Child Friendly Schools workshops get underway

Those who attended the workshop
Those who attended the workshop

Sports officers and teachers from various schools on the island gathered on Tuesday morning for a workshop on the Child Friendly Schools (CFS) initiative.

Chief Education Officer, Melena Fontaine stated that the program has developed in a massive way from its inception in 2009, with the goal of initiative “school-wide positive behaviour support.”

“In September 2009, the Ministry of Education began implementing the Child Friendly Schools initiative. First giving focus to school-wide positive behaviour support,” she said. “We started by piloting with ten schools in the first instance, and at the end of the piloting period, which lasted for the year, we knew that we wanted to go full-scale, because schools were implementing the principles and practices, and reporting success with a number of initiatives.”

She went on to say that the initiative, though initially faced with resistance, hopes to extend beyond the school environment, to reach children in their homes and communities.

“We did get the resistance. Even then, we planned to do an outreach program recognizing that whatever we are doing within the schools must trickle down to the home, the community, and society, as a whole. When we talk about child-friendly school, we are actually talking about effective schools,” she noted.

She emphasized that “…family and community involvement is key in what is happening,” to ensure that there is “no child falling through the cracks.”

Meantime, Former Chief Education Officer, Stephenson Hyacinth, also present at the function, called for the sports professionals to respect the rights of children, as a part of the CFS program.

“Every child has some basic rights. And, we say it over and over, but how many of us actually practise that, and are really looking at whether we are observing the rights of the child?” he noted. “That’s a must. That’s a necessity. Just like us, every one of us, we all have rights, and, so too, does all the children at our schools.”

He explained that CFS is not a choice, but is a must in ensuring an effective, child-friendly learning environment. The program, he said, helps teachers in ensuring that children are well-rounded, and able to live “wholesome” lives.

“I want to make it clear from the beginning that Child Friendly Schools is not really a matter of choice. It is the choice decision that you have to make to ensure that your environment is child- friendly…” Hyacinth said. “It does not focus primarily on academics. It looks at the whole child, because that child is someone who will be going back into the community to live, and to interact with people… Today, we shall zero in on these areas, and see how you, as teachers can, in fact, impact the kind of knowledge, the skills, the attitude that will enable a child to be a well-rounded individual, so that when he goes back, or she goes back to the community, they can live a wholesome life.”

The workshop is one of a series being held by the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development, in collaboration with UNICEF.

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2 Comments

  1. cobra
    March 17, 2016

    The ministry needs to implement a system of evaluation that impacts their salary. If you abuse people children and disrespect people children you will lose your job. That is what needs to happen. the workshop will take place and then what? they go right back to how they are accustomed. Alot of them are uneducated and those that are educated feel like they are above the children.

    There needs to be a recruitment system for them that zones in on whether they are suitable for the job both in educational qualification and in proper child respecting and embracing qualities. They do not value children and they lack the skills to interact with children alot of the time. Not all the time but alot of the time.

    Some of them have to travel far, they have other stress they pass on the children especially the ones who cannot participate at the level that they would like.

    STOP BELITTLING CHILDREN WHO CANNOT PARTICIPATE IN SPORTS TO YOUR STANDARD. NOT ALL CHILDREN ARE INTERESTED IN…

  2. March 16, 2016

    Sounds like a great program :!:

    The more children enjoy school the better they will do in the classroom

    The better students do in the classroom the longer they will say in school.

    The longer they stay in school the more the education they will receive.

    The better education the children receive the better the nation will be.

    If this program receives the publicity it deserves it will probably be implemented in many schools far and wide.

    When I was growing up in Canada children who had learning problems were left to struggle alone and fail until they eventually dropped out of school and went nowhere. I saw it happening year after year. I would like Child Friendly Schools or something similar to be implemented in Canada. Thank God for educators and parents who care.

    Sincerely, Rev. Donald Hill. Evangelist. (Pastoral Counselor Certificate)

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