CFS Sensitization in Secondary schools

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Education

Thursday, 21 February 2013 01:31

By press release

Antigua St. John's - “The Child Friendly School (CFS) Initiative is what every school should be,” is how Mrs. Desiree Antonio, CFS Focal Point in the Ministry of Education, described the CFS initiative during the sensitization visits at the National Training Centre and the St Mary’s Secondary Schools.

After piloting the CFS programme at the Pares Secondary and the Irene B. Williams Secondary Schools, the Ministry of Education has begun the process of rolling out the Child Friendly School Initiative to The National Technical Training Centre, St. Mary’s Secondary School and the Ottos Comprehensive School.

The aim of the visit was to introduce the initiative to the school staff and gain the “buy in” of the Principals and teachers. “For the CFS initiative to be successful in your school, it will need the Principal and at least 80% of the staff to be on board,” said Mrs. Antonio. Staffs were asked to complete the Needs Assessment form to determine their priority areas that need attention at the school. A CFS Team from the each school will receive direct training later in the term.

As expected, staff voiced concerns about the initiative being geared towards primary school. They were assured that the CFS is a structured approach to school improvement and is suitable for secondary schools as well.

The Child Friendly School Initiative is presently supervised by a monitoring team in the Ministry of Education, with ongoing support from UNICEF Eastern Caribbean Office in Barbados.

The CFS Initiative in the Caribbean observes three guiding principles: Democratic Participation—that encourages the involvement of all stakeholders, parents, teachers, community leaders in education; Child centeredness—this suggests that everything done within  schools should be done in the best interest of the child; Inclusiveness—this emphasises that all children have a right to an education, no matter their circumstances.

Presently, the CFS initiative is adopted in all public primary schools with varying levels of success.

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