THE British Council, the not-for-profit education and culture arm of the British government, will spend £1.25 million ($J168, 912, 331.57) over the next five years on a programme to encourage more effective management within Caribbean and Latin American schools.

In Jamaica, five primary-level schools in Kingston and St Andrew – Duhaney Park Primary, Cavaliers Primary, Hope Valley Elementary, Hall’s Delight Primary and Junior High and Elletson Primary – will be among the first to benefit when their principals participate in a series of workshops on school leadership between April 30 and May 4 this week. During the week, the principals will interface with education consultant Jean Lebrecht and principal/head teacher Sam Gallacher, both from the UK. Lebrecht and Gallacher will also visit each school to view their operations first-hand.

The initiative known as SLANT (School Leadership And New Tools for Learning), will bring together educators from the United Kingdom and the region in an effort to strengthen leadership skills in schools at all levels which, according to the British Council, is “an area of concern” in the region. Over its five-year lifespan, it will facilitate Jamaican principals travelling to the UK, and vice-versa. The head teachers will examine systems that work, with a view to replicating them in their own schools in the island.

“Most schools in the region have problems with leadership that need to be improved. As such, our focus is partnering schools in the region with some in the UK to look at best practices,” education manager at British Council Jamaica, Luckresha Ransamugh-Baker told the Sunday Observer.

“We’re working with the ministry on education reform and we’re looking at the UK as a model. We’re looking to see how best we can use the good examples in the region and how best we can use the good examples in the UK,” she said.

“It comes at an opportune time. because our principals will now have more responsibility (owing to) a system of regional capacity building that is now taking place,” said Dr Mary Campbell from the Professional Development Unit at the Ministry of Education.

“Each of the five schools will twin with one in the UK and we will be sharing information and learning from each other,” the local educator said.

SLANT will be launched at a reception at the Coutleigh Hotel tomorrow.

Other countries participating in the region-wide initiative are Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Cuba, Trinidad & Tobago and Venezuela.