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Care Corner guide

A calm place in school where nobody feels watched.

A Care Corner is a quiet space with a private way into AHERI CARE HUB. It does not need to be big. It needs to feel ordinary, warm and safe.

Where to put it

Choose a place with a normal reason to visit

When the Care Corner is next to somewhere students go every day, walking in looks like going for a book or a check up. Nobody can tell why you are there.

Good places

Next to the library
Next to the sick bay
Next to the guidance or counselling office
On the ground floor, easy to reach for students with disabilities, with water and a toilet nearby

Places to avoid

Next to the principal’s office
Next to the staff room
Next to the discipline area
Near the school gate, where everyone passes
Three ways to build it

Start small, and grow when you are ready

Low cost

A curtained corner

A curtained corner in the library or sick bay, with a desk, 2 chairs and a screen that others cannot see.

Standard

A small room

A room about 3 metres by 3 metres, with a door, 2 to 3 chairs, a low table and a lockable cupboard.

Best

A dedicated room

A dedicated room with a sign and 2 ways in, so students choose how they enter.

What goes in it

The checklist

One device that opens only AHERI CARE HUB. A tablet or basic laptop.
Signs out after 3 minutes and stores nothing.
Privacy screen filter, angled away from windows and doors.
Power and data: a power bank or solar lamp, and a data plan or Wi Fi.
On the wall: helpline numbers, the confidentiality rule in simple words, and a Quick exit reminder.
The rule on the door: “What you say stays here, unless someone is in danger.”

The adult safety rule

Never leave a student alone with an adult behind a fully closed door. Use a door with a frosted lower panel, or keep the door slightly open with another adult nearby who cannot hear.

No sign in book

Never write down the names of students who visit. The Care Corner keeps no list.

Safe, not scary

Make it feel like an ordinary, welcoming place

A friendly name

Care Corner or The Listening Room, chosen by students. Avoid the words Report or Counselling on the door.

An ordinary place

Run study help, career guidance, reading and quiet time there, so visiting is normal.

Warm and calm

Soft light, plants, cushions, tissues, water, and posters in local languages and Pidgin.

No signs of punishment

No discipline books or canes. No teacher sends a student there as a punishment.

A choice of adult

A woman and a man where possible, so girls and boys can choose who they talk to.

Open at break times

Open at break times and after school, with a Do not disturb sign.

Peer Care Champions

Trained student volunteers welcome visitors and share information, but never handle cases.

Other private doors

QR code posters inside toilet cubicle doors, and a drop box for paper notes.

Ask your students first.

Before you build, run a short class poll on the name, the colour and the location. Students who help to choose it are the first to use it.Request the CARE HUB
Notes and sources
  1. Guidance is based on UNICEF’s Adolescent Kit tool, Creating a safe space, and on school counsellor guidance for calm, private and respectful spaces.
  2. Room sizes and layouts are suggestions. AHERI will help each school choose what fits its buildings and budget.
  3. The floor plan is an illustration, not a technical drawing.