More psychologists will be working with students in the public education system, and the Ministry of Education is also hoping to launch a creative parenting programme.
Chief Education Officer Dr Ramona Archer-Bradshaw said those were some of the plans to assist families and at-risk youth.
“We’re very concerned about crime, especially when we see young people who left school about two or three years ago committing these crimes. We understand that school is a microcosm of society, so when there is an uptick in crime in society, you will have an uptick in crime and violence in schools,” she said.
“We are going to get five additional psychologists because we recognise that very often parents have to pull their pockets in order to have their children assessed psychologically. As a ministry, we want to be able to offer that service.
The posts have already been approved. It is a matter now of filling the posts so that we can meet the need of them.”
She was speaking with the Sunday Sun on Friday at the ministry’s headquarters at the Elsie Payne Complex, Constitution Road, St Michael, ahead of their Independence celebration I’z A Bajan. Archer-Bradshaw recalled that over the past three years, they had increased intervention strategies. She explained that the student support services section grew from 12 people to 33. Six safety officers have been deployed to the six most at-risk secondary schools; there are seven primary school counsellors, seven secondary school counsellors and seven social workers. These are in addition to the guidance counsellors at the schools.
“We have additional school counsellors and social workers. We have safety officers as well within the schools. On a daily basis, they go out to the schools and identify and assist those children who have psychosocial challenges. We also have school attendance officers who are on the road daily, ensuring that children go to school.
“While we have seven secondary school counsellors, each counsellor can have two schools, depending on the need. So they can operate on what we call the peripatetic basis,” she said.
The Chief Education Officer also said they started partnerships with Sandy Lane Charitable Trust, Echo Nation, Maria Holder Memorial Trust and other organisations to implement programmes and workshops within schools to help children who might be suffering psychologically and socially.
Earlier this month, director of Criminal Justice Research and Planning Unit Cheryl Willoughby said youth-involved crimes were at a crisis level.
“I have a grave concern for the level of gun violence that we have in Barbados, especially targeting our young people. Right now Barbados has, I would call it, a crisis whereby we are having our persons accused of murder having an average age of between 16 and 18 and some may go up to 19 in one or two cases,” Willoughby said. She called for an urgent intervention in schools.
Archer-Bradshaw said improving family dynamics will be important to dealing with the issue and that is why they are hoping to work closer with parents.
“The school and the family must work together to create the kind of child that we want to see. We have to think about working with parents to help their children realise their full potential.
Therefore, the Ministry of Education has developed a parenting programme. It has to be approved at the level of the minister and Cabinet,” she said.
If approved, she said the programme would be one with a difference.
“Usually, when people think of programmes for parents, they think about parents attending seminars, going to a school and sitting down and listening to somebody talk. We want to approach it differently.
“We want to capture the boys on the block. We want to capture people who go to supermarkets. We will be having these workshops or pop-up sessions in locations that one would not expect to have these pop-up sessions,” she added.
‘We’re very concerned about crime, especially when we see young people who left school about two or three years ago committing these crimes.’ (TG)
