KISME Handbook Brings Social and Emotional Learning into Early Childhood Classrooms
VICTORIA, Seychelles — A new resource is set to embed social and emotional learning into early childhood education across Seychelles. The KISME handbook — short for Kindness, Interpersonal Relationships, Self and Social Awareness, Mental Focus and Empathy — was officially launched on Wednesday at the Les Mamelles community centre.
Project coordinator Catriona Monthy outlined the vision behind the initiative, saying the handbook is designed to help schools integrate social and emotional competencies into their teaching and classroom environments. The project is currently in its second phase, titled Mainstreaming Social Emotional Learning at Early Childhood Level in Schools, which falls under the National Action Plan for Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) for the period 2021–2030.
The origins of the project trace back to 2023, when a delegation from Seychelles attended the World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. There, Cyril Pillay, the then chairperson of the ECCE technical team, was impressed by a presentation from the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIE), a UNESCO Category 4 Centre based in India.
After a successful pilot phase in 2024, the handbook was rolled out to more early childhood centres. The launch also recognised the three schools that conducted the pilot project — with representatives receiving certificates for their participation. The handbook turns key social and emotional competencies into activities broken down by Crèche Year 1, Crèche Year 2, Primary 1 and Primary 2 for teachers to use in their classrooms.
