Evaluation of our projects – a SEN school in The Gambia

Our CEO Ann Beatty is currently visiting our partners and the projects we support in West Africa to assess the impact the Foundations work is having on the provision of accessible education.


The first stop on this tour is The Gambia where Ann had the privilege of visiting the Methodist Special Educational Needs (SEN) School in Banjul. The school has 400+ students who attend the school.


Ann met the headteacher, Lucy, and several of the teachers who had recently attended the three day SEN and gender-based violence training hosted by the Gambia Teachers Union (GTU), which was supported by the Foundation. Ann met with the teachers who shared how beneficial the training was for them and how they have implemented some of the learning in practice at school.


Attendance at the school is excellent overall but they have recently had problems with one of the vehicles that collect the students each day. We are looking into how we may be able to support with this, as if the students do not have transport to attend school, then they just stay at home.


We met teacher Ousman who is deaf and dumb and develops all the learning resources for the school as well as teaching sign language.


The goal is to ensure that students are able to attend mainstream school but depending on the learning needs this is not always possible. Ann told us that in addition to the fantastic programme of education the teachers provided she could really feel the love and the care that the teachers felt for their students.⁠ It was inspiring to meet teachers who have such passion and care for their students despite the complex needs of the children in their care and the challenging environment.


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The following day Ann and the GTU Gender Officer, Janet, spent the day with 20 SSF Young Ambassadors at St Joseph’s School. Headteacher Ms Koker and Ms Silver joined the group for Tai Chi and the ‘Changemakers Speak Out: The School I want to Learn in’ workshop. We also spent time learning about the campaign work that the ambassadors have been involved in and thinking about how they can inspire other young people to become involved to campaign for #EduactionforAll.

 

It was a lovely surprise to meet up with Therese and Fatmatta SSF Young Ambassadors who supported the Send My Friend to School Campaign in 2017⁠. They shared their experience of coming to the U.K. and campaigning for EducationforAll. We also saw some of the creative crafts that the students have been working on together, and shared friendship bracelets as a sign of sisterly solidarity campaigning for #EducationforAll⁠.



These inspiring young women are making a difference in their communities and we are proud to support them!


Steve Sinnott • November 27, 2022

An Education Revolution

By Ann Beatty • April 6, 2025
This week while out and about in Hertfordshire and we visited the British Schools Museum. We discovered the first school opened by Joseph Lancaster, was known as the ‘Poor Childs Friend”, was in 1810. It was his lifelong mission that all children regardless of their circumstances, should benefit from an education. Apparently, Joseph heard a small girl say, “Oh that I could read!” and this inspired him to create a simple education system that eventually would benefit children across the world. Joseph was the tenth son of a poor man himself from South London. His aim was to offer free education for everyone. However, it would be 93 years before the U.K. government finally made education free for all. There are still many countries today where education is still not free to access and it is certainly not compulsory for primary and secondary age pupils. Joseph’s mission really resonates with that of the Foundation, to support access to education for all. We enjoyed our visit and appreciated the tour given by two of the Museum’s volunteers, Angela and Clare. They described some of the challenges faced in the early years of formal education and shared some of the rules that teachers and students had to abide by with us. 

Sparks Bristol

By Ann Beatty • April 4, 2025
Sparks Bristol is a collaborative community project initially envisioned by The Global Goals Centre, (GGC) more of which below. A few years ago, GGC took over an empty Marks and Spencer store and that’s how Sparks was born. Sparks is a department store with a difference, co-created by Global Goals Centre and Artspace Lifespace. On the ground floor is a huge range of shops, installations, events and more. Upstairs is a hub for local artists, it offers affordable studios as well as rehearsal and performance space. The Global Goals Centre is a Bristol-based educational charity inspired by the Sustainable Development Goals. (SDGs). GGC believe the SDG’s or Global Goals as they are sometimes known, can be reached, with imaginative solutions and widespread education and engagement. They work with partners to promote creative solutions and deliver ground breaking projects that work towards these ambitious goals. The Steve Sinnott Foundation supported the Global Goals Centre with seed funding when it first started over 5 years ago. This month we went to visit them to see how they are getting on and we were taken aback by the volume of work they have achieved since they started. It is amazing to see how though working together with other local community groups it has grown into the vibrant centre it is today. All of the creative projects they host are linked to the SDGs. They cover topics that tackle poverty, education, climate change, fashion recycling and upcycling, to name a few.

Spring is Here! Looking Ahead!

By Ann Beatty • March 28, 2025
Spring is definitely here, daffodils, blossom and crocuses are all basking in the bright sunshine. There is still a chill in the air in the shade but it's happening and all the seeds that were sown over the last few months are coming to fruition. At the Foundation, we have been planning the year ahead and our Positive Periods and Prevention of Gender Based Violence programmes got underway this weekend in Haiti and Ghana. These projects will have a long-lasting effect on the lives of the women and girls who take part: tackling the root causes of gender-based violence and enabling girls to attend school every day when they have their period, to feel safe at school and know how to take action when they are faced with violence. These are the first of many projects planned for the year ahead as we continue to work towards Education for All children everywhere.