At Chance for Childhood, we believe that inclusive teaching doesn’t just improve education, it transforms lives. Through our Realising Inclusive and Safe Education (RISE) project, we’re making sure that children with disabilities and special educational needs in Rwanda are not getting left behind.

To boost teacher’s skills and awareness around inclusive education, we led interactive, hands-on training sessions for teachers at over 57 schools across three districts, benefitting 5,000 children aged 6 to 15 attending those schools. The sessions equipped inclusive education focal teachers, head teachers, and trainers of trainers, including district-level education leaders, with a deeper understanding of their roles in fostering inclusive learning environments and inclusive teaching practices.

Why teacher training is key

Inclusive education isn’t just about the curriculum, it’s about creating a culture of inclusivity and understanding among teachers. To help foster this, teachers were trained in:

• Classroom interventions and accommodations for learners with additional needs
• Using the Disability Detect App, developed by Chance for Childhood, to screen children for disabilities
• Referring children who have disabilities or additional needs to get a formal diagnosis

Learning through empathy

Role-play activities helped teachers step into the shoes of children with disabilities, deepening their understanding of the emotional and social barriers these learners face. This approach builds not just technical proficiency, but greater compassion and understanding of the challenges that their pupils with disabilities and additional needs face in the classroom.

Technology for inclusion

Our innovative Disability Detect App plays a key role in enabling teachers to identify and support children with disabilities and additional needs. The app guides teachers through a set of questions that helps them to detect whether a child might have a disability – they can then be referred for a formal diagnosis in a healthcare setting. The training gave teachers the practical skills and information they need to use the app in their classrooms. By integrating this tech into their everyday practices, we’re building a future where disabilities can be detected early on, and children are given the support they need to thrive in school from the beginning. So far, the app has helped us screen over 18,000 children, with nearly 100% of them going on to receive some form of healthcare or medical support.

Disability Detect is just one part of the picture. By equipping educators with the right tools and training across the curriculum and their classrooms, we’re laying the foundation for a more inclusive education system in Rwanda.