Project Evaluator

Terms of Reference for End of Project Evaluation

The Times of Transformation: Increasing access, attendance, and retention in basic education for highly marginalized children in Northern Sierra Leone

Street Child’s purpose is to ensure that children are safe, in school and learning. We work closely with local organisations in over 20 countries in Africa, Asia, and the Ukraine crisis to bring about low-cost, long-lasting and meaningful change for communities or groups for whom education has been out of reach. We are specialists in developing solutions for education provision in low-resource environments and emergencies, such as in refugee settlements or in highly impoverished regions, as well as in response to crises, including the Covid-19 pandemic, Ebola, and protracted conflicts. We were recently recognised globally for our work and were awarded the 2022 Library of Congress David M. Rubenstein Prize for our outstanding and measurable contributions to increasing literacy in multiple parts of the world. We work with an expanding network of local organisations and a focus on the power and purpose of inspirational local level organisations sits at the heart of all we do – and has done so since our first partnership in Sierra Leone in 2008. We work in close collaboration with leading agencies, leveraging our experience and expertise to issue global guidance on working with local level organisations.

Street Child is currently seeking a consultant to conduct an independent end of project evaluation for an 18-month FCDO funded project in Northern Sierra Leone due to end on 31st of December 2025. The evaluation will use existing project data to ascertain areas of interest for further investigation and collect quantitative and qualitative information from primary respondents to substantiate the data. The evaluation will be targeting children, caregivers, schools, communities, and stakeholders to assess the outcomes, measure impact and to document lessons learned.

Eligible and interested individuals should submit their statement of interest, CV, and references here by 11th November 2025.

1) PROJECT SUMMARY

The aim of this project is to increase enrolment, retention, and quality in schools for 4,500 highly marginalised children in urban and peri-urban communities in Northern Sierra Leone. To achieve this, the project will:

• Provide access to primary school education for 4,500 highly vulnerable children and increase their chance of success by training social workers to identify and support vulnerable Out of School (OOS) children, give them targeted assistance, enrol children in a school, advocate for the children on the importance of education, and provide family mediation where necessary. This includes 2,000 of the most marginalised out of school children who will be provided with an education kit, 2,000 of their siblings, and an additional 500 children for whom finances are not the primary barriers preventing their enrolment in education.
• Improve the ability of 2,000 caregivers from extremely poor households to keep their children in school by working with them to develop/grow a business, provide training and support to implement the plan, supply a small grant to fund the business, encourage participation in a matched savings scheme, and provide ongoing monitoring and support to develop the business.

2) CONTEXT

18% of children aged 6 – 11 in Sierra Leone are out of school [UNESCO 2017] and 36% of children never complete primary school, moreover nearly half (47%) of Sierra Leone’s out of school children aged 6-14 are in its Northern Province – where this project will work. The scale is significant: there are estimated to be 218k out of school children, and a further 105k at risk of dropping out in the North [UNICEF OOSC study, 2016]. The project will address the lack of educational opportunity for the most vulnerable groups of children in 4 districts of Northern Sierra Leone and has been designed to specifically target barriers to access and retention in basic education in urban areas of Northern Sierra Leone, drawing on Street Child’s excellent track record in the country since it was founded in 2008.

Poverty is the biggest over-arching factor preventing children from going to school [UNESCO, 2013; UNICEF, 2016] due to the costs associated with education and the opportunity cost of children going to school. It is the poorest children who have the least likelihood of enrolling and attending school [UNICEF, 2016]. 50% of participants in the 2021 UNICEF funded Sierra Leone Out of School Children Study ranked money as the most significant reason for being out of school [Graham et al, 2021]. Other exclusion factors include disability and gender. A lack of parental engagement, linked to high illiteracy rates, also contributes [Street Child, 2016]. Both these barriers disproportionately affect girls. Whilst accessibility is a significant challenge for children affected by disability, Street Child found discrimination to be the top barrier [Street Child, 2018], an issue also affecting street-connected children [Street Child, 2012]. 94% of people with disabilities never complete primary education [UNFPA, 2015] compared to 40% nationally [SL-ESP, 2018]. Loss of income in families following the COVID-19 crisis, and now very high inflation levels have forced caregivers to prioritise survival over schooling, with children with disabilities, girls and other marginalised groups being deprioritised [Save the Children, 2020; UNESCO, 2020].

3) INTERVENTION

The project approach is to build pathways to completion of basic education for the most vulnerable groups of children living in urban areas in the Northern and North-Western Provinces of Sierra Leone. Reflecting the multi-dimensional nature of extreme marginalisation, the project will integrate social, education and economic strategies at the individual and community level to directly address complex economic and social barriers to education. The project has 2 key components: 1) tailored individual social work and 2) livelihoods intervention which together are designed to improve access and retention in basic education for highly vulnerable children.

Component 1: tailored individual social work

Trained social workers, through a process of street-work and referral, identify 2500 highly vulnerable children who would otherwise not be able to complete basic education. Complex social barriers are tackled through counselling and family mediation, responding to the child’s individual issues. A minimum of 1,250 girls (50%) will be targeted. Social Workers will advocate at the family and community level to overcome stigma and promote the child’s return to education, specifically addressing issues of marginalisation. An education support package, and school placement advice will help incentivise the child and caregiver for the return to school. Social Workers will directly support enrolment in school and conduct follow-up visits to monitor attendance and progress. This process will take place across a single cycle, with out of school children identified between April – June prior to schools closing for the summer and prepared for enrolment in September/ October at the start of the 2024/25 academic year. Crucially, Social Workers will provide a much-needed bridge between schools and key support services, acting as a ‘first-response’ point of referral and troubleshooting issues impacting attendance and/or retention during regular follow-up visits during that first crucial year of enrolment

Component 2: livelihoods intervention

The major barrier of household poverty will be addressed through Street Child’s proven, award-winning, Family Business Scheme. Following a well-established, high impact model, 2000 caregivers will receive basic business training, support to develop a business plan, and a small cash grant with which to establish a business capable of supporting retention in education. Businesses are monitored and supported through an intensive incentivised savings and mentoring scheme which promotes a pattern of regular saving for education. At the end of the savings period, savings are matched to enable further investment in the business. 2000 additional children within those households will be supported into school following business support, with a small additional top-up grant per child.

4) INTENDED IMPACT

Project outcome: Increased attendance and retention in basic education for 4,500 highly vulnerable, Out Of School Children (OOSC) in Northern Sierra Leone.

Project outputs:

• 4500 highly vulnerable, Out Of School Children (OOSC) have increased access to basic education.
• 2000 caregivers from extremely poor households have increased economic capacity to retain their children in school. NOTE: 2500 households are be targeted by the project in total, with 2000 of these anticipated to require economic support following needs assessment.

5) EVALUATION PURPOSE

The evaluation is intended to assess the extent to which the project outcomes have been achieved, including a review of significant achievements, successes and challenges, and including any unexpected or unintended outcomes. The evaluation will also capture key learnings and provide recommendations for both ongoing and future projects in Sierra Leone and in Street Child’s other operating contexts where relevant.

6) EVALUATION QUESTIONS

These questions are intended to define the scope of the proposed evaluation; the consultant is expected to collaborate with the project team to develop further questions in line with the specific objectives under each project component.

1. To what extent has the project achieved its intended impact, outcomes, and outputs?
2. Do the assumptions made within the Theory of Change hold true, and were the causal pathways effective?
3. What project design and implementation strategies were successful and which were unsuccessful or did not contribute to the project?
4. What changes should be made to the Theory of Change to improve effectiveness?
5. What are the positive and negative outcomes that have emerged out of the project, aside from what was forecasted?
6. What was the unintended impact (if any) from project implementation?
7. To what extent does the project represent good value for money, considering all four E’s (Equity, Effectiveness, Economy, Efficiency)?
8. How well have project activities aligned with best sectoral standards? This includes, but is not limited to, the effectiveness of safeguarding mechanisms implemented, the quality and relevance of training sessions of staff members and external stakeholders, and the quality of livelihood interventions.
9. How effectively has the project involved communities, schools, local Sierra Leone education representatives and other stakeholders in implementing the project?
10. How effectively has the project engaged Child Welfare Committees, and how has this affected the functionality of these systems?
11. What are the best practices and key learning across each project component?
12. How effective were the project’s learning and adaptation mechanisms, and were they used to inform evidence-based changes to the project?
13. An analysis of factors contributing to outcomes sustainability, as well as recommendations for strengthening sustainability.
14. To what extent has the project contributed to increased equality and equity between boys and girls, women and men?
15. To what extent has the project contributed to the inclusion marginalised/vulnerable groups, including girls and children with disabilities?
16. What are the barriers facing specific sub-groups including girls and children with disabilities that prevent them fully benefiting from the project?

7) METHODOLOGY

The evaluation will use existing project data to ascertain areas of interest for further investigation and collect quantitative and/or qualitative information from primary respondents to substantiate the data. It is anticipated that qualitative data will be collected from project beneficiaries, project staff, community and stakeholders. It is important that appropriate time is invested in visiting the project sites and engaging with target communities, and project staff will be available to support with the coordination of this. The methodology for the evaluation will also need to draw on desk research that will include the project proposal, theory of change, log-frame, quarterly reports, annual reports, and case studies.

The consultant(s) is strongly encouraged to sequence quantitative and qualitative data collection in order to explore emerging trends or tensions and is expected to outline their approach to doing so in their proposal.

Where possible, the consultant(s) should provide the child-friendly approaches and participatory methodologies they will use when engaging with children to ensure child participation in the evaluation. They should also integrate methods tailored to working with girls and children with disabilities, including creative and participatory ways to engage beneficiaries in the process of gathering and interpreting data. Previous experience utilising these approaches and methodologies should be clearly listed where relevant along with approaches used to mitigate child safeguarding risks. The successful consultant(s) is expected to adhere to the OECD-DAC Network evaluation criteria – relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability.

Street Child will provide required project data to the consultant(s) to assist in tool design and triangulation to assess:

Component 1: tailored individual social work

• Enrolment, attendance, and retention data for principal beneficiaries and siblings supported.
• Effectiveness of social work in addressing the needs of marginalised groups (e.g. children with disabilities, girls, etc.)

Component 2: livelihoods intervention

• Business implementation data for families supported by the Family Business Scheme.
• Savings data for families supported by the Family Business Scheme.
• Effectiveness of livelihoods intervention and business mentoring in providing support to marginalised groups (e.g. people with disabilities, women, etc.)

The consultant(s) will be required to create the sampling frameworks for both qualitative and quantitative samples in line with the project design.

8) DELIVERABLES

The consultant is expected to deliver the below:

• A detailed inception report outlining the final agreed methodology and methods, sampling strategy, ethical considerations and workplan.
• A validated theory of change.
• Data collection report – outlining and summarising the enumerator and supervisor reporting during the data collection, quality assurance and verification process.
• Conduct a one-day validation workshop on the evaluation findings with the project team.
• A final evaluation report for the primary use of Street Child and onward submission to donors, including an executive summary highlighting key findings and a one-page information sheets to be shared with community members and other stakeholders.
• Final presentation of findings (PowerPoint slide deck or equivalent).
• All raw data files and tools developed for the evaluation.

9) TIMELINE

The evaluation is expected to take approximately 30 days, including development of the inception report and tools, data collection, any travel, analysis, validation, report writing and submission of final products. The consultant(s) is expected to present a detailed activity plan and timeline as part of the evaluation proposal. Ideally the evaluation will commence in November 2025 with submission of the final evaluation report in early January 2026.

10) RESEARCH ETHICS

• The consultant(s) should describe their approach to ensuring the evaluation is gender-sensitive and inclusive.
• The consultant(s) should describe their approach to ensuring the safety, security and safeguarding of all research participants and personnel. Including a consideration of how to ensure the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (PSEAH) within their approach to the assignment. This should refer to all relevant stages of the research process, including recruitment and training of enumerators, design and development of instruments, and implementation of the evaluation.
• The consultant(s) should describe their approach to ethics protocols, with careful consideration of (i) ethics approval; (ii) consent; (iii) confidentiality; and (iv) data protection, amongst others. All ethical protocols should be parsed for age appropriateness as the research intends to involve children and caregivers. Furthermore, how appropriate, safe, non-discriminatory participation of all stakeholders will be ensured through the different evaluation stages, including recruitment and training of enumerators, data collection, data analysis and report writing.
• The consultant(s) should describe how confidentiality and anonymity of participants will be guaranteed, and how personal data will be stored and protected, in line with Street Child UK’s obligations under the European General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).
• The consultant(s) should outline their adherence to good practice guidelines on conducting research with children and vulnerable groups as well as administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect the confidentiality of those participating in the evaluation.

11) RISK MANAGEMENT

The consultant(s) should take all reasonable measures to mitigate any potential risks to research participants and the delivery of the required outputs for this evaluation. Therefore, the consultant(s) should submit a risk management plan covering:

• Estimates of the level of risk for each risk identified.
• Proposed contingency plans that the consultant(s) will put in place to mitigate any occurrence of each of the identified risks.
• Specific safeguarding risks (for both children and adults) and mitigating strategies, including reference to the child protection policy and procedures that will be in place.
• Health and safety issues that may require significant duty of care precautions, with particular consideration paid to risks relating to M-pox.

12) GOVERNANCE & COORDINATION

The selected consultant(s) will be contracted by and report to Street Child UK, and the Street Child Programme Manager will be the focal point for regular communication between all stakeholders. The consultant will also provide technical advice on research approaches and ensuring deliverables meet agreed quality standards and grant requirements.

Support provided by Street Child will involve – access to all key project documents and data; logistical support on the ground; providing contact details and introductions to key stakeholders; mobilising community members to be involved in the evaluation; review of draft report and final report authorisation.

13) BUDGET

The evaluation budget will depend on the quality of bids and experience of consultant(s) with an expectation that the total assignment will not exceed £11,000 including all travel and logistics. Please send a detailed budget including all expenses and taxes that may apply along with the technical application.

14) SELECTION CRITERIA

Street Child is seeking proposals from individuals/teams with the following skills and experience:

• Demonstrable experience in mixed-methods evaluations.
• Demonstrable experience evaluating educational and/or child protection programmes within the Sierra Leone (preferred) or wider West Africa context.
• Experience in conducting educational evaluations or research.
• Demonstrated understanding of and commitment to ethical issues in research/evaluations, including experience of acquiring relevant approvals/authorisations in-country.
• Experience in managing and coordinating evaluation/research exercises, including with or through country-based partners, delivering agreed outputs on time and on budget.
• Ability to write high quality, clear, concise reports in English.

Selected consultant(s) will be expected to sign and abide by Street Child’s code of conduct and key policies (including child protection and safeguarding policies).

The consultant(s) will be responsible for ensuring that all relevant ethical approval is secured from relevant bodies, as required, before data collection activities can commence. This will include the submission of complete research tools and protocols.

15) APPLICATION PROCESS

We invite interested individuals, groups or organisations to submit the following application documents:

• Copy of CV of the consultant(s) who will undertake the evaluation (maximum 2 sides of A4 each);
• A maximum 8 sides of A4 expression of interest that addresses the above ToR with a clear proposed methodology and methods.
• A proposed activities schedule/work plan with tentative timeframe.
• Financial proposal detailing consultant(s) itemized fees, data collection and administrative costs.
• Two recent examples of a similar evaluation report written by the applicant (if joint authored to include a description of the role of the named consultant in the report).
• Two written references and/or contact details of two independent referees.

Interested and eligible individuals should submit the above documents here by 11th November 2025. Only shortlisted applicants will be invited to interview.