AKA Maputo hosts child protection sessions for parents

From 19 November to 22 November, the Aga Khan Academy Maputo hosted three sessions on "Child Protection Policies and Procedures at the AKA Maputo" for parents and staff members.  

These sessions focused on how the AKA Maputo is thoroughly committed to educating all of its students in a safe and caring environment and were conducted by Head of Academy Michael Spencer, School Counsellor Tania Ribeiro, Head of Residential Life and Pastoral Care Ruth Kingston, Junior School Principal Maike Silver and Senior School Principal and Dean of Studies Alejandro Zepeda. 

“Child protection is an aspect that we have always been invested in and are now formalising,” Alejandro said. “After working several months in putting together the Child Protection Committee, and then drawing from knowledgeable and reputable individuals and institutions to draft a solid document, we are now rolling out our Child Protection Policy to the school community.” 

This was echoed by Ruth, who highlighted the importance of raising awareness of the Academy’s child protection policies and procedures amongst the school community. “The Aga Khan Academy Maputo’s Child Protection Policy is one of the corner stones to the safeguarding of our students across all of our academic programmes,” Ruth said. “It is important to involve every part of our community and to make everyone aware of what to do to ensure the mental, emotional and physical protection of our students.”  

Reflecting on the Academy’s development and what this rapid growth means for the school community, Alejandro further added that, “As we move forward with the Academy’s growth, our normal practices become more structured and are framed in all relevant policies and procedures,” he said. “This will ensure that new staff, students and families have a point of reference to understand our community and to form a part of it.”  

Child protection initiatives have also been introduced in both the AKA Maputo’s Junior and Senior Schools. In the Senior School, the “It’s Good to Talk" initiative is being rolled out to encourage the students to become actively involved in the Academy’s child protection approaches. 

With regard to the Junior School, Maike explained how a well-being curriculum has been implemented throughout each grade level. “In the Junior School, we support our students by educating them through a well-being curriculum that is tailored to each year group and includes component such as online safety, when it is important to talk to a trusted adult, how to solve conflicts appropriately and how to differentiate between conflicts and bullying,” Maike said. “Educating our students, teacher and the community is key to providing a safety net for all our students.” 

Many parents showed great interest in the AKA Maputo’s “Child Protection Policies and Procedures” sessions, taking the opportunity to directly engage with the Academy’s Child Protection Team. “I was very pleased with the turn out of the face-to-face and the online presentations for parents,” remarked Alejandro. “It shows interest and support from our families and will ensure that our students are taken care of by the whole community.”