Hello Ryan,

Thank you for your questions and for emailing me privately as well.

I particularly liked this thought in the email you sent to me:

The problem, as I see it, is there is a lot of movement at the national level, as you point out, but there is a huge gap between that and action in schools. I am interested in how that gap can be closed through the implementation of programmes like the Three-Star Approach, and which I think starts with a simple needs assessment.

I am now quite certain after looking into this a bit further that School WASH in Zambia is heavily influenced by supporting Cooperating Partners' or NGO interventions/ projects, of course with the buy-in of the responsible government body i.e the Ministry of General Education (MoGE).

Take SPLASH  for example:

The USAID-funded WASHplus activity SPLASH (Schools Promoting Learning Achievement through Sanitation and Hygiene) with support from the government through the MoGE is working to bring clean drinking water, sanitation and hygiene education to primary schools in selected schools. SPLASH is aimed at improving learning,  health and the performance of primary school children and teachers by providing cleaner and safe environment. For MHM, SPLASH has a thorough school-based menstrual hygiene management program which aims at training teachers and provides them with materials for counseling and supporting girls and having their families involved. SPLASH has integrated WASH in the MOGE system.  The official School Monitoring Instrument now has an extensive WASH section that includes MHM and O&M, and WASH is part of the new curriculum. SPLASH supported the integration through teacher in-service training and provision of materials. 

SPLASH successfully integrated WASH themes in the national curriculum and strengthened teachers’ capacity to integrate WASH in their classroom teaching. SPLASH collaborated with the MoGE directorates of  Education and Specialized Services, Standards and Curriculum, Planning and Information, school-based staff, and other stakeholders. 

However, other cooperating partners such as UNICEF, Plan International, WaterAid etc are also supporting WinS projects in Zambia. Therefore, I am less concerned about the action in the schools with this level of support they are receiving. But more concerned about how the Ministry and the different institutions ensure that these interventions are harmonized, efforts are not duplicated and interventions or prescribed approaches are not conflicting. Referring back to the assessment tool, how do we ensure that there are not too many 'adapted tools' floating around?

Regards,
Chaiwe

Very good point Chaiwe,

The self-assessment was developed for schools in South Sudan with the help of GIZ
To be honest, I have struggled to find tools for different contexts, hence why I made the request in the first place.
I agree the assessment should keep national standards in mind and in the absence of national standards should use JMP data as a baseline.
We have developed a tool for use in Ethiopia, based on their national standards and using the tool shared by Bella as a template, as we did not find a tool for an Ethiopian context.

It would be interesting to find out how schools in Zambia carry out a needs assessment in the absence of a standardized document. I would also be interested how Zambia is progressing at a school level in implementing WinS programmes.

Good to meet the conversation going.

Kind regards,
Ryan

Thank you for your response Ryan,

I wondered about the context because I was somewhat under the assumption that countries e.g Zambia (national or local level) have made substantial progress with respect to School WASH standards guided by policy, and this would mean that self-assessment tools similar to the ones you have shared would have been developed to respond to the set standards.  However, I am surprised that these self-assessment tools are not so standardized/ available based on context/ country after all. (FYI: failed to find  assessment tools for Zambia as well)

Hence why I would really love to know how the shared tools came about and hope that Bella Monse can offer some insights. Is it possible that they are standardized tools? or adapted to fit as in your case Ryan? 

Regards,
Chaiwe

Hi Chaiwe,
Thank you very much for your reply and for sharing the resource. The self in self-assessment is the schools admin and people leading the WinS programme.
The needs assessment is designed to start and drive the demand for WinS, by identifying what the school has and doesn't have, the programme can focus on what is needed to meet those needs.
The assessment should be a simple tool that is easy to use and for all stakeholders to read. The poster shared by Bella (attached) is a great tool, to provide transparency and accountability.

I hope that answers your question.

Kind regards,
Ryan

Dear Ryan,

I would like to better understand your context. How do you plan for the rapid assessment you have adapted to work? What unique aspects are you looking at? Also, I would assume the 'self' refers to school administration and teachers?

 I came across this “Improving Health and Learning Through Better Water, Sanitation and Hygiene: An Information Package for School Staff”.  This information package offers practical support for school staff on how they, in concert with pupils, can address common WASH problems and deliver improvements at the school level. It helps schools strengthen health education and implement whole-school policies that promote health, wellbeing and dignity of the pupils and school staff, making every school a health-promoting school. It also contains some helpful self assessment checklists.   apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665...quence=1&isAllowed=y

In addition, I wrote to Bella Monse pointing her to your post and questions. I think it would be great to get her insights and experience here as well.

Regards,
Chaiwe.

Hi Elisabeth,

Thanks for the question, Bella Monse shared the attached self-assessment tool, a very simple poster with an accompanying survey. We have also adapted a survey that was used in Ethiopia, based on a needs assessment taken from Three Star Manual for Uganda.

It would be great to get feedback on the use of these tools.

Kind regards,
Ryan

Hi Ryan,
Are you still looking for a WASH rapid assessment tool for schools, or have you found what you are looking for? If the latter, then please share it here? (unless it's FACET which was already shared in the previous post)
Just wondering.

Regards,
Elisabeth

Hi Bruno, thanks for sharing FACET, it is certainly a comprehensive tool.

Thanks again,

Ryan

The Facility Evaluation Tool for WASH in Institutions ( FACET ) is based on globally recognised indicators and is suitable across the continuum of humanitarian and development interventions. A simple and adaptable analysis tool, FACET offers state-of-the-art online/offline mobile data collection of water provision services, sanitation facilities, and hygienic conditions (WASH) for
schools, and medical waste management in health care facilities. Specific online and offline analysis tools allow off-the-shelf analysis of the collected data. A practitioner’s guide explains the basic operation and features of the tool, and how to adapt it to local contexts
All the best
Bruno

Hello all,
I am looking for a rapid assessment tool for WASH in Schools - does anyone know of one that I could adapt?

Thanks in advance.

Ryan