Kivukoni School
How can we embed a culture of care for ourselves, others and nature at the heart of our schools?
Life at Kivukoni: In Nature
Selwa’s barefoot up in a tree. It’s lunchtime and she’s taking time out to read a book about ants that she’s been enjoying for the past few weeks; inspired by a recent Earth-Care topic she’s been exploring in Y5 ThoughtBox lessons.
Pupils here hail from all corners of the country and beyond, bringing with them a kaleidoscope of cultures, perspectives, and aspirations. Wander through the trees surrounding the school and you’ll find the Eco-hub zone, nestled amongst the Wangari Maathai indigenous forest.
Here students’ love for the natural world can blossom, as they have the chance to engage and explore so much of the natural environment around them - from seeds and skulls, to snakes, lizards, and the many, many ants living in and amongst the trees!
“The Kiv-eco-ni family has really grown!” says Ms Joan - a teacher and Environmental Education facilitator at the school. “We have planted many more indigenous trees with our new parents and their children, and even produced three little eco-films! We are so excited about more great projects coming up.”
A Dynamic Learning Environment
Kivukoni is an all-through school based in Kilifi, Kenya, which prides itself on being a place where children love to learn. The school has a dynamic head, heart, hands approach embedded throughout their curriculum and ethos.
The community has been working alongside ThoughtBox for several years through our leadership training programmes. Alongside her colleagues, Lucy is transforming the culture of the community to embed self-care, people-care, and earth-care right across the learning landscape, and are currently recruiting a Triple WellBeing lead to drive the ethos forward.
Another small yet transformative action recently implemented was removing shoes from the uniform policy: “Children feel free in their bodies and somehow it’s shifting their ability to express themselves more fully,” Kivukoni’s Director Lucy Oliff shared, as she reflected on the impact of this discussion during a recent Triple WellBeing leadership training.
ThoughtBox Curriculum: Weekly Discussion times
Every week, the whole school experiences an hour of “ThoughtBox Time” using the Triple WellBeing® curriculum. This is a time where students are encouraged to think more deeply about the personal, social, and environmental issues affecting all of our lives. Dedicating time and space to talk about big, tricky issues in a safe and supportive environment has become a core part of the culture at Kivukoni school, and is a weekly highlight for so many of the pupils: Ayan (Y8) loves how “ThoughtBox lessons are a lot more cooperative and a lot more fun!”; Waggi (Y5) enjoys how many different topics they get to explore together, whilst Lennie (Y4) loves how every lesson is a chance to share opinions and talk about the world together.
As our world becomes ever more volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA), Kivukoni’s Director Lucy Oliff believes that “learning how to navigate complex issues with broader understanding for sustainable solutions will be key skills for the upcoming decades.”
“There is always so much to explore and discuss when you go deeply into these concepts,” Lucy says. “Students thrive given the opportunity to discuss the challenges of and solutions to current affairs in the safe and informed space. You can see their minds opening as the term goes by.”
What do the students think?
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