Engage 11 spring 2015

ENGAGEPrice £1.00 ISSUE ELEVEN

TheSTEVESINNOTTFOUNDATION

Vision: Quality Education for Every Child Everywhere

Sports Day in Maronka Village, the girls are winning.

“Received wisdomis hard to shift”

Ann Cotton, Founder and President of theCampaign for Female Education (Camfed)

Foreword

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Welcome to ENGAGE 11, published as we approach the seventhanniversary of NUT General Secretary, Steve Sinnott’s untimely deathand the sixth anniversary of the Official launch of the Foundation inhis memory.

The Foundation is now firmly established with a growing worldwidereputation. This has been achieved as a result of the very tangiblecontributions it has made to the campaign for global primaryeducation.

We have decided to make this edition of ENGAGE a little morecontroversial. We have done so by providing opportunities forcontributors, including political contributors, to address issues aroundEducation for All from their own viewpoint.

Change and how to achieve it is the theme of this edition.Contributors explore the important notion of understanding whatworks and the very many different types of change – includingcultural, environmental, political and social which need to happen toachieve and underpin sustainable, universal education for all.

Enormous thanks to all for your continued support for theFoundation, in your many different ways. Your commitment hasbeen, and is vital for sustaining and enhancing the Foundation.

Jerry GlazierChair, The Steve Sinnott Foundation

Visit the discussion forum at www.ssf-community.org to comment on this article

This magazine could not be published without itsdesigners and printers at Paragraphics and atRuskin Press. Their expertise and patience isextraordinary. They do not just do the business forus, they are friends of the Foundation andsupporters of our work. Ongoing thanks to them.

The STEVESINNOTT FOUNDATION


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“RECEIVED WISDOM IS HARD TO SHIFT”But shift it we can. Inspirational change maker and World Innovation Summit for Education 2014award winner, Ann Cotton of Camfed describes how she challenged the internationaldevelopment establishment and catalysed a new movement

In October 2005, Ben Chama and I had ameeting with Steve Sinnott. We hadexpected it to be over in half an hour but twohours later Ben and I left after a warm andengaged conversation about education inZambia. Ben said, “He was reallyknowledgeable”, and then laughing, “And hedidn’t ask me about corruption”. Ben Chamahad come to the UK to speak at a number ofevents about his work as headmaster of arural primary school with over a thousandpupils and Steve had shown the greatestinterest of all we had met.

Ben’s school was one of the partner schoolswith which Camfed worked across fivecountries in rural Africa. The work was bornin 1990 when I went to Zimbabwe to do astudy into why boys heavily outnumberedgirls at school, particularly in rural areas. SinceIndependence in 1980, the government hadexpanded school places one thousand-foldand yet girls in rural areas were the mostmarginalised. The prevailing view in theinternational development sector was thatfamilies were resistant to the education oftheir daughters.

I was looking at the issue through the lens ofone community – the village of Mola in theNyaminyami District. This was one of thevillages where the Tonga people had beenforcibly resettled when the river was dammedat Kariba. Everything had been lost under thewaters of the lake – the thatched homes,grain stores, cultivated fields, as well asfishing boats and nets. The community wasimpoverished by the move and had notrecovered. Nothing that was promised by thecolonial government had arrived – schools,clinics or roads. The dam was built to provideirrigation and electricity for the growingwhite population but even these resourceswere not provided to the Tonga and theelectricity pylons marched across thecountryside to the growing towns and cities.

The teachers, the parents, the children andthe local traditional leader gave me the samemessage – that girls were not at secondaryschool because of poverty. Families did nothave the means to meet the educational

costs for all their children; boys had the bestchance of future paid work and werefavoured. In an environment where the familyis the safety net, the future of ageing parentsis secured through the next generation. Iheard of no resistance to the education ofgirls per se, only decisions that made senseand were based on economic realities. As aresult however there were seven boys forevery girl at Mola Secondary School.

When I came back to the UK, I did therounds of international developmentorganisations to explain my findings. I metscepticism at best. Yet money was beingspent on posters and tv ads and jingles – ontrying to persuade parents to send theirdaughters to school when they did not havethe means. What if the circumstances inMola were far more wide-ranging? Thereseemed at least a reason to examine receivedwisdom. I argued that habits born ofeconomics were being interpreted asculturally embedded but I was a self-recognised novice.

The statement, “People told you what theythought you wanted to hear”, made nosense to me and it made me angry, notbecause my ideas were being challenged butbecause the people of Mola were beingdistrusted. Received wisdom is hard to shiftbut, as Mark Twain wrote, ‘Whenever youfind yourself on the side of the majority, it istime to pause and reflect’.

There was no choice but to return to Molaand discuss with the community how wecould work together to support the educationof girls. Chief Mola called a meeting andhundreds of people came and sat in the sunall day discussing how we could make it work.That day in 1991 was the day the CamfedModel was designed. It has more bells andwhistles now and is endlessly evolving but theprinciples of the Model remain constant, theprimary one being that everything centres onthe child. As our governance document –written by Lucy Lake, Camfed’s CEO, twosenior partners at Linklaters – Diana Good andLance Crofoot Suede – and me – describes it,‘Accounting to the Child’.

The community of Mola spoke their owntruths and catalysed a movement that nowextends across Zimbabwe, Zambia, Ghana,Tanzania and Malawi through a network of5085 partner schools. Camfed has supportedthe education of one million, two hundredthousand and sixty six children, the majorityof them girls because the circumstances thatwere current in Mola in 1990 still exist andthey remain the most excluded group. And ifgirls leave school prematurely, the inevitabletruth is that another generation of boys andgirls will be born into poverty.

The launch of Camfed as an organisationtook place at the Zimbabwe HighCommission in London in November 1993.Judith Kumire, the late headmistress of MolaSecondary School spoke at the occasion thatwe called, ‘Speaking for Ourselves’. InDecember last year, Angeline Murimirwaspoke at Brookings in Washington DCalongside global experts in education and justbefore First Lady Michelle Obama. Angeline isCamfed’s Regional Director in Africa and oneof the first thirty two girls supported.Angeline was a bright primary schoolgirlwhose subsistence farming parents could notraise the money to pay for her uniform andschool fees. She understands thepsychological and material scars of povertybecause she lived them and when you askgirls in poor rural areas about their futurethey say they “want to be like Angie”.

Ben retired from his job and joined Camfedthree years ago. He too understands povertyand reflects back to children their capabilities,their strengths. It was a meeting of mindsthat day when he met Steve in London and Iwas privileged to be there.

Ann Cotton is Founder and President ofCamfed International and winner of the 2014WISE Prize for Education

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As well as being a fundamental human rightwhich is already well developed in theinternational framework, education isindispensable to a just society. Educationdraws those in receipt of it towards a fullerunderstanding of the world about them,deepening their awareness both of themselvesand of those around them. Done well, itinvites reflection on ethics and justice thatmake the well-educated also good citizens,both of their home state and (in these globaltimes) of the world as well.

For me, education is central to addressing oneof the key challenges of our time – climatechange. The science is clear; the climate ischanging, human activity is the primary causeof these changes and if we do not take actionurgently we will irreparably damage thenatural systems on which life depends.

A key principle of climate justice is Harnessingthe Transformative Power of Educationbecause as a global community, we mustinnovate now to enable us to leave themajority of the remaining fossil fuel reserves inthe ground – driving our transition to aclimate resilient future. We have known formany years that we must construct a futuresociety where inclusive, low carbon growthadvances development and human rights.That means fostering decent jobs andlivelihoods, expanding people’s access tosustainable energy and affordable nutritiousfood; supporting sustainable cities;maintaining forests and other vital eco-systems; and enhancing the health of bothpeople and the planet. We also know that wemust construct a future where vulnerablecountries, communities and households are

sufficiently resilient to deal with the impacts ofclimate change.

To do this, we need change makers. Youngpeople who have embraced teaching andlearning methods that motivate and empowerlearners to change their behaviour and takeaction for sustainable development. We neededucation that champions key competenciessuch as critical thinking, imagining futurescenarios and making decisions in acollaborative way.

Our young people are part of a generationwho face an uncertain future in a climatestressed world. This is the context for theireducation. We need to enable them to bechange makers.

The Mary Robinson Foundation”ClimateJustice” is a centre for thought leadership,education and advocacy on the struggle tosecure global justice for those people vulnerableto the impacts of climate change – the poor, thedisempowered and the marginalised.

CHANGEAGAINST

CHANGEFormer Irish President and UN Human Rights Commissioner,Mary Robinson writing now for her own Foundation looksto education for a new generation of change makers

PAGE 5Visit the discussion forum at

www.ssf-community.org to comment on this article

As ENGAGE confronts the greatest challengesto education for all children the biggest newissue is the increase of attacks on schoolchildren. Girls and boys have faced nearly10,000 individual attacks on their educationalinstitutions in the past five years, includingmurder, arson, kidnapping and intimidationagainst girls simply for wanting to go toschool. In 2012 alone there were 3,600separate attacks against educationalinstitutions, teachers and schools and there isevery indication that this number will continueto rise. With over half of the world’s out-of-school children and adults in conflict-affectedareas, Safe Schools are essential if we are toachieve universal education.

In a few weeks time on 14th April we willmark the first anniversary of the abduction ofthe young Chibok girls in Nigeria who inspiredthe new Safe Schools programme innortheastern Nigeria. The initiative issupported by government, business and civilsociety working in partnership. New SafeSchool programmes are planned now forPakistan as we respond to the calls of youngpeople to remove the barriers they face asthey attempt to get an education. Progress isnow being made to create Safe Schools inLebanon to include both Syrian refugees andany young Lebanese children whosecircumstance mean that they have beenmissing out on learning. These are hard wonachievements but there is more to do. Withover half of the world’s out-of-school childrenand adults in conflict-affected areas, SafeSchools are essential if we are to achieveuniversal education.

Gender disparity must also be addressed if weare to get all children into school. Of the 58million children who are denied their right toeducation, 31 million are girls. Moresignificantly more than 500 million girls will

drop out before completing their basiceducation. Poverty and discrimination meanthat girls are the first to be taken out of schooland are more likely to end up in exploitativework or married off at a young age, puttingtheir health and economic future at grave risk.The goal of getting every child in to school willnot be achieved without eliminating thebarriers that continue to keep girls out ofschool.

In February 2015 A World at School publishedthe MDG2 scorecard that shows how countrieswith more than half a million children areprogressing with the goal of getting all childreninto school. The news was not good. Only twoout of 29 countries were considered to be

making ‘good progress’ on education. But weneed to see these statistics so we can learnwhat change is needed and where. Armed withthis knowledge we can call on world leaders toact by signing up to the #UpForSchool petitionwhich demands that every child has the chanceto go to school and learn.

Young people are calling out their politicalleaders on education as never before. The#UpForSchool petition has amassed 3 millionsignatures, and 15 million more signatures havebeen pledged by supporting organisations tocreate the world’s biggest petition foreducation. A World at School has backed 500Global Youth Ambassadors to support theircampaign work based in 80 countries. Theseyoung activists are smart, innovative anddetermined to be heard and make a difference.You can read their amazing stories onaworldatschool.org. And now Presidents andPrime Ministers are signing the petitionthemselves thanks to the determination of theGlobal Youth Ambassadors.

This year we have a window of opportunity toput the pressure on political leaders to keeptheir promise to get every child into school by2015 when they meet at the United Nations inSeptember. We can all stand #UpForSchooland ensure that they have the opportunity togrow, learn at school and lead. Please sign andshare the global petition on upforschool.org

PETITIONING FOR CHANGESarah Brown, President of Theirworld and co-founder of A World At School, opens a windowof opportunity to persuade world leaders to keep their promises

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JUSTICE NOT CHARITY: WE MUST NOT LET THEM DOWN


Labour’s prospective Secretary of State for International Development*, Mary Creagh wants not change but renewal of the world commitment toquality education for all with a new determination to deliver on the promises

Steve Sinnott was a true champion of international development and agreat believer in social justice for all.

From building schools in Nepal, training teachers in Sierra Leone, toraising awareness across towns and cities in Britain, the SinnottFoundation has honoured Steve’s memory by improving educationoutcomes, and through solidarity across borders.

The last Labour government established the Department forInternational Development (DfID) at Cabinet level. We led the world incancelling debt for poor nations, trebling the aid budget, brokered

ambitious deals on trade and climate change. Above all, our effortshave put 40 million children into school worldwide – a legacy Stevewould have been proud of.

The next Labour government* will tackle global poverty and inequalitybecause developing countries need justice, not charity.

Ensuring universal education is a Labour priority. This is most arduous infragile and conflict affected states. We believe all children deserve to bein school, including children in refugee camps. At the moment, notenough is being done to ensure schooling continues and that familiesquickly move on from humanitarian support.

We want to ensure that children affected by conflict have the psycho-social services they need and the right to go to school, so that their livescan return to normal as soon as possible.

Gordon Brown recently highlighted the scale of this challenge. Thereare half a million child refugees in Lebanon, 300,000 of whom are notin school, even though the cost is only only $4 per day.

This is not because there are no schools for them to go. It is becauseinternational communities have failed to deliver their promised aid.

This year, as the world comes together to set out new SustainableDevelopment Goals, we have a once in a generation opportunity toensure all children have the chance to enjoy an education. We must notlet them down.

The next global agreement on aid must focus on inequality as well aspoverty. Specifically that countries are supported to provide universalhealth coverage and that the rights of workers and women areprotected.

Tackling these problems requires long-term commitment and resources.This is why Labour MPs voted in the House of Commons to commitfuture governments to spend 0.7 per cent of Gross National Income oninternational development late last year. Britain will be the first G7country to meet the target.

I am enormously proud of this, not least because more Labour MPs thanCoalition MPs were in Parliament to ensure this promise was fulfilled.

Eradicating poverty through education might seem idealism to some,but for those of us who believe in opportunity for all, we know it iswithin reach.

Together, let us fight the good fight against poverty and inequalityworldwide, and deliver the justice that the world’s poorest need.

*This article was written for publication prior to the UK’s 2015 GeneralElection when of course government may change




Watford Women’s Centre has been a changemaker since 1989 for women in and aroundWatford in the county of Hertfordshire. Wedeliver learning to up to 600 women a yearcovering English, IT and Personal Developmenttopics among a range of other servicesincluding counselling, employment support,legal advice sessions and education onDomestic Abuse.

Our learners come to us because they wantsome form of change to happen, they maywant the change to be gaining skills to use theinternet or gaining knowledge to leave anabusive relationship. They are often dealingwith intensely challenging issues; addiction,abuse, poverty, mental and physical healthissues. Issues that make the possibility ofchange seem unrealistic and at times, toodaunting to begin. They need us to believe inthem and in the potential for them to changetheir lives.

Change to us is a deeply individual andpersonal movement across time; sometimes itshows in objective, practical movement anddevelopment. Learners entrust us to providethe environment and activities that willfacilitate them to change. It’s easy to list thetangible elements that we provide; aclassroom, course materials, lectures andsessions of learning, equipment to practicewith, a teacher. We can quickly see thismovement across time, when a learner is ableto switch on a PC and create an excel sheet, it’san objective result.

Sometimes it is impossible to see, quantify ormeasure change: it can only be identified bypersonal, private experience. There issubjective, intangible change. It is this aspect

of change that challenges us most as makersof change and this is the aspect I would like tofocus on.

It goes beyond our ability as educators, ourresource bank of materials or our pristinecourse files. It’s messy, confusing andemotionally draining at times; it calls on us ashuman beings to question ourselves and thequality of our interactions. It means stickingwith it and holding onto an imagined pictureof where we and our learners will be once theyhave moved through time and into thechange. It asks us to transcend the reality oftoday.

There is a magical and elusive thing that we doto promote change; we believe that teachers,counsellors and advisors do this withoutrealising it. We time travel!

• We move back into the past with the learnerwhen we are considering their past learning,what prior knowledge and skills they arebringing. We use this knowledge to get toknow them, how they learn best, whatmight prove difficult for them in theclassroom. This can help us to plan for andmanage difficulties, developing strategies tosupport their learning.

• We move into the future when we plan theirlearning and devise what we will deliver tohelp them achieve educational outcomes.We set SMART goals for them and try toanticipate what tasks will help them to gainskills or knowledge needed to achieve thosegoals.

• We spend time reflecting on where they willbe in 6 months or a year or 6 years, therebymeeting their future self, the potential them.

We ask them to share their future hopes anddreams, where they would like to be andwhat change would look like.

• We hold our image of their potential, so thatif they wobble, we can remind them ofwhere they are going and that the road todreams or change is never straightforward orwithout obstacles.

• Sometimes, particularly when our learnersare struggling with challenges in life, wehold the hope that there can be change; itwon’t always be so difficult. This can be thehardest part of our work; not giving up onsomeone when they have given up onthemselves.

• We bring our past self into the room, whenusing our own experience to highlight howchange can happen.

One of our learners told us, “I have completed3 computer courses at WWC, which I passed.They gave me self confidence and new skillswhich enabled me to go back to work after mychildren were older. Try anything, feel betterabout yourself, go forward with your life”.

Her teacher was able to consider where shehad been, where she wanted to get to andsupported her movement through time andinto change so that she could go forward with life.

CHANGING LIVESThe office of the Steve Sinnott Foundation is in Watford in the UK. We took a look closer to homeat what education can achieve. Tracey Burke-Taylor is Chief Executive at Watford Women’sCentre where women facing life challenges go because they want some sort of change tohappen. Here Tracey tells an inspiring story of how education changes lives.

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I recently joined the Steve Sinnott Foundationat an exciting and challenging time. I’mlooking forward to working alongside otherinternational agencies to do our bit to helpachieve the Education for All (EFA) goals.

With a general election coming up in the UK,it has been interesting for me to see whereeach party places the importance ofeducation and international development intheir manifestos. As we eagerly await theoutcomes from the post 2015 talks onSustainable Development Goals, I thought itimportant that I should learn about the workof some of our many partners and supportersand the different organisations both locallyand internationally who are all contributingto the common purpose of Education For All.I’ve been meeting some of them.

These meetings have proved very productiveso far. They have further inspired me inachieving the goals of the Foundation whilekeeping in mind our core values. I have beenparticularly fortunate to meet many peoplewho knew Steve Sinnott personally. Theywere able to give me an insight into theperson he was and some idea of his valuesand passions. Steve’s passion andcommitment for the cause of educationcombined with his friendly down-to-earthattitude has left a very impressionable markon the colleagues he worked with. I have alsobeen finding that out from some of thearticles in this edition of Engage.

Despite the fact that the goal of primaryeducation for every child has not been metand there are still some 58 million childrennot going to school around the world, it hasbeen a positive and heartening experience forme to see so many people promoting EFAacross the UK and internationally. There areso many organisations that are supportive ofeach other and wanting to collaborate toachieve common goals of getting morechildren into school around the world, raisingawareness of the barriers and arming ouryoung future leaders with an understandingof how life is in other parts of the world andhow it compares to their own reality. Somepromote EFA amongst pupils and students by

providing classroom resources andcertification, through campaigning and one-off events days. Others aim to get schoolsthinking about the issues throughout theschool year and make EFA studies a part ofdaily school life.

At the Steve Sinnott Foundation we askourselves on a daily basis “Is this work goingto get another child into school, and not justinto a classroom?” We don’t just want tocount bums on seats, we want every child toget a quality and holistic education that is fitfor purpose and that will ensure all thesechildren and young people can take an activeand healthy part in their communities, gainreal employment and play their part in widersociety.

When visiting the National Union of Teachers(NUT), the largest organisation for teachers inEngland and Wales, I found that educationinternationally is not that different fromeducation requirements here in the UK. TheNUT’s Stand up for Education campaignhighlights some of the same things teachersall around the world want: a wider vision oflearning and achievement, qualified teachers,more child places, an end to child poverty,mending a fractured education system, moreand better focused investment and adetermination to make teaching an attractive

profession.

At the Steve Sinnott Foundation we believethe challenges are not insurmountable Withproper investment in quality education andearly child development that is fit forpurpose, the provision of quality teachers andresources, a commitment to tackling genderdiscrimination and child labour, Education forAll can be achieved.

One of our major contributions to UK schoolevents is EFA day. This was set up to reflectSteve’s passion for Education For All. I havebeen wondering if he would be proud of thework achieved so far by the Foundation?When I have asked some of his colleaguesthey say yes he would but he would say don’tstand still, keep working together to getmore children into school and don’t give up.Solidarity and perseverance were values hebelieved in. With 58 million children not inschool and something like 25 million whomay never get to school, there are somecountries who have a lot more work to doand that’s where all the organisations whocan raise awareness of this mighty challengecome into play.

We see a positive future for Education for All in reaching more rural communitiesand ensuring gender equality, throughcollaborative working, the sharing ofresources and better use of technology toachieve economies of scale. As anexperienced Community DevelopmentPractitioner, I feel strongly about CommunityEngagement. Our special approach at theFoundation means reaching out to teachers, to local communities and theirschools with our unique background in thecollective activity of the trade unionmovement. We mean to bring this approachinto working collaboratively with otherorganisations contributing to the EFA cause.

I’ve already been in touch with several ofthese organisations. I was very lucky to beinvited to “We Day” a USA and UK schoolsinitiative organised by Free the Children.Tickets cannot be purchased. You get invitedafter by doing one local and one global eventtowards EFA. It was really inspirational to see

LET’S ALL WORK TOGETHERAnn Beatty is the Steve Sinnott Foundation’s Senior Manager with a special responsibility for developing our community activity and our Friends of theFoundation scheme. She joined the Foundation in December 2014. She has been getting to know people and she’ll be meeting many more at the 2015Conferences of UK teacher organisations, the National Union of Teachers, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers and the Ulster Teachers Union.




The UNESCO ASPnet was founded in 1953 and today is a globalnetwork of 10,000 educational institutions in 181 countries. Itpromotes UNESCO’s Education for All goals. They encourage schoolsto contribute to international understanding and peace and they placeemphasis on UNESCO ideals and the four pillars of Learning for the21st Century: learning to know, learning to do, learning to be andlearning to live together.

I am excited about this new role in the Steve SinnottFoundation/UNESCO UK partnership. It ties in perfectly with theFoundation’s existing work. It will build on our shared commitment toraising the profile of international development in education and atthe same time highlight the vitally important work of the UK NationalCommission for UNESCO.

Gary Brace was the Chief Executive of the General Teaching Councilfor Wales. He is now the Education Director of the UK NationalCommission for UNESCO. Here’s how Gary looks forward to workingwith the Steve Sinnott Foundation:

“As we move towards to the new post-2015 SustainableDevelopment Goals for education, UNESCO Associated Schools in theUK have a great opportunity to play their part in making ‘education

for all’ real for their pupils. Never has there been a time when‘learning to live together’, one of the Network’s four pillars oflearning, has been more important for young people. We have everyconfidence that the Steve Sinnott Foundation will rise to the challengeand enable the Network to thrive in the UK. I am greatly lookingforward to working with the Foundation over the coming year”.

Our aim is that this partnership will signal a new phase for the ASPnetin the UK. My own unique position will allow me to harness the SteveSinnott Foundation’s educational resources and global schoolsnetworks to strengthen ASPNet here in the UK. We’ll be developingand growing the UK Network in 2015.

If you would like to learn more about or join the Associated SchoolsProgramme then please visitwww.unesco.org.uk/unesco_associated_schools or contact me [email protected]

Join the UNESCO Associated Schools Programme today and your schoolcan:

• Be part of a global network of schools directly linked with the UNsystem

• Participate in seminars and conferences in the UK and internationally

• Receive a diploma signed by the UNESCO Director General to displayin your school

• Receive teaching materials on the UN system and global issues

• Expect regular newsletters with updates on resources and activities

• Access materials developed by various UN organisations

• Access expert speakers on UN issues

It is easy to join UNESCO Associated Schools in the UK. I can advise youon completing the application form, outlining how the values ofUNESCO will be integrated within the curriculum at your school andhow you can plan to take forward one or more of the four UNESCOstudy themes.

UNESCO AND THE FOUNDATION,PARTNERS FOR CHANGEThe Steve Sinnott Foundation’s Jasmine Jones has recently taken over the coordination of the UK’s UNESCO Associated Schools Programme(ASPnet). Jasmine was the Foundation’s Projects Manager until October 2014. Now in her new role with the Foundation she describes what theASPnet project is all about and calls on UK schools to get involved

so many young people who really get whatEFA is about and are doing amazing things intheir communities.

Meeting with and finding out about the workof Unesco Aspnet Award, Send My Friend toSchool (GCE Coalition), AmnestyInternational Human Rights Friendly Schools

and UNICEF Rights Respecting AwardInternational really inspired me that there areso many groups of like-minded people outthere working to achieve Education for All.

The Steve Sinnott Foundation’s Education forAll Day this year is centred on Friday 19thJune. Please sign up and order your resource

pack at http://www.educationforallday.org/

If you would like one of our team to visit your school please email me [email protected] –and do your bit for Education for All bypromoting the cause whenever theopportunity arises.

Visit the discussion forum at www.ssf-community.org to comment on this articlePAGE 10

Whilst working in Kenya I met a Maasaicommunity that used to practice femalegenital mutilation (FGM) but has nowabandoned it. This was due to two girlsattending school and joining a health club.The girls learnt about the harm caused byFGM and when the time came for them to becut, they ran away to avoid FGM andcontinue their education. After safelyreturning to their village with assurances theywould not be cut, the girls began to educatetheir community about FGM and persuadedothers to stop this harmful practice in theirvillage. This was more than seven years agoand since then no girl has been cut. This ishow change happens, starting with

education and providing the knowledge forpeople to make informed decisions.

FGM is a harmful traditional practice datingback more than 2,000 years. It is thought tohave originated in ancient Egypt/Sudan and ismost prevalent in Africa with over 90 milliongirls and women living with FGM in Africaalone. Globally more than 140 million girlsand women have undergone FGM and thepractice is has been reported in more than 40countries including parts of the Middle East,South East Asia and in diaspora communitiesin Europe, the Americas and Australasia. Over3 million girls are at risk of FGM each yearwhich is equivalent to a girl being cut every10 seconds.

To create a social change to end FGM, weneed a multi-layered strategy which supportschange at all levels in society. At 28 TooMany we start with our research programmeand we prepare detailed country profiles.With the findings from our research weengage with those who can create theenvironment for change. We work withpolitical and religious leaders, participate inhigh level UN events such as the Commissionon the Status of Women and advocate forthe inclusion of legislation and otherprogrammes which support the prevention ofFGM and support for survivors of thepractice. There is a growing internationalmovement to end FGM and the new policiesand programmes arising from this must bebased on research and reliable data.

This however is only part of the solution. Wealso need to empower those working atcommunity level. Many activists have limitedaccess to research data and due to theirremote locations can be isolated from othersworking against FGM. 28 Too Many makesour eight completed research reports freely

and widely available. We also partner with incountry activists and organisations to helpthem form networks through which they canshare information, support each other andwork collaboratively to develop effective localstrategies against FGM.

Lasting change to end FGM will only happenwhen those within the community areeducated on the harm of FGM and attitudeschange. Our recent project in Laikipia, Kenyawith the Maasai Cricket Warriors and CricketWithout Boundaries showed the potential ofhaving ambassadors within the communityacting as champions for change and inbringing people together, in this case throughsport, to deliver education on girls’empowerment and FGM.

There are many challenges in ending FGMand inevitable resistance to changing adeeply rooted practice. However, progress isbeing seen across Africa and this needs to besupported by national leadership againstFGM, effective research-based programmingand long term funding commitments.

My dream is to save one girl from FGM. Thatgirl can then grow into a mother whoprotects her daughters and become agrandmother with three generations of uncutwomen in her family. Change to end FGMwill be achieved one girl at a time.

28 Too Many is a charity working to endfemale genital mutilation (FGM). It researchesFGM and supports local initiatives to end FGMin the 28 African countries where it ispractised and across the diaspora. The charityalso advocates for the global eradication ofFGM, working closely with othercharities/NGOs in the violence against womensector. For more information please visitwww.28toomany.org


HOW CHANGEHAPPENSDr Ann-Marie Wilson, Founder and Executive Director at 28 Too Many an organisation working to end female genital mutilation, believes ineducation as the means to make change happen – in this case ending a harmful traditional practice with a 2000 year history.

PAGE 11


Dr. Kishore Singh is an International Law Expert and also the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right toEducation.

For some time now, evidence-baseddevelopment has been all the rage. Rigorousevidence about whether an intervention orprogram works, and for whom and why is agrowing focus of attention. We have seentremendous growth in so-called impactevaluations of social developmentinterventions and policies to understandwhether they work, and significant interest inconsidering rigorous evidence in makingprogram and policy decisions. In an era oftight budgets, sceptical voters, and bigaspirations, governments the world over arebeing challenged to demonstrate the valuefor money of their programs. It’s a welcomeand important trend.

But it is easy for this conversation to miss animportant element of evidence baseddevelopment – the process by which resultsabout “what works” translate into action.How do programs and policies that havebeen proven to work based on rigorousresearch studies, in fact, reach millions if notbillions of people? Evidence presented inpolicy briefs and journal articles is notenough for busy, risk averse firms andgovernments no matter how committed they

are to cost effectiveness. There is a missingmiddle, a gap, in the simplest “theory ofchange” of evidence-based aid anddevelopment.

The growth in the ‘rigorous evidence’zeitgeist has been noticeable. There areresearch organisations, many affiliated withuniversities and networks of renowneddevelopment economists, that are devoted to‘finding what works.’ There is a growingnumber of funders that have made evidence-based development a cornerstone of theirgrant making.

And governments are starting to take note aswell. The Indian state of Gujarat reformed itsenvironmental auditing system just lastmonth based on findings from a large-scalerigorous evaluation study conducted inpartnership with economists affiliated withJPAL.

With our support, Kenya started a nationalschool-based de-worming program in 2011and India followed suit this year with anational program targeting 241 millionchildren. De-worming is a textbook exampleof a evidence-based program and policy.

There is a significant body of rigorousevidence by researchers that shows thattreating kids for worms of course helps themfeel better but also supports weight gain,brain development, and productivity in schooland later in life.

But the question remains: How do we getfrom a 2004 study on the effect of de-worming in school attendance in Kenya to241 millions children targeted for de-worming in India in 2014? What is the pathfrom promising evidence in a research studyto sustainable programs that reach millions?

We at Evidence Action believe that reducingpoverty and spurring growth in developingcountries requires strategic, high-valueinvestment of scarce resources. We developand de-risk business models for suchprograms that allow tens of millions ofpeople to be served, and the return oninvestment to be measured. We bridge thegap between rigorous research and pilotprograms on the one hand, andinstitutionalised programming on the other.

We are now pressure-testing promising newinterventions to see whether they are suitablefor scale-up. We take on questions such aswhether a program is grounded in rigorousevidence of effectiveness, whether it has acredible path to a cost-effective service deliverymodel that contextualises essential researchresults without sacrificing impact, whether itprovides a credible path to serving millions ofpeople in the event that the business modelcan be fully articulated, and whether it avoidsdisplacing activities or investment that wouldotherwise be made by others.

We love the fact that rigorously-evaluatedevidence of impact is beginning to be asignificant criterion in social developmentprograms and policies worldwide. But let’snot rest there. Let’s also show that what hasbeen proven to work for a few can do socost-effectively and sustainably for millionsof people.

The organisation Evidence Action waslaunched formally in 2013 to scale programswith sustainable business models that havebeen proven to be effective so that theybenefit millions of people.

MEASURING CHANGEAlix Zwane, Executive Director of Evidence Action asks the crucial questions: What works andhow do we turn promising programs into global action ?




Since 2000, the year the millenniumdevelopment goals (MDGs) were launched,governments and aid agencies have beenstriving to achieve ‘universal primary education’– children everywhere being able to complete afull course of primary schooling. The MDGs willbe built upon in the sustainable developmentgoals (SDGs), which will frame the agendas andpolitical policies of governments and aidagencies over the next 15 years. Crucially, theSDGs will seek to address the perceived failingsof the MDGs in that these considered neitherthe root causes of poverty and gender inequalitynor the holistic nature of development.

DFID’s Girls’ Education Challenge (GEC) is a£355 million global fund that aims to supportup to a million of the world’s poorest girls toget into school, stay in school and learn. Coffeyhas been evaluating the impact andeffectiveness of the GEC, and our baselineresearch is about to be published. The baselineresearch involved the collection of data at anunprecedented scale, by Coffey and by 34GEC-funded projects across 22 countries. Itincluded surveys of 56,000 households as wellas literacy and numeracy tests of 70,000marginalised girls.

Our research showed that although girls’enrolment in primary and secondary schools isa problem, this is not ‘universally’ the case. Wefound enough differences between differentcontexts to suggest that in some areasenrolment is not as much of an issue asoriginally thought. Similarly, we found that girlswere not ‘systematically’ more disadvantagedthan boys in terms of enrolment in school ortheir level of learning. In some areas boys weremore disadvantaged than girls. In short, someassumptions about girls’ (and boys’) educationthat have framed development over the past15 years have evidently changed. So it isincreasingly important that we are aware of thedifferences between specific groups ofdisadvantaged people.

The problem seems to be much more specificto the context of a particular area than it was in2000. For this reason, the change from theMDG goal of ‘universal primary education’ tothe SDG goal of inclusive and equitable accessto education supporting the fundamentalprinciple that no child is left behind, is the rightone. It’s clear from the evidence collected by usand others that a one-size-fits-all approach to aglobal education goal would not capture thecomplexity of the situations that girls, boys,families and communities face in such fast-changing environments.

A refocus on the ‘quality’ of education in thenew SDG for education is another change that

is absolutely appropriate. We found that almostuniversally, girls’ levels of literacy are far lowerthan generally expected. On average, we foundthat girls only achieve a basic level of readingand comprehension once they reach secondaryschool. We also found that girls generally fallfurther and further behind in their readingability as they progress through school,compared to where they should be given thegrade they are in. This situation is made worseby evidence that on average girls in secondaryschool are two grades behind where theyshould be for their age. Julia Gillard, the chairof the Global Partnership for Education, calledthis a ‘learning quality crisis’. Our evidencesupports this and her view that there is nopoint getting children into “something called aschool if they are not learning.”

School-based factors such as a lack of facilities,teachers and equipment stood out in ourresearch as critical barriers to learning.However, the relationships between root causes and good quality learning are complexand subject to a wide range of conditions thatare difficult to identify, unpack and understand.This means that we, the global developmentcommunity, have an obligation to the families who are making huge sacrifices to get their children into school to make sure that our assumptions about the problems thatthey face still hold true in the face of constantchange.

CHANGING ATTITUDES ANDQUESTIONING ASSUMPTIONSSimon Griffiths, Team Leader for the Evaluation Manager for the Girls’ Education Challenge Fund at Coffey International faces up to theobligation to recognise the changing environment for development

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EducAid Sierra Leone Ebola State of Emergency has been in place inSierra Leone since 1st August 2014. The keyeffect of this is that there can be no gatheringof numbers greater than 5 and movementbetween districts and at times villages / townsand sometimes even house to house has beenrestricted.

Accordingly, schools have been closedthroughout this period which means that, onthe one hand, teachers would be available fortraining but actually, in practice, gatheringthem has been almost impossible a.) becauseit is against the State of Emergency laws andb.) because some teachers got stuck indifferent parts of the country whenquarantines were imposed and anyway,moving from the communities where theycurrently are is very difficult.

In particular, in the Port Loko District whichwas the district most affected by Ebola,second only to the Freetown Area. Controlswere even more strictly imposed here thanelsewhere. Despite the State of EmergencyEducAid has managed to carry out trainingthis year for 90 teachers and this will continuewith earnest in the coming months as thecontrols are lifted.

Manisha UK NepalSome highlights of the last 6 months andaspirations for the year ahead:

• The final completion of Navadurga school,Pipaldanda, which had the official open daylast week, with c100 attendees. The schoolalso incorporates 8 shop units, aimed atencouraging sustainability within thecommunity.

• Teacher training courses have gone very well,today's course is centred around tourism andsustainability, to broaden thinking skills andencourage the community and schools, tobecome self-sufficient. Other teacher trainingcourses, included Leadership/Planning andcreative working in Lower Primary English.

• The roof at Batase school was replaced aftera storm, funded by a rapid fundraisingresponse by it’s twinned UK school, GustonPrimary.

• Fundraising by West Derby and King’s LynnAcademy, also raised funds for theirrespective twins, Okhaldunga and Amrit,aiding improvements to classroom facilities.

• In order to facilitate succession planning,previous and current NQTs have been invited tojoin Manisha UK as trustees and three haveexpressed a strong interest. Still tbc.

• We have selected 2 female NQTs for the2015/16 placements, helping to reinforce ourcommitment to gender equality. Our current8 twinned schools, have c50%representation of both boys and girls.

• Re healthcare, we are raising the need for aduty of care by teachers towards pupils rehealth issues, currently not viewed as theirresponsibility. We have identified childrenwith previously undiagnosed and potentiallyserious eye conditions, for referral to the eyehospital in Tansen. Eye test charts have alsobeen supplied to schools.

• We plan to increase our focus on the needs ofexcluded children, due to either SEN or casteissues, to further our Education for All aims.

• We are currently assessing the requirements toregister as an NGO in Nepal, to further aid ourfuture work in Palpa District.

PARTNERS PROJECT UPDATE MARCH 2015

The rural version: Participants fromthe Buya Romende chiefdom in PortLoko district, working on an activityabout female participation in school

Photo by Man

isha

Photo by Man

ishaPh

oto by Ed

ucaid


WE CAN, SO WE MUST

The Steve Sinnott Foundation is close to myheart as the Member of Parliament forWatford, being a Watford-based charityestablished in the memory of Watfordresident, Steve Sinnott.

As a result the Foundation is well-establishedhere, and many of our schools took part inthe Foundation’s Education for All Day, whichhas been endorsed by the Prime Minister.*

We are lucky in the UK to have a very good educational system and one that isconstantly improving. Therefore it’s right tolook abroad and use our influence andforeign aid to create good educationalsystems elsewhere.

Education policy is a key battleground inpolitics because of its sheer importance.Education is the key to so much opportunity,and to overcoming so many problems.

Britain’s children stay in education until they are18 which is an incredible feat, when hundredsof millions of children worldwide leave schoolin their early teens, if they go at all.

Organisations like the Steve Sinnott

Foundation are essential to expandingeducational provision across the world. But I also believe that governments indeveloped nations like ours must do their bittoo. I sat on the UK Parliament’s InternationalDevelopment Select Committee for two years,scrutinising the work of the UK Government’sDepartment for International Development(DFID). As part of that we went to SouthSudan where more than 80% of thepopulation cannot read or write, if thechildren of South Sudan are not educated,then the country will have no future. Britishaid has been training teachers and fundingschools out there and the committee went tosee the proceeds of this work. As the nationhad been created just a year before, there wasvery little infrastructure, indeed the childrenwalked for hours each day to learn from theirBritish-funded teacher, who could barely readand write, and sat together learning under abig tree. I believe when it comes tointernational aid that ‘we can, so we must’.

Over the last 5 years, 200,000 teachers havebeen trained and 11 million children havebeen supported through primary and

secondary schools across the world. We areaiming to get 1 million more girls into school.You will all be aware that sadly theMillennium Development Goal to get everysingle child into primary education by 2015has not been met, although the number ofchildren who do not go to school has beenhalved. However, we can’t give up and thismust form part of the Post-2015 MDGs.

I believe that this government’s educationalreforms are something we can be proud of,and the level of investment has been huge –into buildings alone £18 billion has beenspent. I will be helping to break the groundon a £20 million new school for Watford thismonth. Knowing that children around theworld consider a tree to be their school willreally put that into perspective.

*This article was written and first publishedprior to the UK’s 2015 General Election whenof course government and Members ofParliament may change.

Richard Harrington, Conservative Member of Parliament for Watford* where Steve lived andwhere the Steve Sinnott Foundation has its office, expresses his friendship for the Foundation andadds his own slogan for inspiring change

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Dave Harris, MDIndependent Thinking Ltd.

Look it up onwww.Q-files.com

TThhee FFRREEEE OOnnlliinneeCChhiillddrreenn’’ssEEnnccyyccllooppeeddiiaa

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PAGE 15


To the casual observer, the Steve SinnottFoundation is an organisation of a dozen orso people including just two paid employeesoperating out of one small office in Watford,Hertfordshire, England.

But we’re not. We’re part of a family of millions.

It’s a family of people with a dedication toteaching and learning, to education thatSteve himself called ‘the great liberator’. It works on the best of close knit familyvalues, the same values that have inspired thetrade union movement in Britain and aroundthe world, the belief that by workingtogether so much can be achieved.

The work that the Foundation’s employees,

directors and support team members do ismultiplied over and over again by the hour orso here or the occasional day that selflesspeople give as volunteers to help and supportwhat we do. They include activists within theUK teachers organisations, and classroomteachers, not only education professionalsbut many different talented people whochoose not to mass wealth for themselvesbut to do good for us all.

The more of those people there are, the morewe can achieve. From retired and newlyqualified teachers, solicitors, administrators toexperienced fundraisers, we need a broadrange of skills to deliver our goals. Regardlessof your previous experience or skill set, wewelcome anyone who could spare a fewhours a week to join us and get involved.

What’s in it for me? With training andsupport you will be making a genuinedifference to those who need it most. Youwill also gain valuable skills for the future.

But perhaps more important even than that isthat you will be “participating”, taking partin a great leap forward, helping to bringabout an educated world.

Get in touch now and find out what you cando and start a volunteering adventure.

Community FundraisingWhy not challenge yourself this year with a fundraising event? From a physicallychallenging event to arranging a communityevent in your school or organization we needyour help!

In these changing times when funding fromother sources is becoming increasinglydifficult, we are reliant upon new andinnovative ideas and your help can make allthe difference.

Be Our FriendSigning a Standing Order to help us with just£3.00 per month makes you a Friend of theFoundation. We’ll respond by helping you tointroduce EFA issues into your work, teachersproviding their pupils and students withdifferent perspectives on the world, sharingnew experiences with children in far awayplaces, members of other professions and

workforces becoming part of a worldwideeffort introducing new understandings andnew purpose. Please go online towww.stsevesinnottfoundation.org.uk to sign up.

For more information on getting involved withthe Foundations work call Ann Beatty on01923 431653 or email Ann [email protected]

GETTING INVOLVED

Shaista Khan

I recently moved from Australia toLondon and am actively looking for work.As I continue my search, I felt it is best tovolunteer my time and skills to a worthycause. With my background ininternational development and teachertraining and marketing communications Iwas lucky to have been referred to theSteve Sinnott Foundation. I was verypleased to have found a local not forprofit organisation that worked globally. Iam impressed with the ideals and goals ofthe Foundation. Also, the team of friendlyand passionate community minded staffhas helped me keep motivated. I feelgood that my skills are recognised andthe volunteering experience has helpedme to understand the local work cultureas well. I consider myself fortunate to beable to do my bit for the Education For AllProgram.

Debbie Smith

Debbie Smith will be running the LondonMarathon on Sunday 26th April to raisefunds for the Foundation. This is Debbie’s2nd marathon and we are very privilegedto have her support. Debbie has beentraining hard and she completed a halfmarathon at Silverstone on Sunday 15thMarch. Debbie says, “It went really welland I got a time of 1.50.52 so I am reallyhappy with that. The race was wellorganised with plenty of drink and musicand marshals were cheering everyone on.It was a lovely event and has prepared mefor the Big One.

I have raised £912 so far, please supportme further by making a donation on myJust Giving page.”

https://www.justgiving.com/Debbie-Smith33

QUALITY EDUCATION FOR EVERY CHILD EVERYWHERE

www.stevesinnottfoundation.org.uk

Please visit our website to find out moreabout our work and sign up to become aFriend of the Foundation. Support us withjust £3 a month and you will make a bigdifference investing in working together toachieve quality education for all.

Or talk to us by getting in touch atwww.stevesinnottfoundation.org.uk [email protected] 01923 431653

Be our friendLet’s work together

Photo by Dan Vernon

Documents

Engage 11 spring 2015