It's a little after dawn and Chea Bora and his sister Chea Sok Lin are getting ready for school. Their mother, Yuon Lekwashes her baby. She has six children in all but the two oldest boys, 11 and 16, live and work elsewhere.

The eldest went to school for a short time but dropped out. None of her other children has ever gone to school. More than a third of Cambodian children aged 5-14 work. Now, he's starting school along with his 6 year old sister. Their mother walks them to school, the two youngest siblings in tow.

The school the children are attending is called Reachea Nukol. It's in remote Stung Teng Province, a poor undeveloped corner of Cambodia on the Mekong River near the Laotian border. Reachea Nukol offers an exciting learning experience to its students. It's a new kind of child-friendly school promoted by UNICEF and other development partners.

Richard Bridle, UNICEF representative in Cambodia, said: "Making education more inclusive. Making education more child-centred and getting away from a lot of the regimentation that tends to happen in classrooms. "

Lay Nong, First Grade teacher, recently completed a special course on child-friendly schools. She said: "Before I received training in Child-friendly schools there was corporeal punishment for children. Now that's gone and children are involved in the positive process of learning. "

Clean water is provided. Parents are invited to observe classes. Since Chea Bora has never gone to school before he is starting first grade with his 6-year-old sister, also in school for the first time. Often older kids get left behind and fail to catch up but Bora's teacher is working hard to prevent this. Chea Bora wouldn't be in school at all if it weren't for the aspect of children-friendly schools – Child seeking.

Sam Anne leads a community-wide initative – seeking children out of school. She maps where all the school age children live and encourages parents to enroll their daughters and sons. Sam Anne visited Chea Bora's mother, Huon Lek, before school started.

A mother (Khymer) Huon Lek, said: "She told me that my older children should go to school. If they are uneducated. If they cannot read like me then it is hard to find a job. When they are educated it will be easier for them to find good jobs and they will have better lives. "

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