Programme Overview
The Leadership for Safer Schools (LSS) course is designed to support school leaders in creating safer environments to reduce school-related and gender-based violence. The course was developed on the premise that interventions to reduce gender-based violence must be grounded in behaviour change brought about by the development of non-threatening school environments where the rights of children are respected and promoted.
The course comprises the following key areas:
Managing School-Wide Behaviours
Participants are introduced to the School-Wide Positive Behaviour Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) framework, which promotes a positive school climate while supporting educators’ efforts at maintaining school discipline.
Specialised Behaviour Intervention and Support
Participants will focus on the second and third tiers of the SWPBIS framework. A systematic and data driven approach is emphasised as a means of maintaining safe and responsive school environments.
Ending Violence in Schools
Participants will explore violence against children in social spaces, including schools, homes, and local communities. Participants will examine root causes, as well as the considerable impact violence has on children’s overall development. There is a special emphasis on ending violence in schools with leadership, curriculum, infrastructure, and stakeholders at the centre of a range of transformative activities.
Gender-Based Violence in Schools
Participants will explore gender-based violence with a particular focus on its impact on school-aged children and the environments in which they interact. There is an emphasis on strategies for ending gender-based violence in schools and on the role of transformative leadership in spearheading initiatives grounded in data management, curriculum adaptation, and stakeholder engagement.
Admission Requirements
This course is open to all Principals, Vice Principals, Guidance Counsellors, Deans of discipline, Education Officers and Senior teachers desirous of learning more about the Child Friendly Schools initiative, a core component of UNICEF’s programmes in the field of education.
Programme Delivery
The course is delivered asynchronously via the Learning Management System of the National College for Educational Leadership. The online course will include readings, videos and self-assessment activities.
Programme Structure
This online programme consists of eight modules each addressing the key leadership competencies. It is administered over a period of three months with appropriate breaks between courses which will enable participants to reflect and regroup.
The following modules are components of the Child Friendly Schools initiative:
| Module | Overview |
| Inclusivity and Gender Sensitivity | This module examines inclusivity in education with an emphasis on integrating inclusion principles in learning environment and the curriculum. |
| School-Community Links | This module is designed to encourage strategic partnerships for the development of child-friendly schools. |
| CFS Design and Construction | This module examines child-friendly school principles that should be considered in the design and construction of educational institutions. |
| Education Policy and Scaling Up | This module focuses on the role of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information (MoEYI) in the mainstreaming child-friendly schools across Jamaica |
| Responding to Emergency and Conflict Situations | This module explores various initiatives undertaken by countries in the Caribbean to ensure that educational institutions provide a sense of safety and security for all stakeholders. |
| Learning and Teaching I | This module examines child-centered instructional strategies aimed at developing active learners who contribute to the learning and teaching process. |
| The Learning Environment I | This is the first of a two-part module that focuses on the learning environment in a child-friendly school. |
| The Learning Environment II | This is the second of a two-part module that focuses on the learning environment in a child-friendly school. |