KINGSTON, Jamaica — Scores of school leaders are set to benefit from a series of professional development courses designed to build their leadership skills and make their schools safer by reducing violence against children, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information is reporting.

The new initiative is being created through a partnership between the National College for Educational Leadership (NCEL) and the Spotlight Initiative (SI) in Jamaica – a joint UN programme funded by the European Union (EU), designed to eliminate violence against women and girls. The agreement was signed last week between NCEL and UNICEF (a Spotlight implementing agency) at the ministry.

The ministry said four learning products will be developed to encourage and promote the awareness of gender-based violence and the use of violence prevention strategies among school leaders, and to build on existing efforts through the School-Wide Positive Behaviour and Intervention Support (SWPBIS) framework which was piloted in schools across Jamaica.

Children are exposed to violence in various forms at school, including peer-to-peer violence and gender-based violence, the ministry noted. It said according to the most recent data, children repeat negative gender stereotypes and norms in the wider community. It added that one out of three children have been in a physical fight and one out of four experience bullying at school and also experience corporal punishment by teachers, sexual harassment, and assault.

Dr Grace McLean, acting permanent secretary in the ministry, said it was pleased to welcome and endorse this collaborative project.

“Together, we aim to sensitise school leaders on how to engage the school community on the issue of violence against children in order to address prevailing social norms and respond to gender-based violence at school and in surrounding communities,” she said.

Director/principal of NCEL, Dr Taneisha Ingleton, added: “This programme will enable school leaders to play an important role in preventing the expression of all forms of violence.”

 “It also seeks to fulfil their potential to be positive role models, empower children and youth to have healthy and respectful relationships and deliver a child-centred school wide violence prevention programme.”

Meanwhile, UNICEF Jamaica’s Country Representative, Mariko Kagoshima, noted that schools are in a unique position to address and prevent violence against children.

“Schools provide the ideal environment to challenge some of the harmful social and cultural norms related to violence, and they also play an important role as safety nets for children,” she said.

Coordinator of the Spotlight Initiative, Novia McKay, noted that the global research was clear regarding detrimental long-term effects for children exposed to violence, and approaches to reduce it.

“Fortunately, research also shows that equipping leaders in school with the knowledge and capacity to address underlying drivers of violence will result in better outcomes for students, and by extension impact their behaviour in adulthood,” she said.

The SI is a three-year initiative, launched earlier this year, focused on preventing and reducing violence against women and girls. It is funded by the EU and is jointly implemented by agencies of the United Nations.