Health and safety training for creche teachers in Munsieville

On Thursday 19th January the teachers of the crèches who are in the training programme of Project Hope UK in partnership with Safe and Sound Learning Association, gathered at the Embassy for a meeting with Safe and Sound Learning Association, Betty Nkoana and Carola Michielsen of Project Hope UK and the Teddy Bear Clinic. The purpose of the meeting was to share the report with recommendations of the GlaxoSmithKline Health & Safety volunteers that assessed crèche facilities at the end of last year and to discuss what the teachers could change to make their facilities a healthier and safer place for children. For Safe and Sound Learning Association this was a great opportunity to see whether the teachers had already implemented what they have learned during the training and to reinforce the recommendations. The Teddy Bear Clinic was invited by Project Hope UK to tell the teachers something about their organisation and to give a first short training session about how to recognise whether a child has been sexually abused by observing odd behaviour. This was highly appreciated by the teachers since this subject has been touched upon in their training but they indicated they would like to have more in-depth training. Teddy Bear Clinic indicated that they are willing to organise a full day training of the teachers around this subject.
We discussed all findings and agreed on things to improve the coming weeks. All teachers will place the emergency contact numbers on the walls of their crèches, all teachers received posters on hand washing and other hygiene advice to display in the crèches as well as the poster of the Paraffin Safety Organisation. They will set up a communication network to share best practices and learn from each other. In March of this year Project Hope UK, Safe and Sound Learning Association and partners will organise a training day to practice Fire Evacuation Strategy and First Aid procedures with all the teachers. The teachers of the crèches that were assessed by the GSK team all received their individual report in order to see what they can improve in the coming weeks in their crèches, to help provide the best possible start in life for the young children of Munsieville.