UNICEF Three Star Approach for School WASH Training Course

Course overview

Schools can have water points, latrines and hygiene messages yet still fail to sustain daily handwashing, safe toilet use, menstrual hygiene support or pupil-led cleaning routines. WASH programme staff and education partners need a practical method for moving schools from basic action to sustained service standards, while working within limited budgets, variable infrastructure and school management capacity. The UNICEF Three Star Approach provides a staged framework for setting realistic WASH targets, mobilising school communities and verifying progress rather than treating WASH as a one-off construction activity.

This five-day course teaches participants to apply the UNICEF Three Star Approach for WASH in Schools from baseline assessment through star-level planning, implementation and monitoring. Participants learn to interpret the Three Star criteria; conduct participatory school WASH assessments; distinguish hardware, consumables, behaviour and management gaps; develop costed improvement plans; establish WASH clubs and school management responsibilities; and use indicators to verify progress. The course addresses inclusive facilities, menstrual health and hygiene, operation and maintenance, safeguarding considerations, behaviour-change activities and coordination with education authorities.

Delivery combines instructor-led technical sessions with school-based cases, assessment templates, group planning studios and facilitated peer review. Teams work through a realistic school WASH scenario, using Three Star criteria and monitoring tools to produce a phased School WASH Improvement Plan. Each participant leaves with a completed assessment framework, priority matrix, costed action plan, monitoring dashboard outline and a 90-day application plan ready to adapt for their schools, districts or programme portfolio.

The course is suited to development, humanitarian and education professionals responsible for planning, supporting, monitoring or funding WASH in Schools interventions. It is particularly valuable where organisations need a consistent approach across multiple schools while retaining enough flexibility to respond to local water availability, sanitation conditions, school calendars and community practices.

Course objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Apply the UNICEF Three Star Approach criteria to classify a school’s WASH status and define its next achievable star level
• Conduct a participatory WASH in Schools baseline assessment covering water, sanitation, hygiene, menstrual health and hygiene, and management systems
• Identify hardware, consumable, behaviour-change and governance barriers using a school WASH gap-analysis matrix
• Develop a phased and costed School WASH Improvement Plan aligned to Three Star actions and school responsibilities
• Design pupil-led hygiene promotion activities using WASH clubs, handwashing routines and peer accountability mechanisms
• Integrate inclusive sanitation and menstrual health and hygiene requirements into school facility and management plans
• Create a monitoring indicator set and verification schedule for tracking progress toward each Three Star level
• Present a 90-day implementation roadmap with roles, risks, escalation actions and evidence requirements

Benefits of attending

Target competencies

Who should attend

• WASH in Schools Programme Officers — who need to translate programme standards into practical school improvement plans
• Education Officers — who support school quality, health or inclusion initiatives across districts and school networks
• UNICEF, NGO and INGO WASH Staff — who design, implement or monitor school WASH interventions
• School Inspectors and District Education Managers — who need a consistent method for assessing and supporting school WASH performance
• School Heads and School Management Committee Members — who must organise daily WASH routines, budgets and accountability
• Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Officers — who need credible indicators and verification evidence for WASH in Schools results

Requirements and prerequisites

This course is accessible to complete beginners in the UNICEF Three Star Approach. Participants should have a basic understanding of how schools operate and some exposure to WASH, public health, education, safeguarding or community development work. Familiarity with terms such as handwashing facilities, sanitation, operation and maintenance, behaviour change and baseline assessment is helpful but not essential. Participants should be comfortable reading simple assessment forms and working with tables in Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. No engineering qualification, epidemiology background, prior UNICEF employment or previous use of WASH FIT is required; beginners should expect guided explanations before applying the tools in exercises.

Training methodology

An experienced facilitator leads short technical briefings on the Three Star framework, followed by guided application to a realistic school WASH case. Participants review assessment evidence, score conditions against criteria, map barriers, prioritise actions and build a costed improvement plan in small groups. Role-based exercises simulate discussions with headteachers, WASH clubs, district officers and school management committees. Participants use assessment and monitoring templates throughout the week, receive structured peer and facilitator feedback, and finish by adapting their group plan into an individual 90-day workplace application plan.

Course outline

Day 1: The Three Star Approach and school WASH baseline

• Purpose and structure of the UNICEF Three Star Approach for WASH in Schools
• The progression from foundational actions to sustained school WASH standards
• Core WASH in Schools domains: water, sanitation, hygiene and management
• Roles of school leaders, teachers, pupils, committees and district authorities
• Participatory baseline assessment principles and evidence sources
• Using observation, interviews and school records to assess WASH conditions
• Safeguarding, equity and do-no-harm considerations during school assessments

Workshop: Participants conduct a desktop baseline assessment of a case-study school and produce an evidence log with preliminary Three Star ratings.

Day 2: Criteria, inclusion and prioritisation

• Interpreting Three Star criteria and evidence thresholds
• Water availability, drinking-water access and continuity of service
• Sanitation functionality, privacy, cleanliness and safe use
• Handwashing facilities, soap availability and group handwashing routines
• Menstrual health and hygiene support in school WASH planning
• Accessible and gender-responsive WASH facilities for learners with disabilities
• Gap-analysis matrices and risk-based action prioritisation

Workshop: Participants score the case-study school against Three Star criteria and create a ranked gap and risk matrix.

Day 3: Planning behaviour change and school management

• Designing a phased School WASH Improvement Plan
• Separating capital works, minor repairs, consumables and management actions
• WASH clubs, pupil participation and peer-led hygiene promotion
• Behaviour-change routines for handwashing, toilet use and cleaning
• School management committee responsibilities and accountability arrangements
• Operation and maintenance schedules for water and sanitation facilities
• Cost estimation, local resource mobilisation and budget ownership

Workshop: Teams develop a phased, costed School WASH Improvement Plan with assigned responsibilities for their case-study school.

Day 4: Monitoring, verification and programme support

• Selecting practical indicators for Three Star progress monitoring
• Using the WHO/UNICEF JMP core questions for WASH in schools
• Verification evidence: observation records, stock checks, rosters and pupil feedback
• Monitoring consumables, functionality and daily hygiene routines
• Data quality checks and triangulation of school WASH evidence
• Supportive supervision visits and feedback conversations with schools
• Aggregating school results for district, partner and donor reporting

Workshop: Participants build a monitoring dashboard outline and verification schedule for tracking one school’s progress over two terms.

Day 5: Implementation readiness and workplace application

• Sequencing actions across school terms, budget cycles and construction windows
• Managing common implementation risks including water shortages and supply gaps
• Escalation pathways for repairs, safeguarding concerns and persistent non-compliance
• Engaging local government, parent groups and community service providers
• Adapting the Three Star Approach in emergency, displacement and low-resource settings
• Using WASH FIT and Three Star tools as complementary improvement mechanisms
• Communicating progress, learning and next-step decisions to managers and funders

Workshop: Each participant presents a 90-day Three Star application roadmap and receives peer and facilitator feedback on feasibility, evidence and risk controls.

Tools & standards covered

UNICEF Three Star Approach for WASH in Schools, WHO/UNICEF WASH FIT, WHO/UNICEF JMP core questions for WASH in schools, mWater Surveyor

A typical training day

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in the East Africa Time zone, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

How you can take this course

Certification

Participants who complete the full five days receive the Skillset Development Certificate of Completion, stating the course title, course code, dates and delivery format — suitable for professional-development records and employer reimbursement.

Frequently asked questions