Consultancy - Inclusive Education Training of Trainers Round 2

The main objectives of this consultancy is: To establish a training team within the MOE Specialized Training Centre capable of organizing and implementing a training programme on the Inclusive Education Teacher Training Guide, rolled out to all Grades 1-4 public schools teachers in Oman.

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Background and Justification

The Sultanate of Oman is a high income country of 4.2 million people. Over the past 40 years economic stability and income growth have gone hand-in-hand with rapid reductions in child and maternal mortality, universal child immunization, universal primary education, and strong political will to address the rights of women and girls. Despite the rapid pace of growth with a high degree of equity, there are significant disparities across the country’s 11 Governorates and emerging vulnerabilities that affect the rights of children. 

Concerning children with disabilities, available data indicates that around 1% of children below the age of 15 or 7,500 children have a disability. Oman has a range of specialized and mainstream services for children with disabilities. However most are limited to major cities, require fees, and are provided by NGOs or private services of variable quality. As costs are the main barrier to expansion of specialized services into areas outside the main cities, the Government is exploring new options to expand public services for children with disabilities and to prevent, identify and intervene as early as possible. These are essential to assist children with disabilities and their families overcome the numerous barriers they face to quality, inclusive services and to help them reach their full potential.  One current barrier is obtaining effective access to the regular school system and reasonable accommodation of children with disabilities.  Despite a policy for inclusive education in regular schools, an estimated 6,400 children with disabilities are outside the regular school system. The main challenge is that the number of trained and skilled teachers cannot keep up with the rapid expansion of education services for children with disabilities.

In line with the Government of Oman and UNICEF Country Programme 2017 – 2020, which has identified inclusion of children with disabilities as one of its key priorities, UNICEF and the Ministry of Education (MOE) have developed a professional teacher training programme for cycle 1 (Grades 1-4) which is being introduced through the MOE Specialised Training Centre.  The on-the-job training programme will support teachers to transform their teaching and classroom management into inclusive approaches for children with disabilities. To ensure adoption of the programme, UNICEF and MOE are implementing a Training of Trainers Workshop on the Inclusive Education Teacher Training Guide at the Specialized Centre to allow for subsequent roll-out to all public school teachers (Grades 1-4) across the country.

An initial round of training was conducted in November 2017 to further refine the training guide and to test it with a select number of trainers. This included development of contextualized training material to be used going forward. A second round of training is now required to an expanded group of trainers; using existing resources.

Purpose and Objectives

The main objectives of this consultancy is:

To establish a training team within the MOE Specialized Training Centre capable of organizing and implementing a training programme on the Inclusive Education Teacher Training Guide, rolled out to all Grades 1-4 public schools teachers in Oman.

Scope of Work – Expected Deliverables and timeline

Key Activities

Task (1):

Remotely (UNICEF will ensure communication channel via Skype):

1. Review and refinement of training materials through close engagement with trainers at the MOE Specialised Training Centre.
2. Workshop preparation including proposed agenda, handouts etc.

No. of days (estimated): 2 days

Deliverable:

• Final training workshop structure, agenda and session plans completed and shared.

(Outline in English, all documents in Arabic)

Task (2):

In-country:

3. Deliver a ToT programme to participating trainers.

No. of days (estimated): 5 days

Task (3):

Remotely:

4. Develop final consultancy report, including lessons learned and recommended follow up action steps.

No. of days (estimated): 1 days

Deliverable of tasks 1 & 2:

• Feedback sessions to the trainers and trainees to hone their training skills and knowledge of the Teachers’ Guide.
• Final consultancy report (in English) covering:
  • Main observations of the training capacities of the trainers throughout the week
  • Summary of interventions implemented during the in-country mission to consolidate strengths and address identified weaknesses in training
  • Lessons learned and final recommendations to the trainers, Specialised Training Centre and UNICEF for the next steps in rolling out the Teachers’ Guide to cycle 1 teachers.

Duration of the assignment:

8 days (Between June – July 2018)

Administrative requirements

Expected places of travel, insurance, per diem, payments and responsibilities between UNICEF and the consultant:

• When in-country, the consultant will be required to report on a regular basis to the UNICEF Supervisor.
• If coming in from abroad:
  • The consultant will need to make arrangements for travel and accommodation.
  • Based on an agreed travel schedule, UNICEF will cover airfare of the consultant to Oman in Economy class via the most direct and economical route.
  • For in-country stays, UNICEF will provide a DSA not exceeding the UN DSA rate.
  • Transportation upon arrival and departure is to be arranged by the traveller, terminal expense will be provided by UNICEF.
  • For long stays in-country, the consultant will be entitled to the same weekends and UN holiday schedule as UNICEF staff.
• Any in-country travel related to the consultant’s assignment will be arranged for and covered by UNICEF.
• Consultant needs to arrange his/her own insurance (life, health and other forms of insurance) covering the term of the contract while in Oman, and need to provide proof such insurance prior to travel.
• UNICEF will not provide the consultant with any equipment, unless it is requested by the consultants and approved by Operation Unit with appropriately completed form.

Qualification & Specialized knowledge

A consultant is sought for this assignment with specialized knowledge in:

1. Knowledge of and experience in putting global child rights standards and good practices in inclusive education of children with disabilities into practice.
2. Knowledge of the MENA Life Skills and Citizenship Education Initiative and UNICEF existing resources on inclusive education is an asset.
3. Experience in training teachers on educational approaches, classroom management and UNICEF & UNESCO standards of inclusion of children with disabilities in the classroom.
4. Excellent facilitation skills.
5. Knowledge of the Omani culture vis-à-vis children with disabilities is an asset.
6. English is required for all UNICEF communication.
7. Fluency in Arabic is required.

Submission of proposal

Interested candidates should include in their proposals the following:

The Offer should be in two parts: Part A – Technical; Part B – Financial, of no more than 5 pages.

Part A: Technical

1. Advanced degree in education, special education, inclusive education or other similarly specialised fields.
2. Background information that includes an interpretation and understanding of the terms of reference;
3. Methodology and approach outlining a clear conceptual and analytical framework for the work to be undergone;
4. Proposed work plan outlining clear timeframe and logical steps in conducting the assignment;
5. Name and brief background of the vendor, including existing experience and expertise that will be of benefit to the proposed assignment;
6. Names and contact information of referees for the 3 most recent and relevant projects.

Part B: Financial

7. An itemized budget divided into professional fees and direct cost of activities in United States Dollars.