journey from concern to effective support can be made shorter, clearer and more consistent.
Every Child Thrives Education exists to generate the kind of independent, grounded evidence that can inform that change — and to share it in ways that are useful to practitioners, policymakers and families.
Our principles
Independence
We are not affiliated with any government, school authority or international body. Our research is conducted independently, and our findings are shaped only by the evidence — not by institutional interests.
The classroom first
We believe that effective support begins in the classroom, not at the end of a long referral pathway. Our work focuses on what can be done earlier, closer to the child, and within the everyday context of school.
Listening carefully
We work by listening to the professionals who are closest to children — teachers, school leaders, support staff and specialists. Their experience and expertise is the foundation of everything we do.
Practical usefulness
Research that sits in a report and goes no further is not enough. We are committed to producing findings that are accessible, actionable and genuinely useful to those working with children every day.
Independent research, practical purpose
Our work begins with careful, qualitative research — listening to education professionals, mapping how systems currently work, and identifying where the greatest opportunities for improvement lie.
We do not arrive with a predetermined answer or a product to sell. We arrive with questions, and we take the time to understand the context we are working in before drawing any conclusions.
Our current programme focuses on Albania — a country with a developing framework for inclusive education and a genuine openness to understanding how early identification and classroom-based support can be strengthened. It is the first of what we hope will be a series of country-level programmes, each contributing to a growing body of international evidence.
Interested in the research?
Find out more about our current programme in Albanian schools — what we are exploring, how we are working, and how you can contribute.