Kyaninga Professional Develpoment Centre
Given the essential role they play, addressing the learning crisis requires supporting teachers, who are the single most important driver of how much students learn in school.”
Education Global Practice, World Bank 2020
Research shows that the quality of teachers is a major determinant of children’s learning and well-being. However, many teachers in Ugandan classrooms lack the necessary skills and knowledge to teach in a learner centred way that promotes inclusion and active learning.
Through its ‘Excellence and Inclusion’ Professional Development Programme and its continuous direct support to schools, the Professional Development Centre equips hundreds of teachers with the skills and motivation to use more inclusive and engaging methods in their classrooms. By using these methods, many more children with disability (CwDs) are learning in an inclusive classroom, whilst all children within their classroom are also benefiting from improved child-centred teaching.
The 2-Year Excellence and Inclusion Professional Development Programme provides:
- 24 full-day workshops (divided into 4 modules)
- 8 school-based training sessions for the whole staff team (up to 30 teachers per school)
- Ongoing coaching and mentoring to support teachers with CwDs in their classes
- Follow up CPD for outstanding teachers to become trainers and the school to become a ‘Beacon of Inclusion’
The Professional Development Programme – Excellence and Inclusion – is a two-year modular course where local teachers and headteachers attend 6 full-day training workshops completely free of charge. Integrated within this two-year programme are regular school-based training workshops where our Professional Development team work alongside the teachers and HTs who have attended the course, to disseminate the course content to the rest of the school. Via this process, the knowledge, skills and confidence of how to teach children with special educational needs and disability (SEND) in a mainstream classroom is spread to a wider number of teachers thus increasing the number of SEND children having access to school as well as the quality of learning experience they receive.
Given that there are currently 2,500,000 CwDs in Uganda, but only 9% attend school; if our CPD programme shifts this percentage by just 1% to 10% 25,000 more children will be able to enjoy their right to participate in education.
The Professional Development Centre is led by two internationally qualified and experienced educationalists and Head Teachers, Chris Gibbon and Jane O’Leary. They work alongside a dynamic team of Ugandan teachers who, through intense professional development programmes and daily work with children with a range special needs and disability, have become leading experts in the field. The Ugandan Ministry and Teacher Training Institutions recognise that this level of expertise did not exist previously in Uganda and has been a barrier to putting inclusive policy into practice
Excellence and Inclusion Modular Programme
The 2 year course consists of 4 Core Modules and a choice of two Optional Modules.
- Improving the physical and making it more accessible and inclusive
- Arranging a learner friendly classroom for active and inclusive learning
- Making learning aids and resources to promote active learning using local, low cost materials
- The Inclusive outdoor environment and toilets
- Punishment v discipline
- Using positive discipline strategies
- Rules and classroom routines
- Inclusive classrooms and building positive relationships
- Child Protection and safeguarding
- Understanding disability and inclusion
- Identifying and understanding different types of disability, learning difficulties and behaviour difficulties
- Differentiation in action – Strategies to support CwDS and SEN
- How can we use learner centred practices in large classrooms where traditional methods dominate?
- Identifying and meeting learning objectives or specified competencies
- Planning for active and engaging lessons
- Successful group work in large classes
- Assessment for Learning
- Developing early reading skills through phonics
- Developing early writing skills
- Progression in reading and writing
- Making and using learning materials for reading
- Number sense/active maths
- Developing mental maths
- Progression of mathematical skills
- Problem solving
- Making and Using Learning materials
- Stages of child development
- Play-based learning inside and outside
- Making and using learning materials