THEME: CREATING A SAFE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT FOR LEARNERS

 

Gender Unit

True education is holistic; it develops head, heart and hand—academically, spiritually, socially and physically. It is with the purpose to educate holistically that the point cannot be over-emphasized: if real learning is to occur, the learning environment should be safe, psychologically, sociologically and emotionally. Children, as well as their teachers and support staff deserve to be in a safe learning environment.

 The school must be safe from accident and potential dangers. In this era with the many challenges that face educationalists, creating and maintaining a safe learning environment should be a priority.  Children that enroll in any school come from diverse backgrounds with different social and economic challenges.  The school is the uniting factor for all these children and as such measures should be put in place by both the school administration and   stakeholders in the Education System to create a non-threatening, protected environment for children and young people of all ages.

 

What then can the stakeholders do to ensure a safe learning environment?

 

Head teacher, Deputy and Teachers

School administrators have a very important role of ensuring that the school environment is not only safe for children alone but for all staff both teaching and non-teaching staff. The onus is upon the school administrators’ i.e the head teachers and his/her deputy to ensure that school buildings are environmentally safe. Schools should not be constructed near areas that are designated for the dumping of refuse/garbage; building materials should be properly tested and pass safety.

 Second, the administrators should build a good rapport with the community; solicit their help in keeping the school environment safe by setting up a “neighborhood watch” program; schedule meetings where community members (other than parents) can give suggestions towards a safe environment; keep the community informed about the school’s programs.

Third, the teacher should ensure a classroom environment that is comfortable and welcoming.  It should be best suited to the needs of the children; be sensitive to the personal, developmental, academic, social and emotional needs of the children. The expectation is that the teacher is nurturing and encouraging, providing positive support rather than negative reinforcement. 

 The teacher should also help children to feel accepted—feel free to be themselves and to express themselves without the fear or threat of rejection, ridicule or isolation; also be understanding of their learning styles, abilities and skills.  Some pupils/ students perform better when they work individually, others need group support. It could be a tall order to meet the diverse learning needs of all the children in the class. A cooperative rather than a competitive classroom (although some healthy competition is good) contributes towards a safe learning environment.

The community

The Community which includes church organizations should share concerns about the safety of the environment; make helpful suggestions for improvement of safety measures; assist in “watchdogging” the school’s neighborhood; support the school’s efforts at creating a safe learning environment; encourage members of the community through meetings to be positive role models for children; offer seminars and workshops in family life topics for parents and school personnel e.g., parenting, discipline, literacy and other topics e.g human rights: roles and responsibilities of duty bearers; pray for the safety of the school etc.

Children’s safety to and from school is very important

When everyone in the school feels safe, then perhaps effective teaching and learning can take place without fear; there will be less discipline problems, and educators can be engaged in the business of creating better quality schools in this country, preparing products that are second to none.

This issue of the Gender Eye is therefore dedicated to creating Safe Learning Environments for Children.

It is the responsibility of everybody in society to ensure a safe learning environment for our children. Below is a string of linkages to the roles and responsibilities that we all have to play to ensure a safe learning environment:

(Source; Ministry Of Education and Sports SAFE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT)