JIS: The Government is undertaking a pilot with Family Life Ministries for the establishment of the country’s first privately run foster-care programme.

 

Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, explained that under the arrangement, Family Life Ministries “will seek to do recruitment and training of prospective families, all of whom will be vetted by the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA)”.

 

He informed that Family Life Ministries will be providing additional stipends for families who are recruited through the programme “while the children will remain our children and their progress will be tracked through continuous assessment”.

 

The State Minister made the disclosure during his contribution to the 2018/2019 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on May 8, where he announced that the Government has doubled the monthly stipend paid for the care of each foster child from $4,000 to $8,000.

 

He called for more persons to open their homes and foster a child, noting that there are positive outcomes for children who are placed in a family environment.

 

He informed that the CPFSA has identified close to 200 children who are ready to be placed in foster care.

 

Turning to adoption services, Mr. Green informed that up to March of this year, a total of 217 children have been permanently placed with families – 171 locally and 46 overseas.

 

“This is a 26 per cent increase,” he indicated, noting there is a list of qualified persons waiting for children to join their families.

 

“We are committed to reforming the Adoption Act to ensure that unnecessary barriers to the process of adoption are removed,” he said.

 

Meanwhile, he informed that a transition living complex will open in June to accommodate about 40 female wards, who are set to leave State care.

 

The facility, located on Lady Musgrave Road in St. Andrew, was built through partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

 

Mr. Green told the House that work is set to start on the refurbishing of a house in Mona, St. Andrew, to serve as a transitional facility for 12 youngsters, while construction will begin in the last quarter of the financial year on another facility to house 40 males in Southfield, St. Elizabeth.

 

CAPTION: Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, making his contribution to the 2018/19 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on May 8.

JIS: The most recent tracer study and review for the Dispute Resolution Foundation (DRF) School Suspension Intervention Programme indicate that approximately 85 per cent of the beneficiaries maintain and utilise the conflict resolution and behaviour change methodologies imparted under the initiative.

 

Speaking at a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Think Tank on May 4, the DRF’s Content Delivery Leader, Paul Hines, said the programme has been successful over the years in helping suspended students to manage conflict, improve communication and re-enrol in school, through various interventions.

 

“More often than not, some of those students who have been suspended from school have had myriads of problems, (including) with authority figures, and are unable to adjust to the realities of what school is about.

 

“So we help them during that suspension period to look at what’s required, (in order) to see their environment differently. We also help them to work through how they go back to school and apply what they have learnt during the period,” Mr. Hines said.

 

The programme, which started in 2008, aims to provide a safe space for youngsters who have been suspended from school, while engaging them in structured activities, including capacity-building workshops and sessions, to prepare them for re-integration in the school environment.

 

The programme operates in St. James, St. Catherine, Kingston and St. Andrew and, to a lesser extent, St. Ann.

 

Students are normally referred to the programme by schools. However, referrals can also be made by parents or the police.

 

The Citizen Security and Justice Programme (CSJP) III, which sponsors the initiative, also makes referrals through its case management outreach in communities.

 

Psychologist with CSJP III, Chaday Nelson, hailed the multifaceted approach by the DRF, through the programme.

 

She said the initiative is consistent with CSJP’s mandate to reduce crime, as it focuses on behaviour change and conflict resolution.

 

“In the Psychological Services Unit, we focus on how we can change attitudes and perceptions, (and) how we can give persons the tools they need, so that when they are faced with a conflict, they recognise that they have alternative ways of dealing with it,” Ms. Nelson said.

 

CAPTION: Dispute Resolution Foundation Content Delivery Leader, Paul Hines, speaking at a Jamaica Information Service Think Tank on May 4.

JIS: Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, says reading will help in preparing students for the Primary Exit Profile (PEP), which is scheduled to commence in the 2018/19 academic year.

 

“It is very opportune that as we are focused on the transition from the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) to PEP, we recognise that it is through reading and self-directed learning that we are going to get students to apply their knowledge that they would have acquired.

 

“In this way, we can see how they apply those concepts in real life and demonstrate their understanding… because that is part of how the exam is going to be structured. They have to be able to read, interpret and apply the concept, and explain themselves in a written form. This is a skill set that is at the very core of success in education,” he said.

 

The Minister was speaking with JIS News on May 8 at the New Providence Primary School in Kingston, where he read to a group of grade-four students in celebration of Read Across Jamaica Day 2018.

 

PEP, which will replace GSAT as the national secondary-school entrance test, is intended to provide an improved and more complete profile of students’ academic and critical-thinking capabilities at the end of primary-level education.

 

It will comprise a Performance Task Test, Ability Task Test and a Curriculum-Based Test.

 

Senator Reid emphasised that promoting literacy remains a top priority for his Ministry.

 

“The whole culture of reading is very important. It is in reading, particularly individual, self-directed reading, that (we grow). We encourage reading… for recreation, knowledge and empowerment,” he said.

 

Noting that there are many persons across society who have not achieved the level of education and training that is desirable, Senator Reid underscored that for this to be reversed, “we have to institutionalise the culture of reading to strengthen our human resource capabilities”.

 

Read Across Jamaica Day coincided with activities during May marking Child Month.

 

The annual day, organised by the Jamaica Teachers’ Association, aims to promote the importance of literacy and is part of activities in observance of Education Week 2018, from May 5 to 11.

 

CAPTION: Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, shows a picture in a book to grade-four students of New Providence Primary School in Kingston during an interactive reading session at the institution on Tuesday (May 8) in observance of Read Across Jamaica Day 2018. The exercise, which is organized annually by the Jamaica Teachers’ Association, forms part of activities marking Education Week, being observed this year from May 5 to 11. Beside Senator Reid (from left) are Kebra Simpson, Marstaian Williams and Rasheed Tucker.

JIS: Work valued at $25 million is being undertaken at the Granville Place of Safety in Trelawny, where a multipurpose classroom is being built.

 

“This will be opened in the second quarter of this year and will offer our female wards skills training,” State Minster in the Ministry of Education Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green said.

 

He was speaking during his contribution to the 2018/19 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on May 8.

 

Additionally, Mr. Green said, $50 million has been allocated in the 2018/19 Budget for the continued renovation of residential State care facilities.

 

He noted that chief among the projects will be preparatory work for phase one of a therapeutic centre to be constructed at Maxfield Park Children’s Home in Kingston; and the construction of new dormitories at the St Augustine Place of Safety in Clarendon as also at Granville.

 

The improvement works are being done under a comprehensive five-year plan.

 

So far, the Muirton Child Care Facility in Portland was renovated at a cost of $40 million and reopened in March.

 

The home is the first Government-operated, purpose-built facility to cater to children with special needs. It can accommodate 25 boys, ages 11 to 16, with mild disabilities.

 

“We have already started the process of moving boys from other homes to Muirton so that they can get the specialised attention to enable every child in out care to unleash their tomorrow today,” Mr. Green stated.

 

Additionally, a new multipurpose facility at St. Augustine’s Place of Safety, was opened in April, which included new administrative offices as well as offices for social workers and councillors, and a new kitchen to be used for training the boys in food preparation. This was upgraded at a cost of $16.6 million.

 

CAPTION: Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, making his contribution to the 2018/19 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on May 8.

JIS: The Culture, Health, Arts, Sports and Education (CHASE) Fund has committed $120 million towards the certification of early-childhood institutions.

 

This was disclosed by Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, during his contribution to the 2018/19 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on May 8.

 

Mr. Green said the Government, through the certification programme, continues to “do what many thought impossible”, and urged the House to be “unwavering in our drive to get our early-childhood institutions certified”.

 

He noted that the Early Childhood Commission (ECC), led by Chair, Trisha Williams-Singh, and Executive Director, Karlene Deslandes, continues to work with practitioners, communities and schools to achieve the designated operating standards.

 

“During last year, 13 early-childhood institutions were certified, 24 additional infant departments have been established islandwide and two new stand-alone infant schools… established,” Mr. Green pointed out.

 

The ECC was established by the Early Childhood Commission Act (2003), in keeping with the Government of Jamaica’s strategic goal of improving the quality of early-childhood care, education and development within the sector

 

CAPTION: Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, making his 2018/19 Sectoral Debate presentation in the House of Representatives on May 8

   

JIS: The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information is on a mission to transform the education system into one that operates based on a ‘mass customisation’ format, and not ‘generalised education’, which has been the tradition for decades.

 

According to Chief Education Officer in the Ministry, Dr. Grace McLean, her organisation believes changing the teaching process at the early-childhood, primary and secondary levels from ‘general education’ to ‘mass customisation’, will allow students to better express themselves and create career paths that are not traditional but are in keeping with the new jobs being created.

 

“The Ministry is taking a strategic approach towards not following a generalised education (anymore), whether formal or structured, but to move into mass customisation,” Dr. McLean said while speaking at the Kiwanis Club of Downtown Kingston’s luncheon held at Hotel Four Seasons on Monday (May 7).

 

“Mass customisation in a general context… refers to the design, production, marketing and delivery of customised products and services on a mass basis. It means that customers (youth) can select, order and receive a specially configured product… from hundreds of product options to meet their individual [academic and career] needs, so it is built to order (and) built to satisfy numerous customers across the world,” she explained.

 

Dr. McLean added the Government has taken the stance to create an education sector that is driven by mass customisation, and not generalised education, because of the advancements in technology and the need to provide students with the opportunity to draft their own career paths.

 

“The concept of mass customisation may provide the solution to us overcoming some of the deficiencies of a system that is traditionally focused on generalisations. It moves one’s thinking beyond costly customisation, on the one hand, and pure standardisation of education on the other, towards the concept of hybrid, practical and competitive strategies that are fundamental for the development of a modern education system. Mass customisation of education should be to meet the needs of all our students,” she said.

 

She argued that if Jamaica used the mass customisation format decades ago, the current workforce would have more qualified, skilled and trained professionals.

 

Dr. McLean said the ‘mass customisation’ approach will help the education sector to better achieve the goals and objectives outlined by the Ministry and complement the 1:25 teacher to student ratio that is now being introduced by the Ministry.

 

“We have just taken the decision to lower the pupil (to) teacher ratio, so they can truly practise mass customisation. We want our students to see the opportunities that are there, challenge and question our administrators, and, based on these, make decisions they want (regarding their academic and career goals),” Dr. McLean said.

 

“This is the approach the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information is currently following as we seek to ensure that the needs of every single Jamaican child [is fulfilled], who is deserving of the kind of quality education that will assist him/her to take their rightful place in society,” she added.

 

CAPTION: Chief Education Officer in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Dr. Grace McLean (left), peruses a book about the Kiwanis Club with President, Kiwanis Club of Downtown Kingston, Mr. Leo Williams, during the Club’s luncheon at the Hotel Four Seasons on Monday (May 7).

JIS: The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information has developed a strategy that will see the establishment of two day-care centres in each constituency at a cost of $520 million.

 

This was disclosed by State Minister in the Ministry, Hon. Floyd Green, during his contribution to the 2018/19 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives today (May 8).

 

“That is 126 day-care centres across the length and breadth of Jamaica. The strategy will involve the selection of institutions in each constituency that have the capacity to accommodate children from three months to five-plus years,” Mr. Green pointed out.

 

He noted that the Ministry will assess each institution to determine the type of retrofitting and support that will be needed, ensuring that Boards are in place for each institution.

 

Mr. Green said that a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will be signed, which will outline the expectations and agreement of both parties.

 

“The Ministry will provide trained early-childhood teachers, will upgrade facilities where needed, will provide furniture and equipment and resource materials, and children will attend these centres free of cost,” he said.

 

The State Minister informed that already, 52 institutions have signed the MOUs and are ready to begin.

 

“We know that it is during these early years, the first 1,000 days, that the majority of the brain development takes place, and, as such, we are creating a safe and conducive environment to allow our children to unleash their tomorrow today,” Mr Green said.

 

CAPTION: Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, making his contribution to the 2018/19 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives today (May 8).

I am pleased to share in the observance of Teachers’ Day, and to convey words of commendation to the thousands of teachers across Jamaica. Teachers get incredible joy in seeing the difference they make as students gain new insights, become more interested in a subject and learn about themselves. Every day, teachers mold the future through impacting their students’ views and understandings.

 

Teachers foster creativity, develop character, give students lenses with which to view the world and provide students with the skills they need to reach their potential and lead productive lives. Many individuals are attracted to teaching by a sense of service, because they want to make a clear, tangible difference in the lives of others. 

 

 The theme being observed this year for Education Week, “Promoting the Teaching Profession: A Beacon of Hope and Inspiration To Our Nation”, is an appropriate one.  There can be no quality education without competent and motivated teachers. The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, calls upon all Jamaicans to recognize the significant role that educators play and continue to play in developing the future of our learners and Jamaica.

 

 

As a group of professionals, our teachers and educators, more than any other, have played a most critical role in nation building and transforming the character of the Jamaican society. Teachers deserve our gratitude because they have to go beyond just teaching for good results, in many cases. They also have to care for and counsel students; they have to work in sometimes challenging environments and they have to perform administrative duties.

 

Today, we laud their selfless sacrifice, commitment to the cause and devotion to duty. May you have a blessed day of reflection and inspiration as you face the challenges and opportunities which lie ahead. Have a truly wonderful Teachers’ Day 

 

I am pleased to share in the observance of Teachers’ Day, and to convey words of commendation to the thousands of teachers across Jamaica. Teachers get incredible joy in seeing the difference they make as students gain new insights, become more interested in a subject and learn about themselves. Every day, teachers mold the future through impacting their students’ views and understandings.

 

Teachers foster creativity, develop character, give students lenses with which to view the world and provide students with the skills they need to reach their potential and lead productive lives. Many individuals are attracted to teaching by a sense of service, because they want to make a clear, tangible difference in the lives of others. 

 

 The theme being observed this year for Education Week, “Promoting the Teaching Profession: A Beacon of Hope and Inspiration To Our Nation”, is an appropriate one.  There can be no quality education without competent and motivated teachers. The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, calls upon all Jamaicans to recognize the significant role that educators play and continue to play in developing the future of our learners and Jamaica.

 

 

As a group of professionals, our teachers and educators, more than any other, have played a most critical role in nation building and transforming the character of the Jamaican society. Teachers deserve our gratitude because they have to go beyond just teaching for good results, in many cases. They also have to care for and counsel students; they have to work in sometimes challenging environments and they have to perform administrative duties.

 

Today, we laud their selfless sacrifice, commitment to the cause and devotion to duty. May you have a blessed day of reflection and inspiration as you face the challenges and opportunities which lie ahead. Have a truly wonderful Teachers’ Day 

 

JIS: Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, has charged teachers to listen to their students and tailor lessons to meet their various needs.

 

He noted that “oftentimes they (students) are able to tell you what would work, what won’t work, and, as such, we have to organise our system around some of their wants and their needs”.

 

“Yes, we do have the technical expertise, but the critical part of our education system and education reform has to be that the student is at the centre of what we do,” he added.

 

Mr. Green was addressing a ‘Boys and Girls’ Speed Networking Career Day’ at The Knutsford Court Hotel in Kingston on May 3.

 

Professionals from various organisations engaged the youngsters in one-on-one sessions aimed at steering them towards achievable goals, engendering more confidence in their ability to contribute responsibly to society, while creating a safe space for dialogue and sharing new ideas.

 

The Minister welcomed the networking session, noting that “it will go a far way in helping the young people to explore some of the real avenues that are out there”.

 

“I think the concept of having our youth engage with us in relation to careers is something that we need to do right across the length and breadth of Jamaica. We do still have a deficit in relation to adequate career counselling, and that is why we are still having a mismatch in our society between the areas in which our young people are being trained and what we really need in relation to the growth agenda,” Mr. Green said.

 

The networking day was organised by the British Council as part of its ‘Boys in Education Week’ from April 30 to May 3 under the theme ‘Supporting a Nation of Champions’. The week involved support from the Jamaica Teaching Council (JTC).

 

“I am very happy that the British Council has taken on board and elevated the issue of boys in education, especially to this level,” Mr. Green said.

 

The week included an empowerment session for educators, an empowering parents’ seminar, and a mentoring session for boys.

 

Boys in Education Week, now in its second year, is a precursor to a three-year programme that the British Council will be implementing in collaboration with the JTC.

 

The Council will be launching a mentoring programme in September under the initiative.

 

The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. It operates in 110 countries around the world.

 

CAPTION: Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green