Ministry of Education, UNICEF, CDEMA host Safe School Workshops

The Ministry of Education and National Reconciliation is collaborating with UNICEF and CDEMA to conduct two workshops as part of the Safe School Recognition Programme.

The Safe School Recognition Programme is part of the Education Sector Implementation Strategy recommended in the National Safe School Policy Guide, encompassed of the Model Safe School Programme toolkit.

The Model Safe School Programme was adopted by 12 Ministries of Education in the Caribbean in 2017, as the preferred approach to reducing risk in the education sector.

The one-week training, which runs from September 18 – 22 at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Global Campus SVG is divided into two workshops.

Sixteen pilot schools will participate in workshop one (September 18-20), while workshop two involves the training of 12 local partnering agencies in using the Model Safe School Programme Assessment Tool (September 21-22).

The School Safety Recognition Programme will ultimately allow for the promotion of commitment, innovation and leadership in the education sector alongside the promotion of good practices for safe school standards. It is also hoped that it will serve as a stepping-stone in disaster risk reduction and mitigation, through the development of a countrywide culture of safety.

The National Safe Schools Policy Guide on the Model Safe School Programme toolkit urges the integration of a School Safety Recognition Programme within the national safe and green strategy being developed for implementation in the Education Sector.