BIGGER Écoles

Transforming Schools to Prevent Child Marriage

A school and community-based initiative supported by the European Commission to prevent child marriage by transforming the norms, practices, and institutional responses that place girls at risk within and around public schools.

By working across schools and communities, BIGGER Écoles:

  • Strengthens how schools identify and respond to risks affecting adolescent girls

  • Increases awareness among families and communities of girls’ rights

  • Improves coordination between schools and civil society organisations

  • Supports shifts in social norms that keep girls in school and prevent child marriage

Through BIGGER Écoles, Project Soar is contributing to an environment in which schools are not only places of learning, but active partners in protecting girls’ rights and futures.

Why?

Girls who leave school early - often due to poverty, insecurity, or weak institutional support - are at significantly higher risk of being married before the legal age. While schools and surrounding communities play a critical role in prevention, many lack the tools to identify risks early and respond effectively.

Preventing child marriage requires stronger collaboration between schools, families, and local actors, alongside greater awareness of girls’ rights and clearer support pathways. When institutions and communities work together, girls are more likely to remain safe, supported, and in school.

How?

We work within public schools and their surrounding communities to shift attitudes, strengthen local capacity, and embed prevention into everyday practice. Implemented in partnership with the Regional Academy of Education (AREF) and the National Federation of Parents’ Associations in Morocco (FNAPEM), the program positions schools as key sites for dialogue, protection, and collective responsibility.

Through school-based dialogues, family discussions, and advocacy, the program mobilises school administrators, teachers, students, parents, and community leaders around the prevention of child marriage and school dropout.

  • Co-creation meeting at Project Soar headquarters with representatives from AREF and school directors, focused on shaping school-based approaches to girls’ protection and education.

    Co-creation meeting at Project Soar headquarters with representatives from AREF and school directors, focused on shaping school-based approaches to girls’ protection and education.

  • Co-creation workshop with FNAPEM and CSOs at Project Soar headquarters, centred on dialogue, shared experience, and practical solutions.

    Co-creation workshop with FNAPEM and CSOs, centred on dialogue, shared experience, and practical solutions.

  • Activities in Loudaya bringing families together for workshops and reflection sessions

    Co-creation workshop with students, centring student voices and lived experience.

This project is supported by: