Over 6,000 learners to benefit from CBC play initiative
Children play with toys at Hodhan ECDE centre in Wajir County in this file photo. Over 6,000 children will benefit from a play initiative aimed at enhancing their learning experience.
What you need to know:
- The programme seeks to excite children through reading and play activities on roadsides and in local schools.
- It is intended to boost literacy and numeracy skills, among other foundational concepts.
Over 6,000 children will benefit from a play initiative aimed at enhancing their learning experience and promoting a lifelong love for education.
The Sh3 million Build a World Play campaign will also engage education officials to promote the integration of play in learning and support the implementation of the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC).
The programme seeks to excite children through reading and play activities on roadsides and in local schools.
It is intended to boost literacy and numeracy skills, among other foundational concepts, among pupils in grades One to Three.
Launched by World Vision Kenya and the Kenya National Libraries Service (KNLS), the project will also see teachers and over 5,000 caregivers in Nairobi, Kakamega and Narok counties benefit.
The KNLS will leverage established mobile libraries to promote literacy through play and reading using a play-bus caravan targeting early learners, schools and parents.
Speaking during the launch in Nairobi on Wednesday, KNLS chief executive Dr Charles Nzivo said the campaign resonates well with what the agency has been doing to promote reading among children.
“Through partnerships, the children’s sections in some libraries have been refurbished into colourful children’s corners that are stocked with relevant learning materials, including books, audio visual content, educational games and toys,” he said.
The KNLS, he said, strives to provide children-friendly spaces and programmes in libraries and through school outreach initiatives.
World Vision Kenya acting National Director Geoffrey Kativa said the initiative underlines the power of play in improving learning outcomes among early learners.
Collaborative project
“This collaborative project is an integrated tool that will incorporate county education officials, school heads, teachers and caregivers in promoting play as a critical element in teaching early-years education,” he said.
“It will also ensure that the value of play for children’s holistic development and learning is widely understood and enacted in early-years education policies and reflected in resource allocations.”
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Several schools, he added, are already benefiting from the project, with caregivers trained to develop teaching and learning resources given the important role they play in the success of a child’s education.
“This is enhancing the learning experience and making work easier for teachers,” he said.
Research shows that play is one of the most important ways for young children to gain essential knowledge and skills. Implementation of CBC has reached Grade Six.
