Empowering Teachers | Inspiring Children | Transforming Communities
Our Impact
Evidence that the model works, and how we know
Working with governments and schools across 10 countries, on the way to reaching 10 million children.
Aprender measures impact in three ways: through independent external validation, through our own monitoring data across the countries where we are active, and through the voices of the educators we work with.
Apto is Aprender's coaching model. It trains experienced school leaders to coach government education officers, who then train school leaders and teachers directly in their own schools. It's designed to build lasting local capability, not one-off workshops.
Independent External Validation
Cambridge Judge Business School Global Consulting Project Report. April 2026
This was a real-world consulting placement for Cambridge MBA students, who independently researched Aprender's model as part of their degree.
Independent validation by MBA students at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School has reinforced confidence in Aprender's approach to improving education at scale.
Following field research in Uganda, including classroom observations, interviews with teachers, school leaders and education officers, and analysis of our programmes, the team concluded that Apto addresses a genuine need in education systems. They highlighted the strength of our coaching-led approach, our focus on building local ownership rather than dependency, and the model's potential to scale while maintaining quality.
They also recognised the value of AptoBox in overcoming low-connectivity barriers, and confirmed that our focus on leadership, coaching and systems strengthening offers a practical, sustainable path to lasting improvement.
Most importantly, the project provided independent, quantified validation that Apto is both effective and cost-efficient: coaching delivered at approximately £42 per coaching day, compared with a UK benchmark of approximately £450, supporting our case for scaling towards 500,000 educators and 10 million children.
The Report Summary is available on request.
Course Evaluations
The following reflects recurring themes from participant feedback across Apto programmes, presented alongside and distinct from the survey scores found below.
Across our Apto programmes, participants consistently tell us the experience has changed both their confidence and their day-to-day practice. Educators value that the training is practical and immediately usable; it lets them make real changes in their classrooms and schools from day one.
They describe improvements in lesson quality, classroom culture, coaching conversations, teamwork, and school leadership, along with a clearer sense of how to lead lasting change. Many also speak of a renewed sense of purpose in their ability to shape children's lives.
Participants often say the collaborative style of the programme has pushed them to reflect more on their own practice, and to support the people around them. Many keep using what they learned long after the course ends, creating a knock-on effect that strengthens teams, improves schools, and ultimately benefits children.
Above all, participants leave with more than new knowledge; they leave with the confidence, practical tools and ongoing support to turn what they've learned into lasting change for colleagues, students and their wider school community.
Our Apto Cascade Impact Measurement &
Cost Effectiveness
The Apto Cascade works in two directions. Training and coaching move down through the cascade. Evidence about what is changing moves back up. Each person measures what they are close enough to see.
Independent analysis by the MBA students from the University of Cambridge Judge Business School found Aprender delivers coaching at approximately £42 per coaching day, against a UK benchmark of approximately £450, roughly a tenfold difference in cost per day of coaching delivered.
Together, these outcomes show that Apto doesn't just deliver training,; it builds the confidence, capability and sustainable systems that let educators transform children's lives themselves.
Teachers and Education Officers use short checks to look at reading, numeracy, attendance, participation and confidence. Results are compared over time to see whether students are progressing.
For example: a teacher might repeat the same short reading check before and after a coaching cycle to see whether students are reading more accurately and confidently.
Education Officers observe lessons before and after coaching. They look at how teachers check understanding, involve students, structure lessons and keep teaching well-paced.
For example: an early observation might show that only confident students answer questions. A later visit may show the teacher using no-hands-up questioning so that every student is expected to think and participate.
Education Officers record which schools and teachers receive coaching and follow-up support. They bring the results together to show progress across all the schools they support, not just the standout success stories.
For example: an Education Officer may identify that most teachers are involving students more actively, but several still need help with checking understanding. This shapes the next round of coaching.
Apto Fellows support Education Officers and review the quality of their coaching. They check whether it uses classroom evidence, leads to clear goals and is followed up consistently.
For example: a Fellow might help an Education Officer turn a general aim such as “improve participation” into specific action that can be checked at the next classroom visit.
Aprender brings all of this together to understand how many schools, educators and children we are reaching, whether practice is improving and whether students are benefiting.
For example: evidence from several schools may show stronger student participation but slower progress in lesson planning. Aprender can then adapt its training and provide more support in the area where it is most needed.
Impact Reports
Across our international partnerships, Apto is delivering measurable improvements in teaching, leadership and school culture.
Our latest impact evaluation shows consistently strong feedback:
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Quality of their relationship with Aprender: 4.9 / 5
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How likely they are to recommend us: 4.8 / 5
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How well we've supported them in reaching their own goals: 4.7 / 5
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Quality of the training itself: 4.4 / 5, with gains in leadership practice (4.3/5) and teaching quality (4.0/5)
Partners also describe teachers embracing active learning, stronger school leadership, and improved teacher engagement.
Beyond the scores, partners describe teachers embracing active learning, stronger school leadership, improved teacher engagement and, in one school, student attainment rising from below 50% to over 80%.
Together, these outcomes demonstrate that Apto doesn't simply deliver training; it builds the confidence, capability and sustainable systems that enable educators to transform the lives of children.
Why Impact Matters — And Why It Is Hard to Measure
Every teacher trained, every coach deployed, every classroom changed has to lead somewhere: to children whose lives are different because of it. We owe our donors, our partners, and the children themselves an honest answer on whether that's happening.
We take measurement seriously. We collect data before and after training, interview the people we work with, and check that coaching is actually being delivered the way it's designed. This sits at the centre of how we track, evaluate and learn.
But honest measurement also means being honest about its limits.
Change in classrooms is slow, and it doesn't happen in a straight line. The outcomes that matter most, a child who stays in school, a teacher who becomes the steady adult presence a vulnerable child needs, a school culture that quietly shifts over years, are exactly the hardest things to capture in a spreadsheet.
Working across ten countries adds its own challenges: patchy internet, limited data systems, different starting points in every context.
So our commitment is twofold: to measure what we can, rigorously and openly, and to be upfront about what we can't yet measure, what we use instead in the meantime, and what we're doing to close that gap. Impact reporting that pretends to a certainty it doesn't have isn't really impact reporting at all.
Mr Matengu, Zambia
"Schools like Kids Alive Academy would not have reached where we are now if Aprender hadn't stepped in. Therefore, there is a need to support this important cause so they can continue supporting many leaders, teachers and schools across the globe."
Mdm Mireille, Lebanon
"Apto training changed the teaching culture... Teachers have been inspired to think creatively, move beyond rigid structures, and trust their own observations of the children."
Lorna Barker, Uganda
"This highly successful programme goes above and beyond any training course I have experienced and will never have an expiry date. The level of committed, ongoing post-course support is effective and unprecedented."
