Uganda’s experience in using Good Schools Toolkit willington@raisingvoices.org www.raisingvoices.org 1

Overview Ugandan context Raising Voices Violence against children in Uganda Good Schools Toolkit How is the Toolkit used to prevent violence against children and promote a safe learning environment?

Ugandan Context: Current population estimated at 33 Million People 2 Ugandan Context: Current population estimated at 33 Million People 52% of the population is below the age of 18 Refugees live among host communities in urban and rural areas Number of refugees and asylum seekers is currently 204,000 (DRC, Somalia, Rwanda, South Sudan) A fivefold increase in the number of urban refugees: 48,000

Raising Voices 2 NGO working to prevent violence against women and children in Uganda formed in 1999 Interventions are based on prevention Violence against children work in schools through promotion of Good Schools toolkit

Education in Uganda Free universal Primary Education was introduced in 1997 Since the 2006 Refugee Act all refugee children have free access to education Refugees have access to Ugandan schools. No separate schools for refugees Drop-out rates are high: only 23% complete 7 years of education Quality of schools and learning environment are generally poor to allow meaningful learning for children

Violence against children in Uganda Violence against children is common: at school, at home and in communities 2005 Raising Voices and Save the Children study: 98% of children reported physical or emotional violence, 76% of the 1400 children interviewed reported experiencing sexual abuse A significant number of children reported experiencing the violence at least once a week or more

Why are so many children dropping out of schools? 5 Why are so many children dropping out of schools? Over 48% of children who dropped out between 1997 and 2003 attributed it to violence against children A wide range of communities do not value boys and girls equally regarding access and retention in schools Most focus/ budgetary allocation is on physical infrastructure, recruiting more teachers, providing instructional materials but not exploring software interventions that improve children’s experience of school

Good Schools Toolkit Good and motivated teachers 6 Good and motivated teachers Safe and respectful learning environment Accountable and transparent school administration Schools engaged in a six step phased change process over a period of 18 months

Good schools objective A Good School aims to create a violence-free learning environment within which students develop their skills and confidence to grow into creative, constructive and thoughtful members of their community.

Six Steps Step 1: your team and network Step 2: preparing for change Step 3: good teachers and teaching Step 4: positive discipline Step 5: good learning environment Step 6: good administration and the future

Key activities – Good Schools 7 Key activities – Good Schools Used in 500 schools including refugee children in Uganda, some Kenyan and Tanzanian schools have started experimenting the ideas Working with children as agents of change to prevent violence in their schools: Active and responsive children committees Teacher engagement on alternative ways of disciplining children and creating meaningful relationships with learners: Positive Discipline Handbook, What is a Good teacher, what is a safe learning environment…… Relationship building with school administration to collaboratively develop and support zero tolerance to violence against children

Key activities – Good Schools Local Activism: Promoting community dialogues through community events Every school term: developing Good Schools action plan involving teachers, children and community members Similar interventions for urban and rural schools Key emphasis on cost: simple activities that don’t require huge financial investments: Just imagination and creativity to strive something extra ordinary Good Schools peer learning network Activities for promoting Children’s voice in schools

Thank you! www.raisingvoices.org

Good School Toolkit Innovation/Rollout 7