Communities Urged Do More to Safeguard Children

Education, Skills, Youth and Information Minister, Senator Dr. the Hon. Dana Morris Dixon, is imploring community members to do more to protect the nation’s children by reporting known or suspected cases of abuse.

She noted that children are experiencing violence and abuse in their homes and communities, which is influencing their behaviour in schools and elsewhere.

Senator Morris Dixon lamented that many persons are aware of circumstances of child abuse and are turning a blind eye to these incidents. She is imploring them to speak out.

“We have to save our children; call CPFSA (Child Protection and Family Services Agency), call the police. Our children should feel safe at home,” Dr. Morris Dixon said.

“As neighbours, we need to look out for each other and report people who are abusing our children, who are often acting out at school because of the trauma that is happening elsewhere,” she added.

The Minister, who was speaking at the awards and closing ceremony for the Safe Schools Certification Programme at Church Teachers’ College Chapel in Mandeville, Manchester, on Tuesday (June 2), highlighted the need for parents and guardians to improve their involvement in their children’s education and overall welfare.

“I have gone to many troubled schools where the principals and teachers will tell me that the parents do not participate in schools, don’t come to meetings when invited to discuss the welfare of their own children,” she said.

The Education Minister noted that too many parents are using mobile phones as digital babysitters.

She referenced studies that indicate children should not have access to screens between zero and two years old. Early exposure to screens affects brain development and often leads to sleep deprivation, as children are up all night unsupervised, she pointed out.

 

“Too often we are using the phone to parent our children instead of doing the work ourselves. Social media is the other thing – when you look and see the values that are being imparted, you have to pray and be thankful that your teacher was doing so well, given what they are exposed to,” she said.

Senator Morris Dixon said the Government recognises the importance of technology in a world where the ability to compete depends on people being digitally advanced and is carefully calibrating its approach to ensure that technology serves as a catalyst for progress while protecting children’s well-being.

Meanwhile, National Coordinator, Schools’ Safety and Security, Richard Troupe, said that a survey on school safety, conducted among 331 schools across all 14 parishes found that 65 per cent of the children canvassed see school as the safest place for them to be.

A total of 11,981 pupils participated in the survey, with 9,760 being primary-level students.

The Safe Schools Certification Programme is designed to foster safe, inclusive, and anti-bullying environments in educational institutions.

It is funded under the United Kingdom (UK)-Jamaica Violence Prevention Partnership.

The programme evaluates and certifies schools based on safety levels, and incorporates deans of discipline, guidance counsellors and school resource officers (SROs), who work with students deemed at risk.

For a school to be deemed safe, it must not only have a secure campus. It requires a holistic framework that involves environmental safety, disaster risk reduction issues, emergency planning, medical emergency and natural resource management, among others.

A total of 54 schools were certified this year – 29 primary and 25 high schools across eight parishes. This is a reduction from the 71 institutions in 2025.

 

Programme Officer in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the British High Commission, Stephi-Ann Wray, in her remarks, said that the UK Government was proud to continue to support Jamaica in taking a prevention-focused approach that focuses on building safer schools, families and communities.

During the ceremony, students were also awarded for excellence in football and an anti-bullying cheerleading competition.