标签： Barbados

Barbados’ Ministry of Education has laid out the most comprehensive framework to date for its upcoming overhaul of the primary-to-secondary school transition process, replacing the decades-old single high-stakes entrance examination with a two-stage, multi-year assessment designed to reduce student pressure and capture a broader range of skills. The detailed plan was presented by Deputy Chief Education Officer for Planning and Development Reverend Stephen Scott during a public transformation town hall held Thursday evening, part of a series of community consultations launched after the government confirmed it would scrap the traditional Barbados Secondary School Entrance Examination.

At the core of the proposed new system is a 50-50 split between continuous classroom-based assessment and standardized national testing, spread across the final two years of primary education—Class Three and Class Four. Unlike the previous model that tied secondary school placement entirely to performance on a single high-pressure exam day, this approach is structured to let students build on their skills over time and showcase abilities beyond what can be measured through traditional pen-and-paper testing.

“By moving away from a one-day high-stakes exam and extending assessment across two full years, we are giving students space to demonstrate strengths that go beyond rote learning,” Scott explained during the meeting. “This process lets them improve their performance incrementally, and those improvements are reflected in their final results. It also prioritizes the three key skills we want all young people to develop: creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking.” The model also addresses the common issue of students underperforming on exam day due to stress, illness or other temporary factors that do not reflect their actual ability, he added.

The continuous assessment portion, which accounts for half of a student’s final placement score, centers on two in-school curriculum projects. The Ministry of Education will curate three project options for all primary schools, from which each campus will select two that align with their programming. One project will be completed during the first two academic terms of Class Three, while the second will be finished in the first two terms of Class Four.

Scott emphasized that all project work will be completed exclusively during scheduled class time at students’ own primary schools, eliminating any risk of outside help or inequity from differing home resources. “These are not homework assignments to be taken home. We have built dedicated time into the school timetable for students to work on these projects and receive in-person guidance from their teachers,” he stated. While students will collaborate in groups on the core project work, each student will also complete an individual component that contributes directly to their personal assessment score, ensuring collective work does not mask individual growth.

To guarantee consistent, fair grading across all schools, the ministry will provide standardized grading rubrics that outline exactly how points are awarded for each component of the projects. Ministry education officers, serving as assistant examiners, will conduct on-site visits during project work to offer guidance to teachers, oversee the process, and moderate grading to ensure all schools adhere to the same criteria.

The remaining 50% of a student’s final score comes from four national standardized tests, scheduled at the end of each of the two final primary school years. At the end of Class Three’s third term, students will sit examinations in English and Science. They will then complete Mathematics and Social Studies/Civics exams at the end of the third term of Class Four. Unlike the current Common Entrance exam, which requires students to travel to unfamiliar secondary school campuses to sit their tests, all four standardized exams will be administered at the students’ own primary schools, a change designed to reduce anxiety and keep students in a familiar, comfortable learning environment.

“Students won’t have to navigate an unfamiliar testing location,” Scott noted. “They stay in their own school, where they feel at ease, and we deploy trained staff to make sure the testing process runs smoothly for everyone.”

The existing parental choice system for secondary school placement will remain in place under the new model. Parents will still be able to rank their preferred secondary schools for their children, and final placements will be determined by a combination of the student’s combined score from continuous assessment and standardized testing, plus the number of available spots at each institution.

Beyond changing the placement process, the new model is designed to create a comprehensive student profile that helps secondary schools better support incoming students from day one. “We don’t want this process to be unnecessarily stressful for our students,” Scott said. “We’ve built it to be as comfortable as possible over the two-year period, because our goal isn’t just to rank students—it’s to capture their full range of skills, talents and abilities to build a complete profile that helps their new secondary school meet their needs.”

Thursday’s town hall is just one part of the ministry’s ongoing public consultation period. Parents, educators and other stakeholders are invited to submit feedback on the proposed framework before it is finalized and implemented.

A transformative new initiative to expand therapeutic support for Barbadian children living with developmental disabilities is moving forward, backed by a $98,000 charitable grant from the Legacy Foundation. The project is a joint effort between the Rotary Club of Barbados South and the Albert Cecil Graham Development Centre, a leading local provider of specialist care for neurodivergent children, and will create a dedicated multisensory sensory room designed to meet the unique needs of children with autism spectrum disorder, developmental delays, and related conditions.

During a press briefing Friday, Legacy Foundation Chairman Ayodele Burrowes outlined the core mission of the project, emphasizing that it addresses a critical unmet need in Barbados’ specialist care system. For years, the Albert Cecil Graham Development Centre’s existing therapy spaces have operated far beyond their intended capacity, leaving families facing crippling delays to access life-changing early intervention. Many children who could benefit from consistent, timely therapy are forced to wait months or even years for an opening – a gap the foundation’s grant is designed to close.

Burrowes explained that the new sensory room is far more than an addition to the centre’s physical infrastructure. It is a purpose-built therapeutic tool that creates a calm, safe, and responsive environment where trained clinicians can adapt care to each child’s individual sensory and developmental needs. In this space, children will build core life skills including emotional regulation, communication, and social engagement in a setting that works with their neurotype, rather than against it. Beyond supporting children, the room represents a critical source of hope for families, who have long navigated systemic capacity gaps to access the care their loved ones need.

The project is set to deliver wide-ranging improvements to care across the centre, Burrowes noted. It will boost overall clinical outcomes, expand the facility’s ability to serve more children in need, give clinicians a fit-for-purpose space to deliver high-quality care, and advance equitable access to life-enhancing support for disabled children across Barbados.

Senator Lisa Cummins, Barbados’ Minister of Health and Wellness, praised the Legacy Foundation and its partner organizations for their investment, highlighting the critical role that civil society and community groups play in supporting public care institutions. Currently, the Albert Cecil Graham Development Centre serves approximately 610 children, supporting 164 families with ongoing care – a number Cummins described as a tiny fraction of the total unmet demand across the country. She recalled that waiting lists for specialist developmental care once stretched 7 to 9 years, a crisis directly caused by limited facility capacity that persists to this day.

“It’s hard when you are a mommy or a daddy, and you need to be able to support your child to provide the resources for your child, but they are not readily available,” Cummins said, noting that other specialist facilities across Barbados also face overwhelming demand that outstrips their capacity.

Procurement and installation of the sensory room’s specialist equipment is scheduled to take place between May and September, with the space set to open in time for the start of the new school year. Burrowes framed the project as a powerful example of what collective action can achieve: “We believe that the Albert Cecil Graham Development Centre Sensory Room project will demonstrate what is possible when organisations come together with shared purpose and a genuine desire to serve. It is a reminder that inclusion is not an ideal. It is something we must actively build.”

Jacklyn Broome, President of the Rotary Club of Barbados South, echoed that sentiment, noting that the project has never been solely about infrastructure or equipment. “This project was never simply about equipment or infrastructure; it was about giving children additional tools to learn, grow, communicate and thrive. It was about supporting families who navigate these challenges every day, and it was about reinforcing a simple truth that inclusion is not achieved through words alone, but it requires investment, commitment and action,” Broome said.

Bridget Austin, coordinator of the Albert Cecil Graham Development Centre, explained the unique impact a dedicated sensory space will have for the centre’s clients. The calming, stimulating environment is designed to encourage natural engagement and communication, helping children progress faster in their therapy. “This donation is not just providing material, it is providing hope and opportunity for the clients of the Albert Cecil Graham Development Centre and, by extension, the children of the disabled community of Barbados,” Austin said.

The Albert Cecil Graham Development Centre is Barbados’ leading public provider of assessment and therapeutic care for children living with a range of neurodevelopmental and genetic conditions, including autism spectrum disorder, developmental delays, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, intellectual and specific learning disabilities, communication disorders, and congenital syndromes.

Barbados’ Ministry of Education is moving forward with a planned overhaul of its secondary school entrance system, rolling out a phased approach that has drawn questions from parents during recent public engagement sessions. At a transformation-focused town hall held Thursday, education officials detailed the proposed framework that will replace the long-standing Barbados Secondary School Entrance Examination, more commonly known as the one-day Common Entrance test. Under the new model, student evaluations will span the final two years of primary education – Classes Three and Four – blending ongoing in-class assessments with nationwide standardized tests, moving away from the high-stakes single-day examination that has long defined primary-to-secondary transitions for Barbadian students. During the open forum, one parent pressed officials on the timeline of the rollout, asking why formal assessment under the new system would not launch as early as Class One, rather than bringing Class Three students into the new model first. Responding to the concern, Acting Chief Education Officer Julia Beckles explained that the phased timeline was crafted around child development principles and the existing progress of curriculum integration in primary schools. Beckles emphasized that education planners have concluded Class Three students are uniquely positioned to adapt to the new assessment framework, thanks to their level of academic and social development after several years of primary schooling. She added that while formal evaluation will not start until Class Three, foundational preparation for the new model will begin much earlier, aligned with the parent’s suggestion. “We will be training all educators and rolling out preparatory work starting with current Class One students,” Beckles confirmed. The acting chief education officer noted that early primary years will be focused on building the skills students need to succeed under the new model, particularly project-based learning, which is a core component of the updated assessment structure. Since 2024, primary schools across Barbados have already integrated project-based learning activities into their curricula for early primary grades, meaning current Class Three students have already had years of practice with this learning style – making them the ideal first cohort for the formal assessment. Currently, the Ministry of Education is hosting a series of public consultation sessions across the country to collect feedback from parents, educators, and other key stakeholders before the new transition model is finalized and implemented permanently.

A disturbing incident of animal abuse captured on camera at one of Barbados’ most popular public beaches has sparked a joint police investigation and pushed the island’s top horse racing governing body to revise its long-standing protocols for rehoming retired racehorses.

The case first came to widespread public attention earlier this month, when Barbados TODAY published graphic footage recorded by a British tourist and animal welfare activist. The video shows two young men violently mistreating two former racehorses on Pebbles Beach, located in the parish of St Michael. Within days of the video going public, law enforcement launched a formal inquiry, with prosecutors already laying groundwork to file criminal charges against the abusers. As of the latest official update, no arrests have been announced, but investigating authorities confirmed that steady progress is being made in the case.

Dr. Mark Trotman, Barbados’ Chief Veterinary Officer, has emerged as a leading voice pushing for systemic change in how retired racehorses are placed with new caretakers after their racing careers end. In a public briefing this week, Trotman revealed that his department has already held coordinating meetings with police investigators, and is currently working directly with the Barbados Turf Club (BTC) to overhaul its outdated rehoming policies.

Trotman also drew attention to a growing, underreported crisis of equine abuse across the island, noting that the Pebbles Beach incident is far from an isolated case. His department has seen a steady rise in reports of neglect and abuse of discarded former racehorses, a trend he attributes largely to the Turf Club’s loose screening process for new owners. For years, the organization has rehomed retired racehorses with minimal vetting, often placing the animals in the hands of people unprepared or unwilling to provide proper care. Until now, authorities have struggled to build cases against abusers, as offenders typically avoid mistreating horses when veterinary or law enforcement officials are present, Trotman explained. The Pebbles Beach footage marks the first time investigators have obtained concrete, on-the-record evidence of this ongoing abuse.

In response to the investigation and public outcry, BTC officials have announced they will implement immediate changes to their rehoming protocols. Kyle Edwards, the Turf Club’s financial controller, confirmed that the organization will introduce far stricter vetting for prospective caretakers going forward. The organization will immediately end the practice of transferring retired racehorses to young, unvetted individuals, and will only place animals with mature applicants who can demonstrate the ability and commitment to uphold proper equine welfare standards. Edwards added that the Turf Club is conducting its own internal investigation into the Pebbles Beach incident, and will cooperate fully with law enforcement to hold accountable anyone involved in the abuse.

Trotman emphasized that the investigation into the Pebbles Beach abuse remains active, and his department will continue pressing the Turf Club to formalize stronger safeguards for retired racehorses to prevent future incidents of cruelty.

As climate change and global development drive more frequent, complex and unpredictable hazards across the globe, small island developing states like Barbados face disproportionately high risk — pushing the country’s emergency management officials to step up investment in civil servant training to boost national disaster response capacity. A two-day interactive workshop, hosted at the University of the West Indies Law Library, has brought together public officers from across government departments and statutory bodies to refine their understanding of the National Emergency Management System, strengthen cross-agency communication and coordination, and build hands-on emergency management skills.

Major Robert Harewood, Deputy Director of Barbados’ Department of Emergency Management (DEM), opened the workshop by emphasizing the urgent timing of this initiative, noting that rising hazard intensity is a shared global challenge. “Today, every country, institution and community around the world faces growing risks from a wide spectrum of disasters, ranging from natural events like hurricanes, floods, wildfires, droughts and earthquakes to technological accidents and public health emergencies,” Harewood explained. “No community is immune to the devastating impacts of these events.”

Citing joint analysis from the European Commission and regional climate experts, Harewood highlighted that the Caribbean ranks as the second most hazard-prone region globally. For small island developing states like Barbados, growing climate uncertainty, combined with rapid urbanization and increasingly interconnected national economies, has made disaster response coordination far more complex than in decades past. Recent global events, from the COVID-19 pandemic to the recent major earthquake off the coast of Venezuela, have underscored just how critical pre-crisis preparedness and cross-agency coordination are to saving lives.

“Preparedness and coordination save lives. Effective disaster management cannot be improvised in the middle of a crisis,” Harewood stressed. “It requires deliberate planning, ongoing training, cross-sector partnerships and a whole-of-government approach that is put in place long before an emergency ever occurs.”

Harewood went on to note that disaster management extends far beyond on-the-ground response during crises — it is a core legal, institutional and governance responsibility for all government branches. Under Barbados’ 2007 Emergency Management Act, the government established a national, inclusive emergency management framework built on a bottom-up approach that assigns clear roles to every public sector entity. Section 12 of Part Five of the legislation explicitly requires every permanent secretary and government department head to appoint a dedicated liaison officer to coordinate with the DEM, and mandate that each agency update and submit its emergency management plan to the DEM for review by April 1 every year.

No matter what core public service a government agency provides — from health care and education to transportation, public works, utility management or public safety — maintaining operational continuity during and after a disaster is foundational to national resilience, Harewood explained. This makes it essential for every agency to maintain up-to-date disaster contingency and business continuity plans that outline how the organization will sustain critical services, respond to the event and support recovery. “These plans help organizations anticipate risks, outline clear response procedures, identify available resources, clarify stakeholder responsibilities, and guarantee operational continuity when normal systems are disrupted,” Harewood said, adding that agencies with trained staff and regularly tested plans recover far faster and are able to provide more consistent support to affected communities.

Julia Rawlins-Bentham, a DEM Programme Officer, outlined that the workshop has a dual purpose: it orients newly appointed liaison officers to their roles, and refreshes the knowledge of experienced officers to ensure alignment with current national protocols. “This training is for everyone, whether you are new to the liaison role or have served in this position for years,” Rawlins-Bentham said. Over the two days, participants take part in a range of activities designed to build both theoretical knowledge and practical skills, including informational presentations on the DEM’s mandate, the structure of the National Emergency Management System, contingency planning best practices, and the core responsibilities of liaison officers.

Harewood emphasized that disaster management is a shared collective responsibility, not a task that falls solely to emergency services or the DEM. “It requires sustained commitment from every sector and every public institution across the country,” he said. By the conclusion of the workshop, participants are expected to leave with a clearer understanding of liaison officer roles and responsibilities, stronger communication and information sharing networks across stakeholder agencies, and the ability to support coordinated, effective emergency operations when disaster strikes.