De Mould Academy

Mission 

To create an inclusive and broad-based learning environment that inspires early identification of talents and providing guidance for a solid foundation of unflinching pursuit of passion until fruition.

 Vision

A novel educational institution employing cutting-edge technology and innovative instructional strategies in moulding little minds into spiritually primed, secularly rounded leaders of tomorrow.

Core Values

- To consistently uphold the highest levels of professionalism in teaching, counselling and mentoring, embracing the latest innovations in pedagogy, underpinned by strict adherence to sound scriptural principles in moulding hearts and minds for distinguished leadership roles at national and international levels.
- To promote strict adherence to Bible-based standards of righteousness and holiness by staffers and students, as well as in their relationship with parents, guardians and others.
- To stimulate a culture of curiosity and exploration in pursuit of academic excellence and spiritual advancement.

1. Provides strategic guidance
2. Policy direction
3. Curriculum design and review
4. Management oversight
5. External relations

Our management staff are not saddled with classroom teaching functions. This arrangement enables them to be more effective in their core duties: supervision and administrative oversight. As such, it is easy for 4 management staff to invest 4 to 5 hours per week into this project.

The project Team Lead, our Academy Lead, is available and willing to invest up to 6 hours per week, or as required, to ensure the success of the project.

Titled, 'Unveil', our programme seeks to unveil the innate innovativeness and creativity in school children aged 10-12 years.

Statement of problem

In Nigeria, the current Basic school curriculum does not include a clear strategy for priming school children with the purpose of invoking innovativeness and creativity in them. Consequently, at the end of the programme, the graduates (Basic 9) do not appear to acquire the learning achievement and skills they need to survive, as intended by the compulsory and free Universal Basic Education introduced by the Federal Government of Nigeria in 2004.

Consequently, there is a lack of opportunities for young minds to develop innovative thinking, problem-solving skills, and entrepreneurial spirit in a supportive and engaging environment, leading to a shortage of creative and innovative solutions to real-world problems, and a limited number of young entrepreneurs who can drive positive change in their communities.

Our solution seeks to expose children aged 10 to 12 years, over a period of 12 weeks, to a learning scheme that provides the enabling environment for them to bring their best in innovativeness and creativity.

Our solution, UNVEIL, will address the identified problem in the following ways:

Participants will:

• be presented with a series of innovation challenges that will encourage them to think creatively and develop innovative solutions to real-world problems.
• be paired with mentors who will provide guidance and support throughout the program. Mentors will be selected based on their expertise in innovation and entrepreneurship.
• receive training in various skills, including coding, design thinking, and public speaking. These skills will be taught through interactive workshops and training sessions.
• work in teams to develop collaborative projects that will encourage them to apply the skills they have learned. These projects will be presented to a panel of judges and will provide an opportunity for participants to receive feedback and guidance.
• have the opportunity to pitch their ideas to a panel of judges and receive feedback. This will provide an opportunity for participants to receive guidance and support in developing their ideas.

Programme structure

• The program will be designed to provide a supportive and engaging environment for participants. This will include the provision of resources, such as computers and software, and the creation of a collaborative and inclusive environment.
• Mentors will be selected based on their expertise in innovation and entrepreneurship. They will be trained to provide guidance and support to participants.
• Workshops and training sessions will be delivered by experts in their respective fields. These sessions will be interactive and engaging, and will provide participants with the skills and knowledge needed to develop innovative solutions.
• Participants will work in teams to develop collaborative projects. These projects will be presented to a panel of judges and will provide an opportunity for participants to receive feedback and guidance.
• Participants will have the opportunity to pitch their ideas to a panel of judges and receive feedback. This will provide an opportunity for them to receive guidance and support in developing their ideas.

The project will be evaluated through participants' feedback, mentor feedback, project evaluation methods, and pitching.

We have initiated and piloted a project that clearly demonstrates that, given the right enabling environment, children aged 2 to 4 years can excel their fellows in learning achievement and acquisition of life skills. This was a micro research, though, involving a very small sample size within the financial constraints that limited the study

With success level recorded in our earlier research, we feel confident that similar researches could help address several other issues that negatively impact K-12 education in Nigeria.

Engagement in a LEAP project is ideal for our organisation for some reasons:

1. We have initiated and successfully implemented an educational pilot project that targeted pre-primary education children aged 2 to 4 years - and it was a success.
2. Since the project will commence in September 2024, it is ideal for us for adequate preparation ahead of a new school session that begins in the same September 2024.
3. Our K-12 educational institution is working hard to distinguish itself as a reputable research-focused institution, a rarity in Nigeria at that level of education.

1. Can Basic Education graduates in Nigeria acquire the learning achievement and technical knowledge to become self-reliant?
2. Can the building blocks for innovativeness and entrepreneurship be acquired by children 10 to 12 years in Nigeria?
3. Does acquisition of ICT skills, problem-solving skills, team spirit, and other life skills enable 10 to 12 year old children excel above their peers in overall learning achievement in Basic School? 

Desired outputs include:

1. By the end of 12 weeks children aged 10 to 12 demonstrate enhanced learning achievement
2. By the end of 12 weeks children aged 10 to 12 are able  to identify problems, analyse them, and develop effective solutions
3. By the end of 12 weeks children aged 10 to 12 are able  to take calculated risks, be resourceful, and develop a growth mindset

We plan to monitor the achievement of these outputs through effective monitoring oversight while the project is being implemented. This way, we will be able to identify deviations from planned results and take immediate corrective actions.

By the end of the project, these outputs will measured against actual results to determine the success of the project. This is why the outputs are designed to be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART).

With adequate funding, we hope to select a sample that will be truly representative of a defined population for the purpose of universal applicability. With this achieved, we will plan to:

1. generate policy papers, position papers, and academic articles that raise awareness on the issue;
2. following the above, we shall advocate with government of Nigeria, at national and subnational levels, for inculcating the research results into education policymaking
3. publish the work in internationally reputed academic journals