Substantial evidence demonstrates that programmes that strengthen parents’ ability to support early learning have a powerful impact on children’s development. Reach Up is one such programme; this pioneering and widely recognised early childhood parenting intervention has consistently shown strong impacts on child development. Global early childhood development guidelines call on governments to deliver support services for families with young children – but evidence is needed on how proven programmes can be effectively integrated and scaled within government systems.
Reach Up was originally developed in Jamaica and has become highly influential internationally, helping shape how governments think about supporting parents and early learning. The programme strengthens parents’ skills and enjoyment in helping their children learn through play and responsive interactions. It has been implemented in several low- and middle-income countries, and evaluations across eight countries have shown significant benefits for children’s cognitive, language and fine motor development, as well as improvements in the quality of the home learning environment.
Given this strong evidence of effectiveness, an important next question is how Reach Up can be delivered at scale within existing government services. In Jamaica, where Reach Up is implemented by the Ministry of Health & Wellness (MOHW), the Reach Up team recently conducted a randomised clinical trial to test a more scalable blended delivery model. The programme was delivered through the government’s primary healthcare system to 627 parent-child pairs. Community health workers supported families with children aged three to 28 months by demonstrating age-appropriate play and language activities, with fortnightly contacts alternating between home visits and telephone calls.
The findings showed clear benefits for children’s development and parenting practices, with children achieving significantly higher developmental levels and parents providing more stimulating home environments compared with the control group. In addition, the findings suggest that a blended parenting programme combining remote and in-person delivery may be a promising strategy for scaling.
Through the research team’s ongoing collaboration with MOHW, a five-year plan for early childhood development has been developed that includes phased scaling of Reach Up – reinforcing the value of sustained partnerships between researchers and policymakers.
In this Thrive in Conversation session, two of the researchers – Dr Susan Chang-Lopez and Dr Joanne Smith-Burke from the Caribbean Institute for Health Research, The University of the West Indies, Jamaica – and Dr Julia Rowe-Porter, Acting Director of the Family Health Unit in MOHW, joined Thrive host Bet Caeyers to discuss Reach Up’s scaling journey and the recent study findings, and what these might mean for the future scaling of Reach Up and other parenting programmes.
Session recording
Q&As
Speakers
Senior Lecturer
Caribbean Institute for Health Research, The University of the West Indies, Jamaica
Dr Chang-Lopez’s research activities are focused on the impact of low-cost psychosocial interventions on the development of vulnerable children. She co-led the development of Reach Up and is a master trainer for the programme. She has conducted training workshops worldwide, including in the Caribbean and Latin America, China, Thailand and Uzbekistan and coordinates interaction with new country partners.
At The University of the West Indies, she has coordinated and supervised several major studies and currently partners with Jamaica’s Ministry of Health and Wellness to implement Reach Up nationally. She lists this as one of her greatest achievements because of Reach Up’s potential impact on her native Jamaica.
Senior Lecturer
Epidemiology Research Unit, Caribbean Institute for Health Research, The University of the West Indies, Jamaica
Dr Smith-Burke is a member of the Child Development Research Group and a lead trainer for the Reach Up parenting intervention. She has been involved in research projects that have focused on energy metabolism in free living individuals and on the holistic development of children. She has extensive training on different methods of assessing energy intake, energy expenditure. She has expertise in cognitive
assessment and child development research. Joanne’s research interests include developing interventions to ensure the holistic development of children from disadvantaged circumstances. She aims with her research to ensure that every child has an opportunity not only to survive but to thrive.
Acting Director of the Family Health Unit, Ministry of Health & Wellness (MOHW), Jamaica
Dr Rowe-Porter is a graduate of The University of the West Indies, Mona, where she attained a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery, and a Master of Public Health with distinction. She is currently pursuing a Doctor of Public Health degree at The University of the West Indies, Mona. She has served in Jamaica’s public health sector for over 20 years with experience in leadership, coordination, training and development of various public health programmes, including non-communicable disease prevention and control, child health surveillance, and infant & young child feeding. She has been employed at the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Jamaica, since 2015 as Programme Development Officer for Immunization and Child Health, Medical Epidemiologist and Acting Director for the Non-communicable Disease and Injury Prevention Unit, and is currently the Acting Director of the Family Health Unit and National Expanded Programme on Immunization Manager for Jamaica.
Host
Senior Researcher
Christian Michelsen Institute, Bergen, Norway
Thrive Research Director and
Thrive Tanzania co-Principal Investigator
Bet Caeyers has a PhD in Economics from Oxford University. She has extensive experience living and working in Sub-Saharan Africa and is currently based in Rwanda. Her research focuses on policy and programmatic strategies for scaling social protection and human development services, particularly in early childhood development. Her work combines rigorous measurement, innovative programme design, and evaluation of cost-effective, scalable interventions for national implementation.
About the series
We know that investing in early childhood is transformative for both children and societies in low- and middle-income countries, but there are gaps in our knowledge about how to move from pilot to scale and how to ensure long-term quality.
The exchange of insights and ideas between researchers and policymakers is a vital part of bridging these gaps – ensuring that new research addresses the questions most relevant to national decision makers, and that early childhood development policies are grounded in evidence about what works at scale.
This discussion series from Thrive brings together policymakers, practitioners and researchers to explore the latest evidence related to scaling early childhood development programmes in low- and middle-income countries. Conversations will explore the key takeaways from research highlighted in the Thrive What to Read newsletter and delve into how new evidence can help to inform diverse policy and research agendas associated with scaling.
Attendees can take part in live Q&As with leading experts and be part of a growing community of knowledge shaping the future of early childhood development programming.
For the latest research related to designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating scalable early childhood development programmes in low- and middle-income countries subscribe to the monthly Thrive What to Read newsletter.
The Thrive 2025 scientific conference on scaling early childhood development programmes and policies in low- and middle-income countries, brought together early childhood development researchers, practitioners, funders and policymakers to exchange ideas. Revisit keynote presentations and other sessions from across the conference here.