Clair Watson visits an East-African specialist unit that’s setting new standards for SEN support.
In 2002, it was estimated that 5.9 million children attended primary school in Kenya. The introduction of the Free Primary Education Policy in 2003 wavered levies, enabling many more children to access basic education and a better life. Today, about eight million children are thought to attend government primary schools.
To educate such a large number of children comes with challenges. Funding isn’t available to build extra classrooms or hire more teacher to accommodate the growing numbers. Consequently, classrooms are jam packed and it is common to have 60 or more children per class. The teaching is very didactic and text-book driven, followed by end of term exams with little notion of differentiation.
Kenya has a population of roughly 47 million and there are believed to be around 17,000 deafblind people. The concept of inclusive education is relatively new in Kenyan classrooms, as historically all children with SEN have attended special schools or special needs units attached to regular schools. These units cater for children who have hearing, visual, physical or mental impairments. Children with other difficulties such as, communication problems, autism or multiple physical disabilities, are often excluded.
There are only five primary schools across the country that cater for deafblind children and five vocational centres. In the last year a new curriculum for the deaf and blind has been implemented to make sure all children receive a unified level of education and to prepare them with life skills.
A community based education (CBE) approach for deafblind children is currently being developed. This approach will ensure children have access to the primary curriculum at home and incorporates holistic rehabilitation and therapy. This approach is currently being piloted in Kenya for six months with 27 children. The CBE curriculum, manuals, systems and resources are currently being produced to better support teachers and parents. The programme is planned to then roll out on a larger scale across the country.
Work in action
On a recent visit to Kenya I was fortunate to spend some time at Kilimani Primary School, Nairobi. The School has over 1,200 children and just 26 teachers. The average class size is 50 to 60 children. But what makes the school unique is its Deafblind Unit.
I was shown around the Unit by its Director Mary Maragia. Mary is a very experienced practitioner who has worked with deafblind children for many years, served as a translator and lectured at local universities. In 2012, she was given a scholarship by Perkins International School for the Blind and studied for a year in the USA. Despite the lack of resources, her advanced training and leadership skills have enabled her to be creative and transform the Unit to be one of the best in Kenya.
The Unit opened in 1986 to support visually impaired children. The children spend time in the Unit with their specialised teachers, who support them with reading and writing Braille. The unit has received ongoing support from the African Brail Centre (ABC) who have delivered training to teachers and provided Braillers and printing machines. The deaf children in the Unit are taught Kenyan Sign Language as a means of communicating.
A parents’ workshop was run at the school to give an overview on the causes of deafness and blindness and how to support their children. To give parents an awareness of what it is like to have minimal or no sight or hearing, they were blind-folded and taken outside where they were then “abandoned” without communication. The parents were also taught how to say “hello”, “please”, “thank you”, “sorry” and other words in basic sign language. In addition, they were taught hand-on-hand sign language for those children who are totally deaf and blind.
What makes this school different is that visually impaired children are integrated into mainstream lessons with fully sighted children as soon as they are ready. It is common to see one or two visually impaired children sitting in the classroom with their individual Braille machine. The children sit at the front of the class and have a copy of the class text books translated into Braille so they can fully participate in each lesson. The children can be seen reading out chapters from their books and answering comprehension questions in English lessons. While the rest of the children write in their books with pens and pencils, the visually impaired children type away on their Braille machines. At the end of the lesson books and Braille papers are collected for the teacher to mark. The Braille papers go to the teachers in the Deafblind Unit to be translated and then the class teacher marks their papers and gives verbal feedback. The Unit also has a Brailler that can print out in normal print.
There are a handful of children who remain in the unit as their needs require specialised support. These children rely heavily on donations and funding to provide second-hand wheelchairs, resources and toys. Despite the minimal resources, Mary has made a sensory room by collecting different textures and materials, mounting them on boards and adding low lighting. There is a visual timetable showing their daily schedule which includes swimming. The school was originally built in colonial times and has been able to retain and maintain the precious resource of a swimming pool. Swimming has an enormous positive impact on the children and it is one of the favoured weekly activities.
Playtime is a delight to watch, as children completely integrate. Fully sighted children can be seen holding the hands of visually impaired children, guiding them around obstacles and involving them in their play. Others take great delight in playing with old car tires that they roll and run along next to. Children with physical difficulties are looked out for by able-bodied children, who help them up and down steps and encourage them to engage in their games, such as kicking a ball. There are no evident bullying issues in the school and all the children support one another.
Vocational skills
With continued support from outside funding, staff have been given further training in how to support older students and assist them in building up their vocational skills. The Unit now has an area at the back of the school for growing produce; the students are taught basic gardening skills and how to prepare and cook basic meals. When I was there, they were in the process of setting up a room as a model home to empower the students to become more independent and learn skills such as cleaning, cooking and laundry, with a view to the students eventually being able to live independently or with limited support.
Raising awareness
Raising awareness and acceptance amongst the able-bodied children and their families has had a positive impact in the school. These small centres are working hard to promote understanding of the causes of blindness, but with such a large population and minimal funds it is an ongoing battle.
Kilimani School is a success story and is making a huge difference to a group of deafblind children. The funding the Unit receives is minimal, but it enables the School to provide the equipment and staff to support their children. Despite the lack of resources, staff are incredibly positive and thankful for what they receive. They work tirelessly to support the children and they have to be very creative in making and accessing resources. I saw a great deal at Kilimani School that schools in the UK could learn from.
Author: Clair Watson
Clair Watson
A former class teacher, Clair Watson is an educational consultant and trainer. She works with a number of schools and nurseries in the UAE, Kenya, Tanzania, The Seychelles and The Maldives: www.clair-watson.com
