​This report summarises the findings of a rigorous review on the role and impact of philanthropic and religious schools in developing countries.

A prior review initially sought to cover all types of non-state schools, but was subsequently separated into two parts. The first reviewed the role and impact of private schools in developing countries (Day Ashley et al., 2014). The second part covered other forms of non-state provision.

The categorisation of these providers has been driven by the coverage of the literature, with a focus on those education providers whose foundational ideology is religious (religious schools) and those founded as philanthropic organisations, such as NGOs and CSOs (philanthropic schools).

Joseph Wales, Monazza Aslam, Sebastien Hine, Shenila Rawal and Leni Wild