After four years of invaluable support to Ceesay Nursery School, Charlton Manor Primary School continues its contribution to its development this autumn by fundraising to sponsor a classroom in the new school building we are aiming to build next year.
Charlton Manor Primary School, led by head teacher Timothy Baker, has been an enormous support to Ceesay Nursery School since 2012. As a result of an impromptu conversation, Mr. Baker invited Diane into the school to give a presentation to some of the children about the Gambia and the pupils at Ceesay Nursery School. After the presentation, the children and staff were so enthused that they agreed to become ‘twinned’ with the school.
In 2013 Diane spent 10 weeks in the Gambia working with Ceesay School and would send back photos and a regular blog to keep Charlton Manor updated. She also organised weekly Skype sessions between children from both schools. This was of some success, but also highlighted major challenges to do with local technology, unpredictable electricity supply, conflicting school schedules and also the lack of confidence amongst a lot of the Gambian children to speak in English to their peers. This experiment was pivotal in informing future best teaching practice at Ceesay School.
When Diane returned from the Gambia she told the children and staff of Charlton Manor about her experiences. The school then generously committed to fundraising and paying for a three year Early Child Development Teacher Training course for Adama Ceesay, the lead classroom teacher. Adama started her course in September 2013 and successfully graduated this year, a fully qualified nursery school teacher – a fantastic achievement both for her and for Ceesay Nursery School!
In February last year, Charlton Manor sent three members of staff out to the Gambia for a week, along with a large suitcase of school supplies. The two teachers taught in the school and worked with Adama to identify ways to improve the children’s educational experience. The third member of staff, the head of maintenance, learned about local building techniques and researched the school construction skills that would be needed to build a new school.
This year Charlton Manor continues with its phenomenal commitment to and support for Ceesay Nursery School’s development. Ceesay Nursery and Primary School charity chair Diane Fisher says: “We want to give a massive thank you to head teacher Timothy Baker, Sharon Chahal, all the staff and support workers and the wonderful kids at Charlton Manor primary who have worked so long and so hard to make things better for kids from the Gambia.”
Ceesay Nursery School 