Special Education Needs and Inclusion Conference (SENICON) 2020

Posted on June 19, 2020 by Administrator

The Special Education Needs and Inclusion Conference was organised by The Winford Centre for Children and Women in partnership with UNESCO and Bridg-Networking Germany. The conference which was themed Increasing Access to Education: Innovative Solutions for Learning and Participation was held on Friday 12^th June 2020 virtually on Zoom from 10am to 3pm. The conference is a platform for policymakers, practitioners and beneficiaries to explore innovative and sustainable ways of supporting learners with special education needs going into the future.

In her welcome address, the founder of The Winford Centre for Children and Women, Mrs Basirat Razaq-Shuaib highlighted the crucial need to have conversations with all key stakeholders about the provision of inclusive education for children with disabilities and neurodiverse conditions in Nigeria.

Delivering the first keynote address, the Regional Director and Representative of UNESCO, Mr Yao Ydo, represented by Dr Samuel Onyekwelu gave a background of Special Needs Education. He stated that an estimated 15% of the world population has a disability, 1 in every 10 children is a child living with disability and out of an estimated 1 billion people living with disabilities, 80% of them are in developing countries which Nigeria is one of. He stated further that the global crisis of COVID-19 pandemic is deepening existing inequalities, exposing the extent of exclusion that work on disability inclusion has become imperative making the conference a very important one.

Delivering the second keynote address for the day, Mr Phil Dexter MBE, an Inclusive Education Consultant who was with the British Council for 30 years said we must recognise that every learner is different and they must be related with in different ways. He stressed the importance of going beyond labels such as dyslexia and others and getting through to the learner to support them.

There were four panel sessions at the conference to address various learning, access and participation issues with seasoned speakers such as Prof. Amanda Kirby, Dr Sigamoney Naicker, Mrs Dotun Akande and Dr Modupe Adefeso-Olateju.

The highlight of the day was the unveiling of four children’s books promoting inclusive education, disability and neurodiversity awareness, and social inclusion of children with disabilities in society. The first book Dragons can sing was unveiled by Dr Stephen Onyekwelu on behalf of UNESCO Regional Director, Mr Yao Ydo. In his words, UNESCO appreciates innovative actions, research work and ideas that are in line with their thinking which the book represents. He added that the book will address some of the issues that have been highlighted relating to disabilities inclusion.

Dr Hannia Bridg of Bridg- Networking, Germany unveiled the German, Spanish and Portuguese translations of the children’s book ‘I am not naughty – I really really mean it!’ which was originally released in English in 2019. The book which emerged as a finalist in the 2020 British Council ELTons Innovation Awards (in partnership with Cambridge Assessment) has been deemed an excellent resource for teachers.

The final keynote of the day was by the Honourable Commissioner of Education, Lagos State Mrs Folasade Adefisayo who was represented by Mrs Sola Somoye, DG Guidance & School Counselling, Special Education, Ministry of Education Lagos State. In her address, she said the Lagos State Government has been and remains committed to supporting the education of children with disabilities in the state. Mrs Somoye said the conference was an eye-opener for the government in terms of its provisions and services.

The founder of The Winford Centre for Children and Women, Mrs Basirat Razaq-Shuaib gave the closing remarks charging the government to treat the provision of inclusive education for children with disabilities as a priority problem rather than an add on after all other problems have been solved.

Read the full report of the conference here.

British Council ELTons Innovation Awards Selection

Posted on May 25, 2020May 25, 2020 by Administrator

From Basirat Razaq-Shuaib

Yes! My book “I am not naughty- I really really mean it!” made the finalist selection of the British Council ELTons Innovation Award. This is a HUGE feat!!!! So let me tell you a bit about the illustration process of this book. I worked with an amazing illustrator – Olalekan Salami (contact me for his details) to bring the ideas to life. At some point, he got tired because if a brush stroke was missing, I would call for it to be fixed. I pay attention to details and from the beginning, I made it clear that the book had to be illustrated to international standards. You can imagine our excitement when this book was selected. Take a look at his comment on Instagram.

So what exactly is the ELTons Innovation Awards? Every year, the British Council celebrates innovative ways of teaching English Language internationally. The award is known as the ELTons Awards for Innovation in English Language Teaching. 2020 marks the 18th year of ELTons Awards and this year, 130 entries were received from over 40 countries. Panels of experts worked independently to find entries that best show excellence in innovation and functionality to meet the needs of English language learners and teachers around the world. There are 5 categories and we were selected as finalists under the Local Innovation (in partnership with Cambridge Assessment English) category. As this is an internationally competitive field, you will agree with me that coming out as a finalist must make me and every at The Winford Centre for Children and Women justifiably proud. It’s a lot of hard work so we are basking in this glory.

Now a little about the book – I am not naughty- I really really mean it! This is my first book and I wrote it to increase the awareness of invisible disabilities and social inclusion of affected children. All the proceeds from the sale of the book go to charity. The book tells the story of Ayo, a misunderstood school-aged boy who is tagged as naughty but whose behaviour is as a result of his ADHD disability. From constantly spilling his food to not sharing toys or giving others a chance in class, Ayo’s behaviour continues to take a toll on his family and schoolmates. However, with the help of a diagnosis and support, Ayo’s behaviour improves and he develops positive relationships. The book depicts the struggles of children who have invisible disabilities. It teaches empathy, kindness and promotes disability inclusion. It also contains positive affirmations for children. On its own, this is an amazing book but combined with a mobile reading service under the Inclusion Starts with Me programme, this is an outstanding resource. Effectively, we are teaching English language, inclusive education and social inclusion using just one package.

This achievement definitely calls for a celebration which is why we are celebrating with a 50% price slash! Yes, you read right. So hurry and get your copy here if you are in Nigeria. If you are ordering internationally, you can purchase a copy from Amazon here.

Thank you to the following people who made this dream come true. This is not an exhaustive list…

My husband Razaq Shuaib

My kids

Olalekan Salami

Parresia publishers

The Winford Centre for Children and Women

Ms M. Giwa

Miriam Elegbede

Chukwuka Monye

Omotola

Chidi Koldsweat

The increasing cost of our silence

Posted on May 26, 2019 by Administrator

Last month I went to a primary school to do a book reading. This book reading program is a pioneering initiative of The Winford Centre for Children and Women called ‘Inclusion Starts With Me’. As part of the initiative, we visit primary schools and read books about inclusion and disabilities to children. We also encourage them to ask questions and champion the inclusion cause.

So, at this particular school, the book I read to the kids was about a girl who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair but is thriving despite her challenges. At the end of the story, I asked if anyone would like to be the girl’s friend. Some kids said yes but some others said no. I then asked those who said no for their reason and one of them answered saying “I won’t like to catch what the girl has.” Yes, you read right! Some children (and adults) think disabilities are contagious diseases!

This is the whole point of my story and this post. Either due to the lack of information or as a result of being given the wrong information, these children have a perception of disabilities which affects the way they relate with other kids who have disabilities. A perception which if not corrected can lead them to become adults who are misinformed and result in a society which will still not be inclusive despite efforts through SDGs to change the narrative.

As parents, adults and leaders, we have a responsibility to ensure that children have access to the right information about the realities around them. We have a responsibility to ensure that children are taught about empathy and kindness. Most importantly, we have a responsibility to ensure that these children grow into better adults than we ever could be. If we need to change the way we see the world in order to change the world, then we must be prepared to do it.

So here are my questions to you:

1. What are you telling the children around you about disabilities?

2. Are you willing to be an inclusion champion?

If you would like us to visit your school for a reading session, please send an email to basirat.rshuaib@thewinfordcentre.org

Encouraging schools to look beyond financial rewards and adopt inclusion

Posted on May 26, 2019 by Administrator

The child comes first, always.

The way to address an issue is to first talk about the issue. In talking about it, we want to understand why the issue exists. Beyond this, however, we also want to know how we can solve the problem. The issue of schools not being disabilities inclusive in Nigeria is a big one. Let’s face it, there are other socioeconomic complexities in the way of inclusion which can make its adoption quite challenging. The one I find most intriguing though is the associated financial reward for the school. In my inclusion advocacy journey, I have found a lot of private schools asking the question, “What does it cost and who will bear the cost?”

Quite frankly, I can’t blame them. They have invested money in the school and just like any other business venture, it must be profitable. So the bottom line is if it doesn’t make money it doesn’t make sense.

On the other hand, we have the parents of the child with special needs who have to carry the additional burden of healthcare cost and on many occasions have to sacrifice their career to fulfill their role as the primary caregivers. With reduced income and an additional burden from schools, how will these parents cope?

Ultimately who suffers? The child! The affected child gets left behind!

In places like the UK, there is a huge budget for Special Educational Needs Provisions (even though many still complain that the funding is inadequate). This is because when the government says no child should be left behind, they understand that the statement needs to be backed up by a series of actions which include legislating, funding and progress monitoring.

So I am using this post to open up the conversation. Policy makers, school owners, philanthropists, donor organisations, parents, caregivers, and good-hearted individuals. How do we move forward from here? From your perspective how can this problem be solved? How can we address the needs of the children, the parents, and the schools all at once?

It truly matters that we ensure no child gets left behind. Every single child counts.