National Education Leaders Affirm Commitment to Safer Schools

Representatives from the Ministry of Education, Teachers Service Commission, and LVCT Health pose for a group photo during the project inception meeting.

Nairobi County, 9 October 2024: LVCT Health recently hosted a high-level national consultative meeting at Monarch Hotel in Nairobi to introduce the LEARN Project and strengthen collaboration with Kenya’s education authorities.

The meeting aimed to foster government ownership of the pilot initiative and ensure its objectives align with Kenya’s Education Sector Implementation Plan 2023–2027. The plan emphasizes key priorities such as learner safety, teacher wellness, and the promotion of positive discipline, highlighting the government’s commitment to creating a safer and more supportive educational environment nationwide.

The meeting brought together senior officials from the Ministry of Education — including directorates of Policy and Partnerships, Basic Education, Quality Assurance and Standards, Early Childhood Education, and Special Needs Education — alongside the Teachers Service Commission wellness team. LVCT Health programme leads also participated, presenting the LEARN pilot and other school-based interventions. Together with LVCT Health’s programme leads, the group explored how LEARN can reinforce national strategies, strengthen teacher support, and create classrooms where learners are protected and able to thrive.

Government Priorities

The meeting was structured as a dialogue between the Ministry, TSC, and LVCT Health, with space for each to outline their current priorities and programmes. Ministry officials used the opportunity to share highlights of the Education Sector Implementation Plan 2023–2027, which places safety and inclusion at the centre of quality learning. Priorities include:

Developing safeguarding guidelines and child protection frameworks for teachers.
Rolling out policies on the prevention of gender-based violence and teenage pregnancy.
Mainstreaming inclusion for learners with disabilities and special needs.
Strengthening teacher capacity to deliver psychosocial support.
Building systems to collect and monitor school safety data.

One official explained: “Safety is integral to learning. The Implementation Plan reflects our resolve to create environments where children are protected, teachers are supported, and no learner is left behind.”

For LVCT Health, this created a clear pathway to show how the LEARN pilot directly complements these goals, especially in addressing corporal punishment through positive discipline and equipping teachers and learners with the tools they need to thrive.

The TSC Wellness Team highlighted mental health as a critical concern, noting that almost a third of teachers experience psychosocial distress. Stigma often delays help-seeking, and many teachers only access support when challenges are already advanced. The Commission shared its interventions, including counselling services, support for substance abuse, and wellness clinics.

“Teacher wellness is central to safe schools. A teacher who feels supported is better able to build trust with learners and avoid harmful practices. Partnerships allow us to expand our wellness mandate and strengthen prevention, not just crisis response,” teacher representative.

The discussion underscored how LEARN’s teacher-focused interventions — self-reflection tools, peer learning, and stress management support — align with TSC’s wellness agenda and can help teachers adopt sustainable, positive approaches to discipline.

LVCT Health’s Contribution

Anne Ngunjiri, LEARN project lead giving her remarks during the high-level stakeholders meeting in Nairobi.

LVCT Health presented its portfolio of school-based programmes, highlighting the LEARN Project as a pilot built through co-creation with education stakeholders. From the outset, the Ministry of Education, TSC, teachers, learners, and community representatives have been involved in shaping both the design and the implementation approach. This ensures the project is not an external add-on, but fully aligned with government systems, community needs, and classroom realities.

The LEARN Project introduces positive discipline strategies as alternatives to corporal punishment, supports teacher wellness, and builds life skills among learners. These interventions complement the Ministry’s Implementation Plan 2023–2027 by directly addressing its priorities on safety, protection, inclusion, and well-being.

“LEARN is more than a pilot. It is a process of listening and bringing stakeholders together — from policy-makers to headteachers, from teachers to learners and their caregivers. Our role is to connect evidence from schools and communities with national policy, so that what works locally can be scaled sustainably.” Anne Ngunjiri, the Project Lead, LVCT Health.

Through this approach, LVCT Health underscored its commitment to ensuring that every voice — from the classroom to the ministry — shapes safer and more inclusive learning environments.

Agreements from the Meeting

The consultative dialogue closed with a set of practical commitments designed to ensure that the priorities of the Ministry and the objectives of LEARN move forward together. Participants agreed to:

Jointly develop operational guidelines on child protection and positive discipline that can be rolled out across schools.
Draw on evidence from the LEARN pilot to inform national safeguarding frameworks and teacher wellness programmes.
Expand teacher capacity-building in stress management, positive discipline, and psychosocial support, recognising wellness as a foundation for safe schools.

“This meeting has set the tone for stronger collaboration. Together we will ensure that the commitments in our Implementation Plan are realised in every school.” Directorate of Policy and Partnerships