As emphasised by the Committee on the Rights of the Child (General Comment No. 17, para. 9), ‘Play and recreation are essential to the health and well-being of children and promote the development of creativity, imagination, self-confidence, self-efficacy, as well as physical, social, cognitive and emotional strength and skills. They contribute to all aspects of learning.’ The Committee also recognises  play as one of the most distinctive features of early childhood (General Comment No. 7, para. 34).

This indicator examines if the national laws and/or policies have provisions  in relation to ‘school health services’ in schools  including ECCE centres. School health services  refers to services such as health screening, immunisation services, vitamin supplements, preventive health education and counselling services to children.

This indicator examines if the national law or policies have provision to provide free school meals in schools including ECCE centres.

Violence against children is widespread, across different cultures and societies. It occurs everywhere including homes, schools and streets; in places of work and entertainment, and care and detention centres.

A curriculum framework is a document that sets the content of the education. International human rights law requires that the content of education be rights-based, meaning it is person centred, non-discriminatory and conforms to the aims of education. This indicator examines if the curriculum framework confirms with the aims of the education.

As affirmed by the Committee on the Rights of the Child, early childhood is a critical period  for realising children's rights. Young children’s earliest years are the foundation for children’s well being, growth and development and it has been shaped by the culture and environment they grow in. While extensive  research has been carried out  on the distinctive features of early childhood, the committee observed that it is limited to certain contexts and regions of the world.

This indicator examines if the schools, including ECCE centres, provide school health services such as health screening, immunisation services, vitamin supplements, preventive health education and counselling services to children.

This indicator examines if the schools, including ECCE centres, provide free school meals that are nutritionally adequate and culturally appropriate and safe for all children in order to improve children’s education, health and nutrition.

As interpreted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child in its General Comment No. 14 (para. 79), in order to ensure better quality education for all children States have to recruit a sufficient number of qualified teachers and other education support personnel in different education settings. This indicator examines the number of qualified teachers and other education support personnel to be recruited for addressing teacher shortages.

Human rights education (HRE) is a lifelong process aimed at empowering people through fostering knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours needed to uphold human rights for all members of society. HRE stands to empower children and others to imbibe fundamental human rights principles such as dignity, equality, and non-discrimination through an embedded learning process - that includes education, training and information.