On 9th March 2023, we were delighted to welcome a team from Ghana’s National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA) on a visit to two schools where Sabre is providing play-based kindergarten teaching training.

The NaCCA team visited Abiriw Presbyterian Kindergarten (KG) and Abiriw SDA KG in Okere District, one of the six districts in the Eastern Region where Sabre has supported the Ghana Education Service (GES) to train all KG teachers in play-based learning and positive behaviour management. NaCCA praised Sabre’s training for following the standard-based KG curriculum, introduced nationwide in 2019, in which Sabre provided technical input.

The team from NaCCA consisted of the Director-General, Prof. Edward Appiah, Anita Collison, the Director for Assessment, Standard and Quality Assurance, Genevieve Mensah, an officer with the Curriculum Directorate, and Alice Kuromah from NaCCA’s Corporate Affairs Department.

As the institution in charge of curriculum development in Ghana, Prof. Edward Appiah and his team were interested in learning about the quality of implementing the KG curriculum. This is a priority area for NaCCA, as the organisation is planning to review the 2019 standard-based KG curriculum over the next two years.

During the visit, the NaCCA team had the opportunity to meet teachers, headteachers and GES officers, as well as the Okere District Director of Education and her management team. In Abiriw Presby SDA KG, the NaCCA team conducted an extended observation of pupils’ lessons followed by a discussion with school management on how the KG curriculum was being implemented, and the impact of Sabre and GES’ training on the school’s teaching and classroom management.

The Director-General and his team also had the opportunity to meet and talk to student KG teachers on the Supported Teaching in Schools (STS) programme, the student teaching component of college curriculum. When asked about differences in curricula, Prof. Appiah explained that NaCCA will soon align the Bachelor of Education Early Grade Programme with the standards-based curriculum. He also recommended increasing stakeholder engagement around child assessment in KG, and stressed the importance of parents using the assessment tool at home.

Prof. Edward Appiah and his entire team expressed gratitude for the opportunity to visit the schools, and look forward to an ongoing partnership between Sabre Education and NaCCA.