News Volunteer Service Overseas (VSO)
“Seeing a change means so much to me” R
ebecca Clark, 38, from Essex, is currently one year into a two-year VSO placement in Rwanda, where she is working as an Education Leadership
Advisor.
“Working as a deputy head teacher in an inner city London school was an incredible experience, however after being in post for three years, I felt it was time to make a change. I’d been considering a VSO placement for a while and I finally felt I had enough leadership experience to work in a development context and share my skills.
Africa was top on my list, so when a position in Rwanda came up, I jumped at the chance. Everyone is aware of the genocide, but I didn’t want it to overshadow or influence my placement, so I made a conscious decision not to read any books or watch any films about it before I arrived. I’d also heard Rwanda referred to as ‘the land of a thousand hills’– and it really is. You can’t imagine it until you are here, as it’s so beautiful it takes your breath away.
As soon as I arrived, I realised that I would have to take a flexible approach to life and to work. Whereas in the UK I was accustomed to a structured day, here in Rwanda you never quite know what will happen and it’s safe to say that every day is different.
As an Education Leadership Advisor, my role is to develop the leadership skills of head teachers through training, mentoring and coaching, which involves going out and visiting schools. Travel takes a while and it can take an hour or so to reach my destination. Once I reach there, I visit head teachers and work in partnership with them to discuss their action plans, school policies as well as observe lessons and share thoughts and ideas. My day can involve a variety of activities, such as visiting schools, meeting the District Education Officer, where I will update him on what I have been doing. I usually finish the day with a bit of admin work and I will ensure meetings with head teachers or district officials have been arranged for the following day – although these are always subject to change. For me, I really enjoy travelling into the beautiful countryside and visiting the schools to see the head teachers in action. Plus, it’s so rewarding to see teachers implementing the ideas I have worked with them on, such as ensuring positive behaviour management.
Seeing those changes take place means so much. When you’re working in a development context abroad, it takes time to see a noticeable change, but it does happen. Next week, I’ve been told a school I have been working with will hold a training session that I’d suggested, so that’s a nice surprise. Observing lessons is always great fun too – and very rewarding as you get to see teaching methods in action.
Yesterday, I was in a classroom and the teacher used a goat to show his students what a mammal was. When you see things that are working, it’s great. I asked the teacher what they’d do differently next time and they said, ‘Next time I will bring a rabbit in, too.’
Teachers here are encouraged to use local products such as rice sacks in displays or bottle tops as counters, which shows you don’t need a lot of money to make good props. The way in which they praise students is also lovely as when a child has done well, the class will raise their hands in the air and wiggle their fingertips, while saying ‘flowers, flowers’. It makes the child feel special and encourages them to keep up the good work. My placement in Rwanda has been a fantastic experience so far and I’ve learnt a great deal about myself. I enjoy mixing with new people and being part of a community – I have also learnt that it is possible to live without EastEnders.
Everyone is very friendly and I love to hear the chimes of ‘good morning’ from my neighbours. The people don’t always necessarily know my name, but they do know how much I love football, so quite often they will refer to me by the name of the team I support – Tottenham – which makes me laugh. The first year of my placement has gone so quickly and there are many things I still want to achieve, so I am determined to make the most of my second year. I would definitely recommend VSO to others – not only does it challenge you personally, it changes the lives of other people. It also gives you the opportunity to work with people from around the world, as the volunteers come from across Africa as well as the Netherlands. For me, these are people – and an experience - I will value for the rest of my life.”
u020 8780 7500
uwww.vso.org.uk October 2014 British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA)
Industry awards are purely designed for a good night out - or are they?
I
n these times of increasing pressure on schools to stretch their budgets further, I regularly remind readers to include BESA memberships in their evaluation process when considering a product investment, because BESA members must adhere to a code of good business practice. This month I’d also like to add to this process another consideration, and that is to see whether a product or its supplier are award winners.
We’ve all either heard of, or actually visited Bett, the world’s largest technology in learning event, but probably less are aware of the associated Bett awards. With less focus on technology, the UK education industry also has the Education Resources Awards (ERAs). While these two award programmes are a great opportunity for industry suppliers to have an evening out at the prize giving ceremony and celebrate being short-listed or winning, schools have historically questioned the purpose that these awards play in terms of educational standards.
I therefore wanted to stress that quite simply, for schools they have become the global measure of high standards in education products.
For the past 17 years an independent panel of judges comprising government agencies, sector stakeholders, governors and teachers have been recruited to assess all award entries against a number of stringent criteria including the innovative nature of the resource, its impact on learning and the work of the teacher in the classroom, and of course its cost effectiveness in terms of educational aims and results – not just price. In the current climate where schools are faced with continued pressure on their budgets and measures of improving educational standards, the Bett Awards and the ERAs should be included in schools’ selection processes. To a certain extent, when schools are comparing a number of products for investment, understanding whether a supplier has been shortlisted or won one of these awards, is an excellent measure of its quality: all the hard work of analysing the cost effectiveness, the robustness of the product and whether it is fit for purpose has already been carried out by industry experts. All that then needs to be done is to ensure the product meets the specific needs of the school. The high number of entries received each year and the rigorous testing procedure means that being named as a Bett or ERA finalist is no mean feat.
These awards have a broad range of categories from early years, primary and secondary resources, and those designed specifically for students with special educational needs.
So for all schools weighing up the true value of a number of resources, my recommendation to you after checking if they are a BESA member at
www.besa.org.uk. is to visit
www.bettawards.com which are announced in January and
www.educationresourcesawards.co.uk in March, to see last year’s winners and make this part of your resource review process.
uFor information from BESA contact: uCaroline Wright u020 7537 4997
ucaroline@besa.org.uk uwww.besa.org.uk
www.education-today.co.uk 7
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