September was a busy month for the Fast-track Transformational Teacher Training (FTTT) team, with the start of a new school year and the fourth Intensive Training Workshop (ITW4). Preparation for ITW4 began the week before with a four day Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop. The training team for this workshop comprised of five OLA College of Education lecturers and three teachers who have already completed their two years of FTTT training. These teachers bring excellent insight to the training team as to what it is really like to implement the programme in the classrooms.

The ToT workshop ensured that each of the trainers were adequately equipped with the skills and methodology that they needed to successfully deliver the training content to the ITW participants. In order to do this, the trainers were taken through the training scripts for each day of the ITW. Most importantly, they also had the opportunity to practice their delivery of the scripts. Feedback is given to the trainers after each practise session, which helps them to deliver the training to the very highest standard.

The ITW4 itself brought together all teachers, head teachers and Ghana Education Service Officers at OLA Centre of Excellence. The main areas of this workshop were phonics, mathematics, storytelling and how to build and maintain self esteem in the classrooms. The KG2 teachers also had the chance to make teaching and learning materials (TLMs) for the new theme, Journeys.

Behaviour management continues to be another key area addressed in the training workshops. During ITW4 the teachers were introduced to the good behaviour crown and bracelets, an example of how rewards can be used to manage classroom behaviour in their schools. All of the teachers loved getting to wear the crown or bracelets as a result of their ‘good behaviour’. This is just one example of how these workshops model things that the teachers can then take back and use in their own classrooms.

On the final day of the workshop we were delighted to receive a visit from the Cape Coast Metro Education Director, Mr. Stephen Richard Amoah, who gave us some excellent feedback.

‘I am very happy to meet these wonderful teachers, I had a teacher in my former district who was trained on this program. She has been tremendous in my former district and she is been used as a facilitator for all KG workshops organized in the district. Currently she has been made the assistant KG coordinator of the district and the district is really proud of her. I would therefore encourage all of you to learn very well and be good ambassadors of this program where ever you go.’

The workshop was an overwhelming success, with excellent participation and enthusiasm from participants. The participants all left thrilled and very confident to continue the transformation of their classrooms.

The FTTT team and the trainers from OLA College of Education will be visiting the schools in the next few weeks to see how the teachers are implementing the content of the workshop and also provide them with any needed support.