Child Friendly Initiative Moves Ahead

Details

Education

Thursday, 03 May 2012 02:30

By press release

Antigua St John's - The Child Friendly Schools framework addresses all factors that affect quality in the school environment. It is intended to transform schools and education systems towards quality standards particularly addressing all elements that influence the well-being and rights of the child as a learner, the MAIN beneficiary of teaching, with all things taking place in a safe, healthy and holistic environment.

Child-centredness, Democratic Participation and Inclusiveness are the key principles of the model.

The CFS term evokes several misconceptions in people even within the teaching profession. Persons may say: My school is already Child Friendly; or they may ask: Aren’t schools supposed to be Child Friendly?

or the very broad proclamation may be echoed All schools are child friendly. However, when a survey is taken and measured against the expectations of what a child friendly school should represent, we recognize there is quite a lot that needs to be addressed to get to the ‘quality’ synonymous with Child Friendly schools.

Our public primary schools in Antigua and Barbuda have all been working to adopt this UNICEF CFS approach to school improvement since 2008 when it was implemented in one of our schools. 

As expected, some schools are more child friendly ready and advanced than others. In short though, the term is a constant reminder to us that our schools should be child friendly as we do everything in the best interest of the child.

Last Thursday, a review and sharing meeting was held with principals and members of their CFS teams to garner support and encouragement from each other. The nearly 100 participants received feedback from a study done by Education for Change Consultancy on the evaluation of CFS progress in Dominica and Barbados, two countries that are more advanced in the initiative. 

Participants also shared their concerns, challenges and offered possible solutions to these. Funding for school activities and greater buy-in from some teachers in schools were cited as hindrances to the advancement of CFs in schools.

Data collection and management has been one of the weak areas throughout the Caribbean. Dr. Cynthia Crump-Russell, Assistant Director of Education with responsibility for Curriculum, provided further information and support for participants to engage in more purposeful data gathering and reporting at their schools.

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The Ministry of Education CFS Focal Point, Desiree Antonio, shared the CFS  plans into 2016 to include: expansion of CFS to all secondary schools, establishment of school councils in all schools, retraining of teachers in Health & Family Life Education and training for teachers in positive behavior management and student-centred pedagogy, to name a few.

The plans focus on increased advocacy for CFS which will lead to further contacts and organized sessions with businesses, NGOs and other persons in civil society with the hope of accomplishing greater buy-in of CFS and foster stronger linkages in these areas with schools.

CFS is said to be a way of life for schools not only in Antigua & Barbuda, but in other Caribbean territories. Greater buy-in throughout the Caribbean is also being addressed this year by UNICEF as can be seen from a review and planning meeting held in Dominica last month.

Top-level educators to include: Chef Education Officers, Education Officers and principals from Anguilla in the north to Tobago in the south participated in the 3-day sessions.

Present also was a PAHO representative who pledged to work closer with UNICEF to provide assistance in the area of Health and Marcellus Albertin, Director of the OECS Education Reform Unit, who from his office, could integrate areas of CFS within the OECS Education strategy going forward to the next few years.

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