Transforming schools means transforming futures.

Cambodia Charitable Trust works alongside school communities, Cambodian educators and local leaders to strengthen learning environments and improve long-term educational outcomes for children.

Our approach focuses on practical, sustainable change — supporting students, schools, teachers and communities together.

Our approach combines:

• support for vulnerable students
• school development
• teacher training
• leadership mentoring
• practical resources
• and long-term partnership.

Together, these elements create lasting educational transformation.

HOW OUR MODEL WORKS

We work across four connected areas:

Supporting Children

Ensuring vulnerable students can stay in school through sponsorship, bicycles, uniforms and practical support.

Strengthening Schools

Partnering with school leaders to improve learning environments, attendance, resources and community engagement.

Developing Teachers

Providing ongoing professional development, mentoring and classroom observation tools that improve teaching quality.

Creating Futures

Supporting young women into tertiary study, leadership and long-term career pathways.

IMPROVING TEACHING QUALITY ACCROSS CAMBODIA

Cambodia Charitable Trust works in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MOEYS) to support teacher development and strengthen educational quality across Cambodia.

This work includes professional development programmes, teacher mentoring, classroom observation tools and partnerships with Provincial Teacher Training Centres (PTTCs).

One important initiative has been the collaborative development of the Observation Tool (OT), a professional development framework designed to support reflective teaching practice and improve classroom learning environments.

➡ Learn more about the Observation Tool
➡ Learn more about the PTTC Programme

WORKING ALONGSIDE SCHOOLS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES

How we work.

We Identify A School in Need

Many rural Cambodian schools face significant challenges including limited resources, overcrowded classrooms and barriers to educational access.

Cambodia Charitable Trust works alongside school communities, Cambodian educators and local leaders to strengthen learning environments and improve long-term educational outcomes for children.

Our School Transformation Strategy focuses on sustainable, practical change — supporting students, schools, teachers and communities together.

Relationships with the School Community are Key.

Our work is led and delivered in partnership with experienced Cambodian educators, school leaders and community networks.

CCT’s Cambodian staff and education partners work directly within local communities to identify priorities, strengthen schools and support sustainable educational development.

We Improve the Classroom Environment

Together with school communities, we help improve classroom environments by repairing damaged facilities, improving lighting and creating brighter, safer learning spaces for children and teachers.

Celebrating Student Learning

Display boards and classroom artwork help create learning spaces where children feel proud of their work and motivated to participate in school life.

These small but important changes help strengthen confidence, creativity and student engagement.

Developing School Libraries

School libraries quickly become vibrant learning spaces where children can read, learn and explore new ideas.

We help create welcoming library spaces with books, art materials and reading areas that support literacy, creativity and life skills learning for both students and their wider families.

We Build a School Playground

Play is an important part of childhood development and helps children build positive connections with school.

Where possible, we help schools create simple playground spaces using locally available materials.

“In the beginning I thought playgrounds were a frivolous luxury in light of more pressing needs, but I have come to understand how important they are for child development and for children to have a positive association with school.  If school is a fun and positive experience, they will keep coming back. “ ~ Denise Arnold

We Remove the Barriers to Education

Many families face significant financial pressures that make it difficult for children to attend school consistently.

With donor support, we help provide essential items such as uniforms, stationery and school supplies so vulnerable children can continue their education.

Early Childhood Learning

Early childhood education helps prepare children for successful primary schooling.

Where possible, we help schools establish preschool spaces with age-appropriate learning materials and support for local preschool teachers.

We Establish a Remedial Classroom

We offer free remedial lessons for the students needing additional learning support.  This hugely improves the learning outcomes for struggling children and improves student retention.  Children in Cambodia only attend school for four hours each day.  We have two school sessions, 7am-11am or 1pm-5pm.  Children who are struggling academically attend remedial classes in the hours they are not attending their main school session.

We plant a school vegetable garden.

One of our goals is to improve the food security of the community at large.  Subsistence farmers are vulnerable to food shocks – the failure of crops or rises in food prices.  Learning how to grow food is an essential life skill for a Cambodian child.  It is part of the learning curriculum, and we consider it really important to give children practical knowledge of how to grow food.

School gardens also bring families and communities together through shared activities that strengthen community connection and cooperation.

We also create fishponds, because fish are a rich source of protein.  The school director ensures that the poorest children have access to the fish and crops from school.

We support vulnerable children

Child sponsorship helps vulnerable children remain in school and reduces the pressures that can lead families to rely on child labour, unsafe migration or other harmful alternatives.

Education provides protection, opportunity and greater long-term choice — especially for girls and young women.

We support teacher development

Strong teachers are essential for quality education.

CCT works alongside Cambodian education leaders and teacher trainers to support ongoing professional development, mentoring and practical classroom support for both new and experienced teachers.

This includes workshops, mentoring, teaching resources and collaborative programmes developed in partnership with Cambodia’s Ministry of Education.

One of CCT’s most significant initiatives has been the co-development of the Observation Tool — now formally adopted within Cambodia’s primary teacher professional development system. The Observation Tool was co-developed with Cambodia’s Ministry of Education and is now used to support professional development for primary teachers across the system.