Views Volunteer Service Overseas (VSO)


British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA) BESA members examine


Helping to build the new Rwanda


Primary School Teacher, Elysia Madge, from Cornwall has always had a thing for volunteering. She first volunteered as an English Teacher in Ghana when she was just eighteen. It changed her life. Determined to return to Africa one day, she put her dream on hold and waited for the right time. Eight years later, she now finds herself on a VSO placement in Rwanda – a country which lost an entire generation of Teachers in the 1994 Genocide. Elysia shares her story. Rwanda is beautiful, clean and relaxed and the climate is great! Life is


simple, calm and happy. The people are so welcoming and I’m inspired by their resilience and determination to move Rwanda forward. I’m privileged to be part of this change. When Rwanda lost their teachers during the genocide, many local people


stepped in to keep the schools functioning, but they had very little teacher training. Rwandan teachers have a very difficult job - they work in poor conditions with limited resources. They’re not rated highly in society and get paid a very low wage. Teachers feel frustrated and de-motivated as a result. Class sizes are huge with some teaching more than sixty pupils at a time, but classrooms are small with very limited materials. They don’t use ‘learner centred’ methods. Often it’s just ‘chalk and talk’ at the blackboard.


‘Early


Childhood Education’ is a new concept in Rwanda’s Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs). Course tutors have very little experience in this subject and there’s currently no Early Childhood Curriculum used in Rwandan nurseries. I’m an ‘Early Childhood Education Pre-Service Methodology Advisor’ at a


TTC in the small village of Nzige, Eastern Rwanda. Over the course of fourteen months, I’ll design and develop a Tutor’s Guide – with other volunteers - to help deliver the Early Childhood Education Curriculum in TTCs across Rwanda and I’ll help train tutors on how to use it. Day to day, I work at the TTC observing, modelling and delivering team


teaching lessons to my Early Childhood Education Tutors. A big part of my role is supporting them with their planning, resourcing and teaching. I teach them about methodologies used in Early Childhood Education. I also help organise teaching practice for their student teachers and support the student teachers throughout. I deliver workshops to tutors and local nursery teachers and have developed a ‘Local Materials Kit’ with toys and teaching aids made from free, locally sourced materials. I train teachers on how to make these resources so they can have better access to teaching materials in the classroom. We are starting from the very beginning which is exciting, but there’s a lot of work to be done. One thing I love most about Rwanda is the people. When I walk down the


street, people greet me and there are always plenty of smiling children waving at me and wishing me good morning, regardless of what time of day it is! The Principal of my TTC attended one of my training workshops and at the end he said: “I have learnt so much. I would like you to run a workshop for ALL our


Tutors and for the Parents Committee to inform them about Early Childhood Education. I can see why it’s so important in Rwanda. It’s important for them to know about it.” As teachers from the West, we are very fortunate to have access to good


teacher training and a good quality education ourselves. This alone means we have so much to offer! VSO harnesses our professional experiences to support local people. Back in the UK, I would worry about classroom displays and lesson observations. Rwanda has taught me to focus on the important aspects


of teaching – the children and what they’re learning. My experience has made me appreciate my education and opportunities available to me back home.


uVSO is currently recruiting volunteer teachers. u020 8780 7500 uwww.vso.org.uk/volunteer/how-to-apply


May 2015


expected inspections This month, Caroline Wright, director of the education sector’s trade association, BESA considers Ofsted’s forthcoming inspection revision and considers the importance of suppliers gaining an in-depth understanding of the changes. From September 2015, Ofsted will


be making significant changes to its inspections. To ensure education leaders fully understand the changes, Ofsted is hosting a number of regional events around the country in June and July. However, what is interesting and heartening is that these seminars are also open to practitioners, including BESA member organisations. While the changes are of course of upmost importance to school


leaders who have to ensure they are compliant, it is also valuable if the sector’s suppliers fully understand the changes, so where necessary, they can revise their products and services to help schools to conform. BESA is therefore encouraging its member organisations to attend


these events. To a certain extent, Ofsted’s revised inspections are in line with


the recent changes, including the new curriculum and removal of assessment levels. BESA member organisations have of course already transformed their resources to meet these teaching needs. However, taking one of its questions, ‘do parents, for example, get enough up-to-date information about their child's school?’ we then have to ask BESA members who develop learning platforms or assessment systems to ensure their systems offer this level of functionality. Equally, if Ofsted, as it says does not specify how planning should


be set out, the length of time it should take or the amount of detail it should contain, but does want to see evidence of the effectiveness of planning rather than the form it takes, then suppliers need to ensure they are supporting schools in developing systems that provide effective recording and reporting. Suppliers need to ensure they recognise the new freedoms that


school are offered, no one school will have the same need. Assessment systems therefore need to be designed to be flexible. So for example, Ofsted does not expect to see any specific frequency, type or volume of marking and feedback, because schools are free to decide on their own assessment policy. However, this means that developers of assessment systems need to ensure they are flexible enough to meet each school’s specific policy, as the recording of marking and feedback must be consistent with that policy. With the general election accelerating towards us, it is likely that


there will be more changes over the coming year. Whether this is in relation to Ofsted’s inspections, the curriculum, the teaching of modern foreign languages, standards in pre school education, the work of the special educational needs coordinator or any other area of teaching, it is vital that schools and colleges work with reputable suppliers who immerse themselves in the sector to fully understand its changing needs. I am so pleased that Ofsted has invited suppliers to these events and that BESA members are attending. This once again reinforces the comfort schools can have in


investing in resources from BESA members. Please always check to see if your supplier is a BESA member before making a purchase. For a list of all suppliers who are BESA members and therefore adhere to our code of best practice business, please visit www.besa.org.uk


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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