Bi-Annual Report on Communities of
Practice in the Western Cape
By Camilla Swart
A summary of the content covered during the Communities of Practice meetings held
January- May 2013.
6/8/2013
Camilla Swart- Western Cape Bridge Coordinator- Aug 2013
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1) School Leadership and Management
a) Role of WCED IMG’s with Principals (Sharon Lewin and Mark Mofoking- WCED)
b) Organizational Change in Schools (Tana Paddock – Organizational Unbound)
c) Norms and Standards in Schools (Brad Brockman- Equal Education)
2) Teacher Development
a) Impact of CAPS (Panel of CAPS writers and Dr Ursuala Hoadley-UCT)
b) Professional Development Points for Teachers (Rosemary Raitt and Michelle Burrows-UWC)
c) Using Learner Data (Alan Clarke- School Leadership and Management Publication)
3) Early Childhood Development
a) Critical Thinking in Foundation Phase (Dr Karin Murris- UCT)
b) Lessons from Ilifa Labantwana Project (Andy Dawes- Ilifa Labantwana)
4) Maths and Science
a) Grasslow Park Development Desk (Anthea Roberts –UCT)
b) Science and Maths for Learners and Educators (Andrew Fair- Stellenbosch University)
5) Literacy and Numeracy
a) Promoting Reading Circles (Dr Carol Bloch-UCT)
b) Language as a Barrier to Learning (Michal Harty- UCT)
c) Connections between Academia and NPOs in Literacy (UCT SDU and Praesa, Speech and
language Dept, Shine and Edupeg)
6) ICT in Schools
a) Sharing Best Practice from Edunova (Siobhan Thatcher and Benji Euvrard- Edunova)
b) WCED ICT Strategy 2013- 2014 (Osman Sedick – WCED)
c) Using Mxit (Andrew Rudge – Mxit Reach)
7) Caring Schools
a) Nutrition and Learning (Anniza De Villiers- MRC)
b) Inclusive Education (Caroline Taylor- WC Inclusive Education)
c) The collaboration between WCED and DOH for promoting Healthy Schools (Thereza BothmaWCED)
8) Post School
a) Summary of the McKinsey Report on narrowing the gap between education and career
(Camilla Swart- Bridge)
b) Using Internet for Career Guidance, Bursaries etc (Thandy Tyhaliti – Career Planet)
9) After Hours Tutoring and Extra Curricular Activities
a) Linking M&E to Fundraising Strategies (Panel: Johanna Stamps, Dominique Brand, Carla
Ferriera, Sarah Watson)
b) Meaningful engagements with communities (Jillian Reilly author of ‘Shame: Confessions of
an Aid Worker in Africa)
Camilla Swart- Western Cape Bridge Coordinator- Aug 2013
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School Leadership and Management
22 January 2013 (10:00-12:00) Leap School
Topic: Role of Institional Management and Governance Planning in WCED.
Speakers: Sharon Lewin and Mark Mofoking IMGs for WCED.
Institutional Management and Governance Planning play a vital role in the WCED’s implementation
of School Leadership and Management policies. It was important that the community understand
the role in relation to the principals and school management teams they work with. This was to
reduce duplication of training and understand how they can work more closely with the department,
by consulting with IMGs in their district.
Both presenters described their role and the context of their district.
Sharon Lewin explained they act as a Line Manager for the principal and the bridge between the
school and the department. They need to ensure that governance is adhered to, in particular that all
curriculum management practices are in place. They assist in the collecting and analysis of data that
measures school performance.
Areas of focus for WCED include, but are not limited to:
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Improved literacy and numeracy.
Improved Grade 12 performance.
Reduction in Grade 1 and 9 failure rates.
She shared the types of data collected, e.g. Literacy pass rates. The IMG will share the results of all
the schools in the district and help the principal to analyse what the results mean for their school.
This is a transparent process, where all principals are also aware of the results of other local schools.
This allows for better planning and for principals to track issues that impact on the school e.g. Grade
9 results are likely to impact on Grade 12 results, ideas are shared around
strategies that help mitigate these risks.
She acknowledged issues that impact on the school performance. Crime and
violence are a stark reality in the schools she oversees.
Figure 1- Found in the school, principal showing Sharon on a recent visit.
There are principals working well with the limited resources available to
them. But she acknowledges that, many lack leadership skills. To overcome
this she wears two hats; firstly she is there in a compliance capacity, but
she also needs to be a coach, developing the leadership capacity of each
principal. This is achieved in various ways for example Communities of
Practice where principals in the district meet to share best practice.
Figure 2- Example of training.
Communication is vital in her role. She achieves this through deep relationships and a visible
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presence. Rewarding positive work is important and she likes to be present at prize-giving or teacher
events to show her support and encouragement.
Sharon explained that external agencies play a role in schools and its helpful for NGOs to reach out
to their local IMGs, as they have an overview of the district and can explain the necessary policies
and procedures NGOs need to be aware of.
Mark Mofoking described the IMG role as ‘I Must GO’, he said that the role is pressured and varied
and the IMGs support principals in a crisis. They act as the critical friend, mentor, line manager and
supervisor. They have must have experience and expertise in all school policy and legalities this
could range from budgets to an HR meeting regarding unions and conflict resolution. A major part
of their role is in planning using the data e.g. IQMS to plan for School Improvement Plan. They are a
source of information for the principals passing on new policies and circulars. Their role includes
sharing best practice and capacity building. It can feel like a balancing act of being encouraging and
supportive of principals, while having to do target setting and holding the principals accountable.
Often the IMG needs to be a role model showing professionalism and a value system for principals
to instil in school ethos.
Mark went onto describe some of the highlights and challenges him and his team faced in 2012.
Highlights included:
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The opening of two new schools.
An increase in the Maths results by 4%.
The LitNum symposium held in March 2013.
Successful SGB and RCL elections.
Some of the challenges he explained were:
Learner transport route closures
Learner placements
The matrix model is new and yet to be proven
Improving LitNum results on the basis of ANA results
Staffing and curriculum changes
Mark and his team have the following goals for 2013:
Increase Grade 3, 6, 9 mastering the minimum language and numeracy competencies
Increase Gr 12 Bachelors
Increase Gr 12 Maths / Physics results
Ensure enrolment up to age 15.
Improve access to (ECD)
Improve the grade promotion Gr1 to 9
Improve the access to Further Education and Training beyond Grade 9.
Attract young, motivated and appropriately trained teachers
There was limited time for Q&A however Mark pointed out that members should visit the
www.curriculum-dev.wcape.school.za/ CTLI website, for information on upcoming training in
Leadership etc so that they are away of what training Principals already have access to.
Camilla Swart- Western Cape Bridge Coordinator- Aug 2013
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5 March 2013 (10:00-12:00) UCT GSB
Topic: Expressive Change and Inscaping for Organizational change in Schools
Speaker: Tana Paddock (Organization Unbound)
Tana Paddock works for Organization Unbound http://organizationunbound.org/. Their expertise is
in building capacity of organizations to be more reflective in the practice and build leadership and
strategic thinking. They have worked in education and the community could benefit from tools on
how to ‘live their purpose’ and be more reflective in the way they work with each other and external
stakeholders.
Experience and early research suggest that the distinction between serving the world and nurturing
our organizations is a false one.
Some of the most vibrant and socially catalytic organizations we have seen are places where there is
a promising confusion about who is serving whom- schools where teachers learn and grow, food
banks where staff and volunteers are nourished, hospitals where doctors are healed, social justice
groups where activists are surprised to find their vision of a better world taking root in their own
offices.
These organizations are invoking the power of something we might call expressive change – a
pattern of change rooted in who they are as much as in what they do. They ask themselves: “How
can we become what we seek?”
Organization Unbound is an exploration into the specific practices of expressive social change. How,
for example, does a community organization become a vital, teeming, celebratory democracy, not
just in governance structure, but in daily life? How does a school become a learning center for
everyone it touches – teachers, staff, students, parents, and neighbors?
For the last 10 years, she has focused on connecting and synthesizing the worlds of organizational
development and social change.
Tana worked with community organizations in Canada as a facilitator with the Centre for Community
Organizations, as an independent consultant, and as a volunteer and board member with Santropol
Roulant. Prior to that, she was involved in community organizing, participatory budgeting, and
micro-enterprise development initiatives in the United States.
Session began with the following check in:
Your name/Organization and what you’ve left behind at work or at home to make it to this session
(i.e., what you would be doing if you weren’t here)
Tana introduced the concept of ‘Expression of Purpose’ and how Organization unbound works within
that frame of reference.
Organization Unbound is a global community of practice that explores how organizations with a
social purpose can more deeply align their internal practices with that purpose- how they can be a
living expression of that purpose.
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From Tool/instrument
For change
------------ To living expression
of change
James Taylor- one of the almost founding members of CDRA quote:
My sense is that people see organizations as vehicles through which to do things in the
world, not realizing that in building organization they are shaping the world. It is not only
'what' organizations do that changes the world. The kinds of organizations we create and the
way we organize ourselves does so much to determine the nature and quality of human
society. "We" are "organizations".
Their interest in expressive change came from:
1) Experiences working in community orgs that were working in a highly instrumental way and
feeling that this was a huge barrier to their ability to create the kind of change they were
seeking (ex. my experience working as a community organizer).
2) Then seeking out and discovering organizations that were deeply coherent and seeing and
personally experiencing the transformative effect these places were having on the world. They
were not just delivering services or changing policy in more effective ways, they were shifting
the deeper social patterns that were causing the problems in the first place.
One of the fundamental characteristics that they have observed of deeply expressive organizations is
that they see themselves serving everyone that touches them- that they are just as much there to
serve the ‘target population’ (students) as they are to serve the teachers, staff, funders, parents,
neighbors, etc.
From Tool/instrument
For change
Giving Arrow
------------ To living expression
of change
Giving Field (everyone receiving mission)
The following exercise helped those in the group understand the concept:
Take 5 minutes to think about the following questions on your own. Jot down your reflections on a
piece of paper.
What is the most fundamental human need your organization exists to fulfill? A fundamental human
need applies to everyone, such as freedom, learning, peace, equality, connection, autonomy, etc.
Try to drill down to the ‘deep why’ of your work. This is not always obvious.
In what ways do you experience this need being met for you personally by the organization? Be
specific. When? In what aspects of your work? In what parts of the organization?
Pair up with another person in the group. Take 10 min to share your reflections.
Discuss in larger group
In Paddock’s experience, deeply expressive organizations didn’t get that way by spending time
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thinking about how they can live out their core purpose. What they seem to share in common is that
they approach their work from a deeply experiential place. They share an unusual ability to draw on
the inner experiences of their members during the normal course of daily work to shape and guide
the organization. ‘Inner experiences’ does mean emotions. It means the full range of things that
make up our inner lives: ideas, intuitions, curiosities, aspirations, fears, values, biographies, etc.
Organization Unbound calls this practice “Inscaping”.
They observed two types of Inscaping:
1) Work inscaping- surfacing our experiences of the work itself, helping us to see layers of
organizational life that are usually hidden.
2) Life inscaping- sharing experiences of our lives beyond work, enabling us to interact as
human beings rather than as roles. (roles can’t express the purpose of the organization, only
people and the relationships between people can)
Work and life inscaping may seem similar, but they appear to have very different effects, and it is the
interplay between these effects that ultimately shapes a organization’s capacity for social
innovation:
• catalytic organizations (when work inscaping is high but life inscaping is low). These
organizations are very creative within the parameters of their industry or field but may have
difficulty connecting their innovations to broader social problems and questions (they are
innovative but not necessarily social);
• communal organizations (when life inscaping is high, but work inscaping is low). These
organizations take a holistic view of the world and wrestle with big moral and structural
questions but often have difficulty translating those questions into novel, practical, solutions
(they are social but not necessarily innovative);
• transformative organizations (when both work and life inscaping are high). These
organizations draw on the widest range of members' experiences and therefore end up
combining the strengths of catalytic and communal organizations. They are the most
resilient social innovators, able to work with the deepest social problems in consistently
creative and practical ways.
(And then of course there are mechanistic organizations – are when both work and life
inscaping are low)
Exercise:
- We want to get schools in the transformative space. How do we get them there?
- Start with yourself- Consider the next meeting or interaction you’ll be having in a school? How can
you bring the practice of inscaping into that experience?
- Check out- What are you leaving with?
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The group’s feedback was largely around staff dynamics amongst and between teachers and School
Management and how this kind of reflection could help the group dynamics and make teachers feel
more supported.
There was also a lengthily discussion around the importance of teacher training and how schools
need to be a place of learning which includes the development and progression of teachers within
their career. The group also talked about how learners help teachers ‘learn’ to be better teachers
and being open and receptive to what learners offer makes all the difference.
There was a discussion about engaging parents and the community and how having them more
involved helps the school live its purpose as a ‘community asset’.
Tana introduced the idea of self-guided curriculum- to help catalyse expressive change conversations
and experiments in social purpose organizations, including schools. She explained they are looking
for beta-testers- people interested in trying the pieces of the curriculum out.
Three organizations nominated themselves to be part of this process, e.g. Gold Peer Education.
16 April 2013 (10:00-12:00) Leap School
Topic: An Update on Equal Education’s campaign for Norms and Satandards.
Speaker: Brad Brockman –Equal Education
Brad Brockman of Equal Education addressed the group on the history and progress of the court
case against the Department of Basic Education. He began by explaining they are advocating for
basic norms and standards to ensure that learners are in a safe environment with resources and
school infrastructure:
Currently in South Africa:
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95% of schools do not have stocked science
laboratories
93% of schools do not have stocked and
functioning libraries
90% of schools do not have stocked computer
centres
In Section 5A(1) of the South African Schools Act, the
Minister of Basic Education is given the power to set
minimum norms and standards for school infrastructure. If
s/he chooses to do so, the norms must address a prescribed
list of resources and facilities such as classrooms, electricity,
water, sanitation, libraries, laboratories, sports fields,
connectivity and perimeter security, classroom sizes and the
provision of LTSM. E.g. 5,013 of schools have an unreliable
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water supply or none at all.
Classroom sizes are too large Brad gave an example of a recent trip to the Eastern Cape where they
came across the following school, where 165 Grade 10’s learners were crammed into one classroom
with one teacher.
He went onto explain some of the policy and procedures:
Every year the National Treasury gives money to the provinces and advises them to spend a certain
portion on school infrastructure.
The Department of Basic Education has also set
aside funds in two additional ways:
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ASIDI (Accelerated School Infrastructure
Delivery Initiative), which is administered
nationally.
Education Infrastructure Grants, which are
given to provincial treasuries to fund capital
improvements.
Starting in the 2011/12 financial year, the Treasury allocated R8,2 billion over three years to the
eradication of 496 “inappropriate structures” and expansion of basic services (sanitation, electricity,
water). The original three year timeframe has been extended to five, reflecting massive delays. It
aimed to eradicate 49 mud schools, but underspent in the first year, with only 12 completed. The
major obstacles to success were; procuring implementing agents took longer than anticipated,
delays in MoU with DBSA, and the sites were only handed over in January 2012.
EE tied together these concerns over broken windows and libraries into a broader campaign to
demand norms and standards for school infrastructure. There campaign took on the following form,
initially;
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Over 100,000 postcards and a public letter by 100 global education leaders were sent to
President Zuma
EE visited mud schools in the Eastern Cape and held a camp for learners from these schools
In response to the campaign, government met with Equal Education and they had a positive meeting
with Minister Motshekga in February 2011.
A massive crowd of 20,000 marched on Parliament to remind her of the 1 April 2011 deadline for
Norms and Standards, promised by her National Policy for an Equitable Provision of an Enabling
School Physical Teaching and Learning Environment. However on 14 and 15 April 2011, the Minister
and MECs decided not to adopt Norms and Standards, breaking their promise to South Africa’s
citizens and most importantly, learners.
Additional campaign elements followed:
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Mothers of Equal Education members wrote to Minister Motshekga, dated 12 May 2011.
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On 12-14 July 2011 1300 Learners camp outside the gates of parliament for two nights.
On 3 August 2011 Equal Education (EE) reluctantly decides on legal action after sending a letter of
demand to the Minister, requesting Norms and Standards.
On 5 May 2012 EE formally launches its legal case against the Minister, along with two crumbling
schools in the Eastern Cape. EE’s founding affidavit argues that inadequate school infrastructure and
the failure to develop Norms and Standards constitutes a breach of the right to basic education (Sec
29 of the Constitution).
The Minister’s reply does not reject that schools were unsafe or not resourced properly rather the
right was only to a “basic” education, indicating a level of quality rather than the understood
meaning of Grade R -12
EE continued with innovative and provocative activism to raise the visibility of the court case and
build support in the public around Norms and Standards:
Equalizers march in Kraaifontein wearing Minister Motshekga masks to put a face to the person
responsible for setting Norms and Standards.
EE’s virtual picket attracts over 400 people from South Africa and as far as New York and Belgium to
send photos expressing solidarity for the Norms and Standards campaign and demanding the
Minister do her job.
EE planned an activist camp ahead of the 20 November hearing in the Bhisho High Court to bring
hundreds right to the steps, signalling the eyes of South Africa were watching. At the last minute, the
Minister approached EE and offered to settle the case out of court.
The Department invited EE to Pretoria on Friday 17 November 2012 to discuss a settlement ahead of
the hearing, scheduled for 20 November. EE met with the Minster, Deputy Minister, Director
General and other top officials. At the meeting EE agreed to the Department’s offer in good faith
that the Minister’s promise would be kept.
The Minister “has undertaken to make and promulgate regulations which prescribe minimum
uniform norms and standards for school infrastructure in terms of section 5A(1)(a) and 5A(2)(a) of
the South African Schools Act on or before 15 May 2013. The minister also undertakes to publish a
draft of the regulations for public comment on or before 15 January 2013; and to consider any
comments made pursuant to their publication before 31 March 2013.”
As mentioned earlier, Section 5A(1) of SASA gives the Minister the power to set norms and
standards. She has now given deadlines and an opportunity for public comment. If she chooses to
promulgate Norms and Standards, then according to Section 5A(2) they must include a list of
prescribed resources and facilities found in the act. This is crucial to determining whether the
Minister’s norms and standards follow both the settlement and the law.
The Minister published the draft norms and standards over a week prior to the deadline, on 7
January 2013. Unfortunately, this was to be the only positive development. The 14-page draft
“Regulations Relating to Minimum Uniform Norms and Standards for Public School Infrastructure” is
Camilla Swart- Western Cape Bridge Coordinator- Aug 2013
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vague, devoid of timelines and commitments and, most importantly, not legally binding.
Norms and standards should mean school buildings, electricity, water, adequate toilets, fencing
security, libraries, laboratories, classrooms, computer centres, staff rooms, school halls and sports
facilities are required.
The 2013 Draft does not:
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Define the minimum size of a classroom or maximum number of learners per classroom;
Require electricity, only “some form of energy”;
Specify what “adequate sanitation” or “basic water supply” mean;
Require libraries, laboratories and media centres, rather only one of the three.
Address issues of accessibility, such as wheelchair ramps;
Mention perimeter security at all.
Norms and standards should mean clear dates and targets showing when old schools will be
upgraded and new schools built. Instead, the 2013 Draft provides no deadlines, acknowledges that
progress will be made when “practically realisable” and gives the Minister a further 18 months to
develop a technical framework. This meant further delays.
Norms and standards should mean that provinces must follow plans set by the Minister. Provinces
will also have to report annually. This way progress across the whole country can be monitored.
The 2013 Draft fails to require provinces to report back to the Minister, thus there is no way to
monitor progress. This is in violation of Section 58C of SASA, which requires that MECs report back to
the Minister of Basic Education.
Norms and Standards should mean that learners, educators, parents, and communities will know
what to expect and what to demand for their schools. Without any legally binding specifics, the 2013
draft will make it harder for communities to mobilise and hold their elected leaders to account for
the poor condition of their schools.
EE held public hearings in five provinces during the month of March 2013:
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Gauteng
KwaZulu-Natal
Eastern Cape
Limpopo
Western Cape
In total, over 1400 people turned up to tell their stories and make
recommendations on the draft Norms and Standards.
EE also held workshops in communities ahead of the public
hearings to educate learners and parents on what public
comments are and how to compose one.
EE drew upon the oral testimonies and written submissions from the public hearings to inform its
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own public comment to the Minister.
Through this process, nearly 600 submissions were sent to the Department in support of stronger
norms and standards. EE submitted its 31-page comment on 31 March 2013 to the Minister. It lays
out EE’s main concerns with the draft, including its lack of specifics and commitments. The 30-page
annexure is a summary of 532 submissions EE collected and provides direct testimony about the
effects of inadequate and unsafe infrastructure from learners, parents and communities all over
South Africa.
The Draft is inadequate because:
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It consists of regulations “relating to minimum uniform norms and standards” but fails to set
any legally binding standards.
It is vague to the point of uselessness. It failed to use the technical guidance on levels of
adequate infrastructure provided in the 2008 draft by former Minister Naledi Pandoor.
The proposed “framework document” to be released in 18 months-time may provide
technical guidance, but still does not provide a set of enforceable norms and standards.
Does nothing to address schools with crumbling walls, broken and missing windows or
“temporary” structures which seem to have become a permanent way of life.
Does not empower the Minister to actually enforce the regulations.
It cannot be implemented, due to the lack of clarity and mechanisms for accountability as
well as the failure to address the current problem of under-spending on infrastructure.
Some of EE’s partners also submitted their comments on the draft, including:
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South African Human Rights Commission
Women on Farms Project (WFP)
Desmond Tutu HIV Centre
Right2Know Campaign
Section 27
Community Law Center
Concerned Teachers Group
Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (CASAC)
Western Cape Parent-Teacher-Student Forum
By 15 May 2013, the Minister will have to promulgate final norms and standards. EE will review and
respond to this document in consultation with its members and legal counsel.
A major consideration will be whether or not it abides by the settlement agreement reached last
November. Most importantly, no matter the outcome, EE must continue mobilising communities
around Norms and Standards.
Find out more about our campaign and read the court papers and EE’s public comment:
http://www.equaleducation.org.za/campaigns/minimum-norms-and-standards
Brad Brockman went onto to introduce a new campaign. The campaign is to bring awareness to the
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lack of adequate sanitation in the schools. This is not only an issue around human dignity but also is
a major health concern and safety risk. For the smaller children the lack of hygiene means sickness
and disease, e.g. worms which further compounds malnutrition and stunting. For the older children
toilets are not safe, often the site of bullying etc. Particularly, for girls the lack of clean and safe
toilets, increases absenteeism during menstruation.
An audit was completed by the City of Cape Town in November 2011.
AUDIT SUMMARY:
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There is a shortage of toilets in Khayelitsha primary schools (62% have less toilets than
required per ‘norm’).
This is aggravated by the fact that some schools have many toilets (and urinals) which are
not in working order.
The learners/toilet ratio is over double the ‘norm’ in more than half the schools and in 6
schools it goes up to 3 to 6 times the ‘norm’.
Some schools have several washing basins that are also not in working order, in 3 schools
half are not working.
Sanibins are not available at 65% of schools.
Toilet paper is not available at 41% of schools.
Soap for hand washing is not available at 79% of schools.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
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In schools that are not meeting the learners/ toilet norm, toilets that are not in working
order must be repaired (including urinals).
Where the ratio of learners per toilet is twice the norm, new toilets need to be introduced.
The 6 schools where the shortage of toilet’s situation is extreme should not be allowed to reopen until the problem is resolved.
Sanibins need to be introduced as part of the bathrooms package of amenities with the aim
of reducing toilet blockages.
It is mandatory that toilet paper be provided.
The problem of faulty washing basins must be addressed.
Soap for hand washing is an essential hygiene requirement that is obligatory for all schools
to provide.
EE is currently addressing the issue with provincial government and the civil society representatives
in the room were keen to assist where possible in advocating for this basic right.
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Teacher Development
23 January 2013 (10:00-12:00) UCT SDU
Topic: Implications of new CAPS curriculum on the classroom?
Speakers: Dr. Ursula Hoadley ~ ‘Knowledge, knowers and knowing – Curriculum reform in South
Africa’ Dr Ursula Hoadley is an educationalist working in the School of Education at the University of
Cape Town. Her research interests lie in the sociology of education, and her work reflects a
particular interest in the relation between education and social stratification, especially social class
and the differential social and academic outcomes engendered through educational processes. Her
work focuses on pedagogy, curriculum and schooling at the primary level. Ursula served on the
Ministerial Review Committee of 2009 which led to the revision of the outcomes-based national
curriculum.
Panel:
The panel includes some of the Western Cape educationalists who were in involved in writing and/or
critiquing sections of the CAPS. Each presenter will talk briefly to a page or two selected from the
curriculum, highlighting how this could impact on classroom practice.
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Agatha Lebethe: MEPP (Maths Education Primary Programme) and CAPS writer – Agatha will
focus on a selected extract from the Foundation Phase curriculum.
Novosti Buta: PSP (Primary Science Programme) and a writer on GET Science and
Technology. – Novosti will discuss a section of the Intermediate Phase Science.
Peter Pluddemann: UWC lecturer in language education. – Peter will discuss the implications
of a section of the FET English First Additional Language curriculum.
Ruth Versfeld: Writer of GET Social Sciences CAPS (Geography) and advisor on FP Life Skills
and GET Science and Technology CAPS.
Our schools are currently undergoing curriculum reform and are implementing CAPS (Curriculum
and Assessment Policy Documents). It is important to know the rationale for the conversion and
how this will change classroom practice and impact on teachers. It will be important for the
members who work with teachers to understand the impact of this change on teachers and if they
need to change their tutoring approach to align to new changes.
Dr Hoadly began by explaining the history of curriculum changes in South Africa. She explained from
her recent paper “With the transition to democracy in South Africa in 1994 came the imperative to
reform what was a highly inequitable system of education provision. Changing the curriculum was
regarded as a crucial lever for fostering the ideals of the new nation – for creating a new citizenry
and for re-inserting South Africa into a global context. The new curriculum that was constructed
departed radically from what had gone before. It was underpinned by strong social goals which
aimed to address past inequalities and foster human rights and democracy in every sphere –
including what was learnt and how.”
The following is a summation of the report she presented: Knowledge, knowers and knowing,
Curriculum reform in South Africa (Hoadly (2011), Yates and Grumet)
Camilla Swart- Western Cape Bridge Coordinator- Aug 2013
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
She explained the difference between apartheid curriculum and the changes that would
come. In apartheid the curriculum was white, male oriented with a heavily embedded
philosophy of Christian underpinnings. She explains: “The delivery was largely content-driven
with very stringent prescriptions for the sequencing and scope of contents. Teachers were
issued with syllabuses that often contained highly prescriptive teacher manuals with detailed
work plans. In African schools, teachers were overseen by a highly autocratic and
bureaucratic system of inspection that appeared to be used punitively and vindictively
against teachers (Chisholm et al. 2005).”

A new curriculum – namely Curriculum 2005 was implemented in 1996. It was a paradigm
shift in curriculum, from the traditional apartheid curriculum to a new outcomes-based
curriculum. Curriculum 2005 was also designed in relation to the new National Qualifications
Framework (NQF), which was an attempt to create equivalencies between education and
workplace learning by placing all qualifications on the same grid, and breaking them down
into unit standards which could interchangeably make up different qualifications.

In the new democracy the curriculum design was influenced by a number of foreign
consultants, particularly those promoting outcomes-based education (OBE) as a curriculum
alternative fostering generic skills for a new global economy. South Africa termed its
approach ‘transformational OBE’, and as educationally unsound as it proved to be, it
presented a strong political argument for a curriculum for rapid social transformation. The
rational was that the new curriculum allowed educators to relate teaching direct [sic] to their
local contexts and also to change syllabus content rapidly (South African Department of
Education 1997: 16).

The curriculum had several progressive features. It placed an emphasis on group work,
relevance, local curriculum construction and local choice of content. There was also a shift
away from strong disciplinary boundaries, to a horizontal integration of traditional
curriculum subjects. Learning areas, which were clusters of subjects, were introduced to
support integration.

However, Transformational OBE was seen by many as flawed, believing no thought is given
to the existing curriculum. Instead schools (or local districts) are told they can choose any
content and use a wide range of teaching methods as long as these develop citizens who
display the agreed upon critical outcomes. (South African Department of Education 2000b:
19)

Curriculum 2005 was driven by a strong pedagogical project. Learner- centredness was the
cornerstone of this new project, and the teacher (now termed ‘educator’) was to facilitate
acquisition through the selection of the appropriate knowledge, including that of the
learners’ own local cultures, to enable the learner to reach the ‘competency’ which was
expressed as an outcome.
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
Curriculum 2005 was reviewed in 2000. The criticism generated by the first post-Apartheid
curriculum was significant. Prominent critiques focused on training and implementation,
system failures and curriculum design. Jansen (1999: 147) in his ‘Why outcomes-based
education will fail’ offers as a principal reason the idea that curriculum was driven by policy
imperatives with no conception of the realities of classroom life. Later Jansen (2001) went on
to argue that policies developed in the first five years of democracy served the purpose of
‘political symbolism’, helping to mark the shift from apartheid to post- apartheid education
and establish the ideological and political credentials of the new government. In short,
although the political project of Curriculum 2005 had been clear, the pedagogical one was
far from graspable.

The report on the studies (Taylor and Vinjevold 1999) claimed convergence in findings from
the research around a number of issues, most importantly around teachers’ extremely poor
conceptual knowledge. They also found that teachers lacked the knowledge base to interpret
Curriculum 2005, and were unable to deal with integration and ‘ensure that the everyday
approach prescribed by the new curriculum will result in learners developing sound
conceptual frameworks’ (Taylor and Vinjevold 1999: 230).

A success can be made of such an under-stipulated curriculum, but only if the teacher has a
well-articulated mental script of what should be covered, and if the pupils come from homes
where they have been well prepared to respond to such putative freedom, in other words,
only in schools by and for the middle class. (Muller 2000: 14)

The major design flaw of Curriculum 2005 was identified as its having no conceptual
sequence and hence no learning progression path.

The Curriculum 2005 Review Report strongly recommended reduced integration and clearer
specification of contents. Greater simplicity to the design of the curriculum and language was
also recommended. Significantly, under pressure from the unions (Chisholm 2005), outcomes
were retained in the design of the curriculum.

In 2009 the new Minister of Education called for a new review of the curriculum, again
couched as a review of the ‘implementation’ of the curriculum, rather than of the curriculum
itself. The call for the review came from two main sources: on-going criticism in the media of
outcomes- based education, and the persistent poor performance of South African learners
on national and international standardized tests.

What we have learnt is that, despite the good intentions of past efforts, an underspecified
curriculum advantages those who are already advantaged –those who already have access
to the knowledge needed to improve their life chances.(Young 2007: 61)

Report argues that outcomes inhibit a clear specification of what is to be learnt, suggesting
that outcomes be replaced with ‘clear content, concept and skill standards and clear and
concise assessment requirements’ (South African Department of Education 2009: 45).
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
There was a shift in thinking about the distinction between curriculum and pedagogy. In
concluding this chapter and thinking about the current curriculum debates in South Africa
there are two points that I want to make in relation to this latter distinction between
curriculum and pedagogy.

In other words, it is not possible for students to think things as they aren’t, to imagine
alternatives, unless they have access to the non-local, non-everyday, context-independent
knowledge that allows this.

‘Curriculum defines what counts as valid knowledge, pedagogy defines what counts as valid
transmission of knowledge’ (Bernstein 1975: 85). What this chapter has tried to show is that
confusion between curriculum and pedagogy, or conflation of the two, has led to problems in
the implementing of that curriculum.

Separating out curriculum and pedagogy allows for the possibility of making principled
decisions around what belongs where and how we might achieve our educational
aspirations. It may also enhance clarity around the possibilities for stipulation in terms of
knowledge, knowers and knowing, and how we might meaningfully achieve educational
change in a society with an enduring fractured social milieu, with a very particular history
and a fragile knowledge project.
Dr Hoadly’s presentation offered a historical analysis of why a curriculum shift away from OBE was
necessary and this has been the rationale behind the CAPS curriculum, to overcome the issues that
were created through previous curriculum.
Agatha Lebete gave a presentation on the impact of the CAPS curriculum on teaching Mathematics,
she went into detail explaining how lesson plans would be different and some of the content that
had been integrated.
Her feedback on the changes having been involved in the curriculum design was:
 “Educators felt the degree of guidance in terms of time allocation and content
seemed very positive and promising”.
 “Caps just as foundations for learning - expectations are too high, time frames not
considered. Lessons are planned such that the learners seems to have all this
prior knowledge and moves at a very quick pace”.
 “Too much content is expected to be covered in too short a time”.
 “Caps allows for purposeful learning”
 “there was a concern that the lazy educator and the lazy HOD would not cope
with the length of the document”.
Novosti Buta and Peter Puddeman took extracts from their resepective disciplines to explain lesson
plans and how this might change classroom practice.
The feeling from many in the group was that the shift to CAPS is a positive and constructive one. It
Camilla Swart- Western Cape Bridge Coordinator- Aug 2013
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was viewed as a necessary improvement from what has been in place. The specificity, structure, set
timeframes offer guidance to teachers, particularly those with limited content knowledge.
However, the concern was around implementing this new approach. For a large proportion of the
group the new changes to the curriculum feel fragmented and there are still major gaps e.g.
Inclusive Education does not appear to be adequately addressed. Questions were raised about the
consultation with key role players e.g. teachers, learners, parents etc. Has their input been included
in the planning? How have teachers engaged and is there a role for civil society in this engagement?
The implementation will be overwhelming for many teachers, training and support will be crucial.
What lessons around implementing these changes have the department learnt from previous
experiences? There was a sense that there has been a lack of preparation and the delivery feels
rushed. The timeframes that have been set may prove to be a challenge, without additional
assessment and training. More information from the department about enabling the changes would
be helpful to the network. As some felt it was also the role of civil society to support the teachers in
integrating the changes into their classroom practice.
6 March 2013
Topic: Teacher Professional Development through points system?
Speakers: Michelle Burrows and Rosemary Raitt ~ UWC
Michelle Burrows from UWC Post Graduate Education Department presented on the framework for
Teacher Development as it relates to the point system.
The National Qualifications Framework (NQF) rests within South African Qualifications Authority
(SAQA) which was established in 1995. SAQA Act provided for the 2001 launch of Human Resource
Development Strategy by the Minister of Labour and the Minister of Education. The objective is to
create and integrated national framework for learning achievements. This will facilitate access to,
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and mobility and progression within education, training and career paths. By improving the system
for the aim is to enhance the quality of education and training. In so doing, accelerate the redress of
past unfair discrimination in education, training and employment opportunities.
The hope is the framework will contribute to the full personal development of each learner and the
social and economic development of the nation at large.
The framework is administered through the South African Council for Educators, established in the
SACE Act of 2000. The main responsibility is the registration of educators in terms of supporting
them through their professional development. In addition the Council is also responsible for setting
and maintaining the ethical and professional standards for educators. This quality assurance is
achieved through a system called Continuing Professional Teacher Development (CPTD).
SACE is supported by National Policy Framework on Teacher Education and Development (NPFTED)
established in 2006. Their slogan ‘more teachers, better teachers’ with the aim to renew teachers’
enthusiasm and commitment to their calling. The purpose of their joint efforts is to reinforce the
professional status of teaching. They provide clear guidance about which Professional Development
(PD) activities will contribute to their professional growth.
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This takes the form of 150 Professional Development points to be achieved over a 3yr cycle.
Type 1:
Type 2:
Type 3:
Teacher initiated Activities
School Initiated Activities
External Activities
• Reading/
listening/viewing/discussing
during the term: 5 points
per term cover all activities
• Attending/participating in
school meetings during the
year: 10 PD points per year
to cover all meetings
• Attending/participating/disc
ussing during the year: 10
PD points per year
• Attending/participating in
school workshops during
the year: points per
workshop
• Mentoring/coaching during
the term: 5 PD points per
term per activity
• Researching/developing/wri
ting/presenting during the
term: 10 PD points per term
per item
• Kick-starting/leading during
the term: 5 points per term
per project or initiative
•
half day: 5 points; 1 day: 7
points; 2-5 days: 10 points
• Participating
in
school
projects during the term: 5
points per project per term
(max 80 points over 3 years
• Attending/participating
workshops
in
• Points Half day – 5; 1 day 7;
2-5 days- 10
• Studying/completing short
courses/modules/qualificati
ons
• Points 1-3 weeks-10;1
month-12; 3 months-15; 6
months: 20 points
• Studying/completing longer
qualifications (part points
per module according to
duration)
• 1 yr: 30; 2 yrs 50; 3 yrs-70;
4 yrs: 90
• Marking/assessing(external)
during the term: 5 PD points
per term per assignment
• Improving personal learning
or qualifications during the
year as per type 3
INTEGRATED STRATEGIC PLANNING FRAMEWORK FOR TED 2011-2025
There have been multiple challenges in delivering the framework. The issue stems from the
questionable involvement of teachers and key stakeholders in the initial planning around Teacher
Development. There is a disparity between the provision and demand for teacher training. The
framework has also been unable to expand with the growing demand. The approach has been
disjointed with poorly monitored funding mechanisms.
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AIMS OF 2011-2025
Principal outcome – enhance the quality of teacher education and development, from Grade R
through to Matric. The aim is also to reach all phases of the teaching career – starting with
recruitment, preparation of pre-service teachers, their induction into teaching and ending with
continuing professional learning and development.
Some recommendations from current research:






Teachers need support at all levels
Community assistance is required
Involved stake holders
Additional help with security
Community pride and civic duty has to be retaught as dysfunctional communities
impact on teachers
Importance of well-equipped School Management Teams
17 April 2013
Topic: What we can learn from learner performance data
Speakers: Alan Clarke
Alan Clarke is a consultant and produces a publication called School Management and leadership. He
has extensive understanding of working with school leadership particularly in disadvantaged schools.
He has expertise in using the data produced for the WCED to track patterns and understand
impending risks to learner outcomes. He uses this data to help principals plan more strategically.
He spoke about the importance of tracking patterns and trends in learner performance data. He
began by showing the group brief research where teachers were asked to do the same testing as
their learners in Maths in Grade 4 and 5. They were given 5 questions to complete.
He discovered the following outcomes from this sample:
-
Only 12% completed all 5 questions.
66% could only answer 3 of the questions.
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His research also showed:
Table 1
He went onto describe the importance of writing exercise and how the learners need to consolidate
the learning by writing exercises in their books, particularly steering away from the drilling type of
exercises that only require one word responses. He explained for literacy levels how important it is
that whole paragraphs are written down to fully assess comprehension etc.
This graph shows his results:
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The majority of learners in Grade 5 were doing no writing (blue). Of those doing some writing the
biggest proportion were only writing single word answers (red).
These are the average written exercise per year, by Province in 2009:
Table 2
In the next table it shows the frequency of the writing per year (2009):
Table 3
These learners are now in Grade 9, a crucial year for subject choices and a difficult year when dropout rates begin to increase. In the next graph Clarke displays how these unresolved issues become
compounded. The learners move onto the next year, having not mastered the year’s curriculum. This
means they cannot keep up with the content and further compounds the issue as they pass through
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year to year. This is then evidenced in the drop-out rate.
Graph 1
Alan went on to explain the most important ways of managing these issues is quality of teaching in
the classroom and school leadership.
Her we see the ANA results for 2012 – note the decrease:
Camilla Swart- Western Cape Bridge Coordinator- Aug 2013
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Graph 2
The Maths results show a starker decrease:
Graph 3
He described the following results in the ANA testing by Grade – the percentage relates to those that
scored between 0-29% in their results for Maths.
-
Grade 3- 31.7%
Grade 6- 66%
Grade 9- 91.9%
Grade 12- 45%
Interesting, to note the how low the results were in Grade 9 with 91.9% of learners scoring between
0-29%. In Grade 12 this lessens, which would at first seem reassuring but it relates to Graph 1 where
we notice that this is because of the high drop-out rate.
More information can be found in Alan Clarke’s ‘School Leadership and Management’ journal
published by Juta. There is invaluable information on using data for analysis and planning, where he
uses examples of under-performing schools turning around leadership and management. For copies
of the publications please visit http://www.jutaacademic.co.za/sml/category/index-volume-6
The group found the session almost shocking, in that the hard data was a reality check. For many the
learner outcomes had been anecdotal or data had been seen in isolation. Clark was able to
demonstrate how the poor outcomes become compounded over time and impact on other areas.
This systemic overview was helpful. It was also important for the group to understand that collecting
this data is in itself and an important tool. For many the collection of data was seen as an arduous
task with the results rarely fedback or interpreted. Clarke’s insights evidenced how important the
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data is and WCED have made attempts to be diligent about retrieving the information.
What was obvious the group is that the interpretation of the data takes expertise and skill and a
concern was that many principals will not have this level expertise. There is a danger that without
facilitating the analysis the data becomes simply pages of statistics and graphs.
Early Childhood Development
24 January 2013 (10:00-12:00) Leap School
Topic: Teaching Thinking and Reasoning –An introduction to philosophical enquiry through the use
of both adult and child initiated play story-telling and philosophical games and activities.
Speakers: Karin Murris is an associate professor at the School of Education (UCT). She has a BSc in
Library Science, a BAHons (Leiden), a Masters (London) in Philosophy and a PhD in Philosophy with
Children. Karin established P4C with picture-books and helped conceptualise and implement the
teacher education of P4C in the UK. She also set up the Masters packages Critical and Creative
Thinking at the University of Wales and Thinking Schools and Communities at the University of the
Witwatersrand.
The session was designed to be experiential. Dr Murris used a picture book that she often reads to
children. She ran the session as if it were a ‘model’ class, the group really enjoyed this experiential
approach. The picture book was projected onto the screen and the group were read to by Dr Murris
and then had the opportunity to re- read the story. The picture book was a story about a gorilla
living in a zoo. He is lonely so the zoo keepers give him a pet kitten. The story is about the friendship
that develops between the two animals. The story had life lessons threaded through both the
narrative and the imagery. The group were split into smaller groups to talk about the themes and
how children might interrupt the story. Dr Murris facilitated the discussion with techniques she
would use with the children to model these skills for the group.
Dr Murris then shared examples of what children had reflected on in previous sessions. The
fascinating part was that children had picked up on most of the same things as the adults. Dr Murris
explained that this was often the case and indicates that we often under estimate children’s capacity
for critical thinking.
The most effective technique is to allow children to ‘speak the narrative’ without interrupting or
correcting the child. This encourages the flow of thinking for the child and allows them to express
themselves. The patience is important and the curiosity in the questioning with child motivates
learning.
The group followed with a general discussion around issues such as which picture books are most
effective, for example; books that are based on specific communities or cultures.
Feedback at the end of the session:
-
The group enjoyed the experiential experience that demonstrated best practice skills.
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-
They found the session motivating and refreshing.
Nice reminder around the benefits of patience when working with children.
Pedagogy is an important element of the work.
These skills would be good to share with parents.
Literacy is incremental lifelong journey.
Sparked a deep fascination with how children learn.
Encouraging critical thinking is so important for creating citizenship.
The techniques can be adapted for work with older children.
7 March 2013 (10:00-12:00) Leap School
Topic: Lessons from Ilifa Labantwana Project
Speaker: Andy Dawes- Ilifa Labantwana
Ilifa Labantwana is focused on finding and promoting models and mechanisms that will significantly
shift the way ECD programmes and services are delivered and accessed, enabling ECD provision in
South Africa.
Andy Dawes explained how important ECD is because of the percentage of the population that
young children make up. (Census 2011)
Andy explained that 61% of South Africans live on less than R575 per month and 34% live in workless
households. The reality is that poorer children have poorer quality Early Childhood Development;
with only 22% of the poorest who have access. For the caregivers, the poverty conditions add to
stress, depression and lack of access to services and support. Of the children who attend an out-of –
home facility only 30% of 0-4 year olds and only half of the 3-4 year olds attend.
Contributing factors to poor outcomes for this group include:
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


Stunting and Malnutrition are major concerns within this sector with 23% experiencing
stunting and 11% who are underweight- this is higher in rural communities.
The issues start from before birth with poor maternal health including maternal nutrition,
poor ante natal care, HIV infection, alcohol and substance abuse and high rates of post natal
depression.
For young children access to health care, diarrhoel disease, inadequate affectional care,
maltreatment and lack of early stimulation are mitigating factors that hinder development.
In response the Ilifa Labantwana was established
funded by three major donors: Elma Foundations, UBS
Optimus Foundation and DG Murray Trust. The goal
was to ensure access to quality integrated ECD
services to poverty affected children living in rural
areas. The Ilifa Labantwana funded Sobambisana
Project which aimed to build evidence for the delivery
of a range of ECD interventions from 2008-2011. The
team comprised of: Andy Dawes (UCT), Linda
Biersteker & Lynn Hendricks (Early Learning Resource
Unit) supported by Johann Louw & Colin Tredoux
(Psychology UCT). Their focus was the most deprived
areas in rural South Africa indicated in by the blue areas on the map.
The diagram below indicates the essence of the model.
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The findings of the evaluation were as follows:
HOME VISITINGHome visiting improved affectional care and early stimulation behaviour, caregiver coping, access to
services and was most cost effective. It did not howeve, show as much impact on cognitive and
language outcomes.
Community Playgroups showed that these children were more advanced in terms of cognitive and
language development.
Further findings of the community playgroups
evidenced; if the children had already lower levels of
cognitive development this intervention significantly
impacted on their progression. Therefore, the most
benefit was seen the younger the children started.
Similarly if children are stunted and/or underweight
Camilla Swart- Western Cape Bridge Coordinator- Aug 2013
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it impacted on their progression.
Parent Education Programmes were poorly attended. Interestingly one of the reasons identified in
the group was that some of the women did not want to attend because they felt embarrassed about
their clothing. This shows us how important meaningful engagement is with groups and taking the
details into account of how ‘being helped’ can feel for beneficiaries.
Teacher training: Short courses (e.g. 10 workshops) can substantially improve classroom quality.
The main targets for Ilifa following the study are:






Design and test a scalable, integrated ECD Package in South Africa which include five basic
elements
Generate evidence for scalable, affordable models
Strengthen the capacity of the ECD NGO sector
Build a case to advocate for expanded access to public funding for ECD
Increase the capacity of the state to implement and support ECD services and programmes
Increase public demand for ECD services and programmes of quality and advance ECD
provision and access
According to the study the ideal package is:
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•
•
Prebirth
Birth-2 year
2-4 years
4-6 years
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Early Prenatal Booking
Maternal
Nutritional support
MaternalMental Health
Support
Prevention of Alcohol
& Substance use
PMTCT for HIV
Birth registration
Disability Screen
Social grants
Immunisation
ARVs for HIV
Breast Feeding 6/12
Vit A Supp
Iron Supp
Stimulation
Maternal PSS &
Parenting support
(prevention of toxic
stress &
Dysregulation)
•
•
•
•
Parenting Stimulation
for Early learning
Deworming
Nutrition
ARVs
Maternal PSS
•
•
•
Formal ECCE
Stimulation for Early
learning
Deworming,
Nutrition
ARVs
Maths and Science
19 March 2013 (10:00-12:00) CT Science Centre
Topic: What Mathematics abounds in maths classrooms?
Speakers: Anthea Roberts- a joint project between the Grasslow Park Development Desk and
the Schools Development Unit at the University of Cape Town
Grasslow-Park Project
The goal is to increase the number of learners in Grassy Park and surrounding areas taking
mathematics at FET level. Grasslow-Park Cluster is a network of 31 member schools which includes
22 Primary Schools and 9 High Schools. The network is designed to develop co-operation within the
education sector in particular in the areas of Grassy Park, Lotus River, Pelican Park and schools in the
Wynberg area. Their quest is to develop excellence by sharing expertise. The network focuses on
school safety, curriculum development, leadership and training, development of the arts, sport and
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community development.
A key focus area for Anthea Roberts is the support for Mathematics teaching for the Grasslow
cluster. They aim to improve performance in maths and language from Grades 7 to 9.
They offer teachers:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Advanced Certificates in Education in teaching mathematics
University short courses in teaching maths and language
Teacher collaborative planning of lessons involving teachers from different schools working
together
Teaching and classroom resources
Classroom support
Learner support
The session started with a discussion about the importance of mathematics and its applications.
There was general discussion about poor outcomes and the impact this has on tertiary access and
later the economy as a whole.
What is mathematics?
Mathematics is a language that makes use of symbols and notations to describe numerical,
geometric and graphical, mental processes that enhance logical and critical thinking, accuracy and
problem-solving that will contribute in decision making- Dept of Basic Education, 2012. Curriculum
and Assessment Policy Statement: Mathematics, Page 8
Specific aims
•
•
•
The teaching and learning of mathematics aims to develop a critical awareness of how
mathematical relationships are used in social, environmental, cultural and economic
relations.
Teach an appreciation for the beauty and elegance
of mathematics
Foster
a spirit of curiosity and a love for
mathematics
Roberts explained their focus has been on Grade7 -9
learners. This is a critical time in learning milestones for
learners to:
•
•
•
•
develop the correct use of Mathematic language
develop number vocabulary, number concept and
calculation, as well as, application skills
learn to listen, communicate, think, reason logically
and apply the mathematical knowledge gained
learn to investigate, analyse, represent and
interpret information
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•
learn to pose and solve problems build an awareness of the important role that mathematics
plays in real life situations including the personal
Anthea Roberts explained how the courses and support aim to develop teacher content and
pedagogy. She gave real examples of how mathematics teaching is interpreted by the learners and
where the crucial teaching mistakes happen. She explained key concepts in Mathematics that if not
mastered the gaps in learning become compounded:
•
•
•
•
Commutativity
Associativity
Identity
Inverse
If these are addressed in teacher training and teachers are aware of how learners might make
common mistakes, this can be remedied.
There was focus on building learner confidence in overcoming mistakes and being curious.
Mathematics can be an intimidating subject and Roberts explained some techniques to build
confidence.
Crucially important was mathematics vocabulary and how the assimilation of this can be influenced
by having to learn through second language without proper foundations.
Roberts ended by explaining the courses on offer- listed below:
Short Course 1:
Engaging with Number for Senior Phase Teachers (NQF Level 6) February 2012
The course aimed to inform and consolidate Senior Phase teachers’ content knowledge and
pedagogy in developing and consolidating learners’ conception of whole numbers, natural numbers,
integers, rational numbers and irrational numbers. The course encouraged participants to critically
reflect on the sole use of algorithms in problem-solving situations with the aim to facilitate a shift
from intuitive approaches/strategies to more formal ways of thinking about operations with
numbers.
Short course 2:
Algebra Content for the Classroom (NQF Level 6) May 2012
Misunderstanding of basic concepts in Number and Algebra can lead to very strange calculation
learner solution procedures. This often yields incorrect mathematics and poor performance in tests.
Numbers are no longer treated as numbers and algebraic expressions become puzzle pieces that are
rotated and fitted toward some desired “picture” of the solution; learners also “cancel” without any
mathematical basis, as the following illustration shows.
In this course we addressed some of the reasons and origins of this type of learner mathematics and
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suggested strategies that would deal with it. The evidence and prevalence of such learner error and
misconceptions are based on actual learner classroom activities (notebooks) and test/examination
scripts.
In giving explanation for these errors, the course addressed:
•
•
•
•
The mathematical meaning of operation;
Mathematical meaning of equation and equivalence.
The cancellation theorem (law) and its role in solution of equations
The underlying axioms that permit procedures/calculation in Arithmetic and Algebra –
Associative, Commutative and Distributive rules.
Short course 3:
Language for the Mathematics Classroom (NQF Level 6) August 2012
This course provided teachers with strategies to teach the language of mathematics and how to
develop both language and conceptual understanding which are integral to each other in the
learning process. The course showed teachers how to utilise different semiotic resources in the
classroom to enhance learning. The teachers learned about typical language structures that are used
in the learning of maths and how to teach learners strategies to decode and understand these
structures. The course showed teachers how specialised vocabulary is vital for accurate conceptual
understanding and provided teachers with strategies for teaching the specialised vocabulary for
mathematics when teaching linear equations. The course also focused on developing strategies
using language and other semiotic resources to help second language English speakers learning
maths through the medium of English.
Short course 4:
Developing the concept of function from number patterns for Senior Phase -January 9th and 26th
2013
The Short Course aims to:
•
•
•
•
•
trace the development of the Number Patterns topic within the CAPS documents from Gr 5
to Gr 10
investigate the use of language in number patterns and its importance in working towards
algebraic language
distinguish between recursive and functional relationships and develop the various
representations of functional relationships required.
flag potential misconceptions and errors
develop the use of multiple choice questions for formative assessment
analyse the number pattern sections in a variety of resources including the Senior Phase
Workbooks.
Camilla Swart- Western Cape Bridge Coordinator- Aug 2013
34
30 April 2013 (10:00-12:00) CT Science Centre
Topic: Sharing best Practice from the SMILES project.
Speakers: Andrew Fair Stellenbosch University
In 2009 the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands agreed to fund the Systemic Education and
Extramural Development and Support (SEEDS) consortium of R150 million for four years. The project
is managed collaboratively by the four universities in the Western Cape and six additional education
service providers. IMSTUS is one of the consortium partners and received funding for SciMathUS,
SMILES (a school intervention programme) and for presenting the ACE in Mathematics. In this
project, consortium members focus on Mathematics and Science teaching and learning, HIV/Aids
education, multi-grade teaching in rural schools, as well as extramural education. Funding received
by IMSTUS was utilised for Numeracy, Mathematics, Mathematical Literacy, Natural Sciences,
Physical Sciences and Life Sciences. Stellenbosch University manages the funding of the SEEDS
consortium.
In 2011 SMILES (Science and Maths Initiative 4 Learners and Educators) had the objective of
improving the following: learner involvement in classes; teachers’ content knowledge; teachers’
assessment abilities; teachers’ didactic skills; and teachers’ classroom management skills.
Programme and Reach:
•
•
•
•
•
•
5 high schools and 10 primary schools in Stellenbosch, Kraaifontein and Paarl.
180 teachers attended 20 workshops.
Each of the 160 participating teachers was visited in the class twice per term on average.
160 teachers attended 16 cluster meetings.
Field trips and road shows are offered to link the learning to real life situations and to enable
teachers and learners to experience that.
Approximately 70 teachers participated in the 6 field trips
Fair explained their ethos and value base to the work. It was best summed up by this quote froma
participant- “As an educator you know that you are going to work with kids, so those kids, they need
somebody who can love them- they need love. So to attract them you must love them first. If they
can see that you love them, they will love you, and because now there will be a good relationship
between the teacher and the learners. Those learners are going to cooperate and immediately,
when you go to the class, everybody will be ready to learn, but again, here, all educators are
honouring their lessons” (HOD Mathematics Mbilwi Secondary, 2009)
He went onto explain the process they took with the schools.
•
•
•
•
•
Relationship building
Needs assessment
Addressing needs and empowerment
Space provision for independence and sustainability
Establishment of Learning Communities
Relationship Building
This they realised became the most important element of the work and took more time and effort
Camilla Swart- Western Cape Bridge Coordinator- Aug 2013
35
than initially anticipated. And would come to realise they would revisit as a step through-out the
process. The process included taking the teachers on a retreat which was important. This was
expensive element of the model but proved to be an valuable investment.
Needs Assessment
The team realised that without providing the basic services and equipment then little could be achieved.
Because there was a cluster of schools they were also able to negotiate a discount on equipment that meant it
was not too much of a drain on resources.
• Calculators
• Science, Maths Kits
• Teaching Aids
• Content Knowledge
• Pedagogical Knowledge
Professional Development
The following were key learnings around professional development in the schools.
• Professional Development needs to be encouraged as ongoing
• include training practice and feedback
• afford opportunities for individual reflection
• school based and embedded in teachers work
• collaborative
• provide opportunities for teachers to interact with peers
• focus on student learning
• encourage and support school-based and teacher initiatives
• rooted in the knowledge base for teaching
• incorporate constructivist approaches to teaching and learning
• recognise teachers as professionals and adult learners
• provide adequate time and follow up support
• accessible and inclusive.
There were however challenges and Fair points these out very transparently to the group. Firstly the prject
itself was very expensive and it was because of the large grant that it was able to take place. The model would
Camilla Swart- Western Cape Bridge Coordinator- Aug 2013
36
al’ib
ali a
.org
need to be adapted to be more cost effective if it was going to be replicated or taken to scale. The learner
benefits were difficult to measure, because the high stakes examination results are necessarily a fair reflection
of the input that was given at a professional development level. Another lesson was that without ongoing
support some of the teachers reverted back to what was most familiar to them, a chalk and talk method.
Finally and importantly the network could always and would need to be developed further to ensure
sustainability.
Fair ended with some key take away points and questions, which was discussed as a group:
• Workshops with a difference (accredited, aligned short courses)
• Learner participation with teachers involved (afternoon classes)
• Using technology like Google Drive and Moodle as LMS could help develop COP
• Teacher must choose to be part of intervention.
Literacy and Numeracy
6 February 2013 (10:00-12:00) Leap School
Topic: Sharing best practice from NaliBali
Speakers: Carole Bloche is the Director of PRAESA.
She has a PhD in early literacy in African settings from the Carl Ozietsky University, Oldenburg and
has served as an early literacy consultant in several African countries. The main thrust of her work is
to transform the way children learn to read and write, by helping to create conditions that put
stories, meaning making and enjoyment at the centre of literacy and biliteracy learning. She has
conducted research into young children’s literacy and biliteracy learning in multilingual African
settings, facilitated training for teachers and teacher trainers and the publication of several books
for children of all ages in various languages. She has also written several books for young children
and between 2004 and 2007, coordinated the Stories Across Africa Project, a core project of the
official language body of the African Union, The African Academy of Languages (ACALAN). Carole is
also a founder and trustee of The Little Hands Trust, which promotes and supports the development
of children’s literature in Africa. She is now leading a team who are carrying out a national Reading
for Enjoyment initiative called Nal’ibali, in partnership with Times Media.
nd it
s
cha
ract
ers.
Nal’ibali (isiXhosa for “here’s the story”) is a
national reading-for-enjoyment campaign to
spark children’s potential through storytelling
and reading. Children who are immersed in great
and well-told stories – and in languages they
understand – become inspired and are motivated
to learn to read for themselves. Such personally
rewarding learning is a recipe for successful
literacy development.
Nal’ibali is driven by PRAESA (the Project for the
Study of Alternative Education), Times Media and
Camilla Swart- Western Cape Bridge Coordinator- Aug 2013
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a growing number of partners. Through sustained mentoring and collaboration with communities,
reading clubs, literacy organisations and volunteers of all ages, as well as a vibrant media campaign,
Nal’ibali is helping to root a culture of literacy into the fabric of everyday life in South Africa.
We have a literacy crisis in South Africa:
•
Most children in SA have to learn in a language they don’t understand yet – and that
teachers do not know well
•
Most children have to learn to read without ever having cuddled up to hear a story in the
arms of someone who loves them
•
Most schools do not have a library and when they do, these are barely equipped
•
There is almost no written South African children’s literature in African languages
•
Grade 3 learners performed at an average of 35% in literacy and 28% in numeracy in a
recent national study.
Research shows:
•
•
Half of Grade 3 children scored less than 35% on standardised assessments of literacy
70% of Grade 6 children scored less than 35% on standardised assessments of language
Bloch explained that the programme has two prongs one to raise general awareness of the critical
link between reading for enjoyment and educational achievement through mass media and face-toface engagement. Part of this is to supply and connect people in South Africa with a range of
appropriate material for children in all SA languages.
The second prong is to inform and guide individuals and organizations on how to use reading for
enjoyment for children’s literacy development. This is implemented by a programme of face-to-face
mentoring, training & support to equip parents, caregivers, teachers, librarians – anyone with a
passion for reading – to start and sustain their own reading clubs or environments
What are Reading Clubs?
•
•
•
•
•
It’s a relaxed environment. Nobody is forced to come. It’s something you choose to do.
It’s a place where people meet regularly to read & tell stories with children.
They also do other fun activities related to stories and books, like paired reading, drama.
Anyone can be involved: toddlers, children, teens, grandparents, volunteers, caregivers.
Some clubs are big with up to 50 children; others are smaller, where adults host small
reading groups with 5-6 children
Camilla Swart- Western Cape Bridge Coordinator- Aug 2013
38
What is the National Campaign?
Can your child
be a somebody?
Do you dream big
for your child?
It starts with a story... Ewe, kuqala ngebali...
Yebo, kuqala ngendaba exoxwayo.
It starts with a story... Ewe, kuqala ngebali...
Yebo, kuqala ngendaba exoxwayo.
Coming from June 4 2012 in the Times every Wednesday in the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal
and Gauteng during term times, in the Eastern Cape Herald, every Tuesday and in the
Daily Dispatch every Thursday. For more information, email [email protected]
Coming from June 4 2012 in the Times every Wednesday in the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal
and Gauteng during term times, in the Eastern Cape Herald, every Tuesday and in the
Daily Dispatch every Thursday. For more information, email [email protected]
Do you know
your child?
It starts with a story... Ewe, kuqala ngebali...
Yebo, kuqala ngendaba exoxwayo.
Coming from June 4 2012 in the Times every Wednesday in the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal
and Gauteng during term times, in the Eastern Cape Herald, every Tuesday and in the
Daily Dispatch every Thursday. For more information, email [email protected]
Linking significance and power of stories with realising children’s potential
In various publications there Bilingual Reading-for-Enjoyment Supplements designed at Praesa. The
partnership with Times Media makes scale possible, with more than 6-million weekly newspaper
supplements with stories, literacy activities and reading club tips:
•
•
•
•
The Times (KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng)- English & isiZulu.
The Times (Western Cape) – English & isiXhosa
PE Herald & The Daily Dispatch (Tuesdays) (Eastern Cape) – English and isiXhosa
An additional 900 000 Nal’ibali supplements distributed free direct to schools & 150+
reading clubs, programmes & NPOs.
In 2013, Nal’ibali supplements will be extended to:
•
•
Include 3 additional SA languages (Afrikaans, Sepedi & Sesotho)
Expand to 2 additional provinces (Limpopo & the Free State)
Importantly the next phase is focussed on building digital platforms. The mobile technology is a
driving force in Africa and harnessing this could enhance the programme even further. Efforts have
been made to make this as easy as possible for example, digital platforms adapted to responsive
design to roll out different views for different devices, incl feature phones. The Site will detect which
device you're accessing with and serve the correct version of the site to you. This way the page load
will be lighter on mobile which is better for SA, taking into account data costs.
A national community-based model for the formation & support of sustainable reading clubs,
activities and events to:
Camilla Swart- Western Cape Bridge Coordinator- Aug 2013
39
•
Translate awareness into action through face-to-face support, mentoring, training to start
and run reading clubs
•
Sustain the running of reading clubs through a network of support & mentoring to entrench
reading-for-enjoyment practices
•
Connect reading clubs to multilingual quality resources and stories for enriched and ongoing
literacy skills development.
Bloch explained that the community of practice could get
involved by implementing the reading club model as
described in the model below.
The discussion was important for the Community of
Practice as the model deals with a critical issue but
has developed mechanisms for scalability and reach
that are cost effective with the right partners e.g.
Times Media. The model is also a powerful example
of collaboration and an openness to share in a social
franchise methodology.
PRAESA
- mentor, guide,
offer
literacy expertise ,
resources, support
Reading club
leaders volunteer;leadin
g actual
facilitation of
reading
clubs,events
and activities
Cluster
mentor – NB
regional
presence:
train,mentor,sup
port and overall
coordination of
NB activities
Story sparkers
- stipended
volunteers community
mobilisation,
supporting
volunteer reading
club leaders
7 May 2013
Topic: Language as a barrier to learning
Speakers: Michal Harty
She joined the UCT Division of Communication Disorders after many years at the Centre for
Augmentative and Alternative Communication in Pretoria. Besides completing her PhD in Speech
Therapy, Michal has been involved in many community projects such as implementing parent
Camilla Swart- Western Cape Bridge Coordinator- Aug 2013
40
training programs as well as being well versed in research, clinical work and teaching.
Harty began by positioning key realities in the education crisis.
 Approximately 40% of children in South Africa grow up in poverty & neglect
 High rates of illiteracy, academic development is compromised
 Children are at risk for delayed development, poor adjustment to school and learning
problems.
She explained her role as a Speech and Language therapist and that what she came to in her
research was that many children, if not most, in disadvantaged schools have a developmental delay
that can be attributed to language being a barrier to learning. Her work has two prongs firstly to deal
with this delay using speech and language therapy techniques and secondly to be able to identify the
learners with more severe issues and refer them on for intensive work.
She explained the developmental milestones that children achieve in their speech over the early
phases in life. Her imperative is that literacy is integrally linked to vocabulary acquisition and
children being able to express themselves through different learning styles. She explained the
following table:
Source: Adapted from Krashen and Terrell (1983).
Stage
Student Characteristics
Preproduction
(500 words)
Early
Production
(1000 words)
Speech
Emergence
(3000 words)
Time Frame
0–6 months
•Has minimal comprehension
•Does not verbalize
•Nods “Yes” and “No”
•Draws and points
•Has limited comprehension
•Produces one- or two-word
responses
•Participates using key words and
familiar phrases
•Uses present-tense verbs
6 months–1
year
Has good comprehension
1–3 years
•Can produce simple sentences
•Makes
grammar
and
pronunciation errors
•Frequently misunderstands jokes
Camilla Swart- Western Cape Bridge Coordinator- Aug 2013
41
Intermediate
Fluency
(6000 words)
3–5 years
•Has excellent comprehension
•Makes few grammatical errors
Advanced
Fluency
The student has a near-native level 5–7 years
of speech.
Teachers are the key facilitator, along with parents in helping children build vocabulary at school
going age and all want all their students to succeed, but:


Teachers meet with increasingly diverse population of learners.
Because of the diversity.....A one-size-fits-all approach to education isn’t the answer
Harty describes one approach to dealing with different language competencies is to grow vocabulary
as fast as possible. Her model that she goes onto describe draws on two main principles Universal
Design for Learning and Response to Intervention.
Universal design for learning (UDL)
"Universal" does not imply a single optimal solution for everyone. The approach rather underscores
the need for multiple approaches to meet the needs of diverse learners. The leading thinking comes
from CAST who come up with 3 guidelines which support UDL
Provide multiple means (methods) of:
1. Representation
2. Action and Expression
3. Engagement
The table below expands on these ideas:
Camilla Swart- Western Cape Bridge Coordinator- Aug 2013
42
This underpins her model, which also includes:








various ways of acquiring information and knowledge
Aim to move children through the stages of second language acquisition as quickly as
possible
Make link between the 2 language systems as overt as possible
Provide alternative(s) to visual and auditory information
Promote cross-linguistic understanding
Activate background knowledge
Guide information processing
Support memory and transfer
Response to Intervention
There is currently much interest internationally around second language acquisition and the problem
is not uniquely South African. Out of this concern the Response to intervention has been developed.
It has a 3 tier prevention approach whereby intensity of intervention is increased at strategic points
to assist children who are not making adequate progress.
RTI is a multi-level prevention system



The primary prevention level includes high quality core instruction.
The secondary level includes evidence-based intervention(s) of moderate intensity.
The tertiary prevention level includes individualized intervention(s) of increased intensity for
students who show minimal response to secondary prevention.
RTI is a multi-level instructional framework
aimed at improving outcomes for all
students, not just those with learning
barriers. For those learners who are
struggling to progress RTI is preventive and
provides immediate support. It allows for
use of resources to first benefit majority of
students
In Harty’s approach she uses UDL as tier 1
strategy to promote language and literacy
development by making use of graphic
symbols –(line drawings) to supplement
spoken language. This will assist in the
following areas:



English second language learners (context/ language barriers)
Children with established disabilities/delays (personal barriers) like Autism, CP, FAS
Children at risk for poor outcomes (environmental barriers)
Camilla Swart- Western Cape Bridge Coordinator- Aug 2013
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Some picture based strategies which can be used as tier 1 interventions include:
 Using schedules
 Adapting books
 Behaviour management strategies to illustrate boundaries e.g. sit quietly.
 Core vocabulary augmented by visual symbols (pictures)
Here is an example of graphic symbols with UDL principles:
In the photograph we see a teacher using the tools. You will note the picture story is the beginning
of the process and the teacher uses the narrative to draw out specific words that are crucial for
second language acquisition. There are specific words that form the foundation of the learning
similar to the Dolch list. The flash cards will
represent the word and a visual representation as
well as the auditory reinforcement from the
teacher, which then addresses the different
learning styles of the learners in the classroom.
What is of interest is that the tools are not
expensive and can easily be produced by the
teacher if they don’t have access to the kit, making
it a cost effective intervention. Also from a
pedagogical perspective it is a skill that can
easily be transferred to teachers, that requires
training and some support.
Below is an example of a chart that can be
used by teachers graphically illustrating the
most important words.
There are only a limited number of words
however this is because it represents a small
Camilla Swart- Western Cape Bridge Coordinator- Aug 2013
44
set of high frequency, re-usable words that makes up around 80% of our spoken words. These words
are important for syntax and for moving beyond single words. Harty points out that the aim is to
build LANGUAGE rather than building VOCABULARY.
Available word lists based in reasearch:
 Banajee list of 26 toddler core words
 Marvin list of 333 alphabetized preschool core words
 Balandin list of 347 core words used by adults
 Stuart list of 174 core words used by seniors
 Hill list of the top 100 core words used by fluent augmented communicators
 Can be obtained from http://www.minspeak.com/CoreVocabulary.php
Benefits for other learners
 Use the picture vocabulary for participation in class (expressive language) – saying more
with less
 Literacy: Sight words, visual sentence building
 Language: Sentence building, awareness of parts of speech, grammatical awareness,
metalinguistic awareness
Harty then shared some helpful activities and tips with the group that they could integrate into their
work:
1. Storytelling with symbols
Aim: Introducing the symbols and their meaning
 E.g. ‘Where’ ‘is’ ‘he’ ‘not’ ‘here’ using the book “Where is Spot’
 Teacher/therapist may use loose symbols initially
 Mount symbols on easel or on communication apron
 Point to symbols while reading
2. Match the symbol
Aim: Getting to know the symbols and locations
 Learners take turns to velcro a loose symbol over the matching
symbol on the board
3. Sentence reading and building
Aim: Combining symbols into sentences
 Therapist/teacher uses core vocabulary to construct sentences
which learners have to interpret/read
 Sequence loose symbols on a strip of velcro
 Learners can change sentences/ create their own
 Learners using AAC can point to their own board and have a
helper who puts the sentence up
4. Using the board for aided input during class activities
 Teacher/therapist points to words while presenting an activity such
as food preparation
 Need to know board well
Harty offered her tools and graphic representations to anyone in the group who would like them for
their classrooms and also said she would be happy to assist and advise.
Camilla Swart- Western Cape Bridge Coordinator- Aug 2013
45
17 June 2013 (10:00-12:00) UCT SDU
Topic: Literacy and UCT
Speakers: Edupeg, UCT SDU, Shine, Speech and Language Department
The purpose of the session was to draw together academia and NGO’s doing working in literacy in
the Western Cape. The aim was that they would foster connections that might in time lead to an
enhancement of localised evidence based practice with the NGOs refining models and approaches
and feeding back to the University.
UCT SDU:
Trained initially as a librarian she then went onto philosophy and combined the two into a Phd.
Philosophy for children is the focus, how to make meaning using text. The crux of the work involves
picture books linking comprehension and low achievement to philosophical thinking. She is
organizing an international conference at UCT 30- Aug- 2 Sept. The crux of her work came from the
inspiration Italian Early years learning and a concern around the lack of creativity in South African
schools. In her work the narrative is the main frame of this curriculum, where pedagogy drives
content rather than the inverse. Murris is responsible for PGCE in Foundation Phase, she aims to
make the distinction between schooling and education. Her interest in the discussion was how you
prepare teachers to teach creatively when the system does not promote that?
UCT Speech and Language:
Is a speech and Language therapist and has been involved in teacher training for some time and this
forms part of her research and outreach work. Her research is based on a concept from the US using
Universal Design for Learning. The focus is in disadvantaged schools where language is a major
barrier to learning. The demand for remedial work and speech and language therapy is too high for
‘one on one’ work. For this reason Harty does a whole based intervention for the entire class. This
way everyone progresses and the children with severe learning delays can be identified. Her model
is based on a core set of words that open up literacy and become the building blocks to vocabulary.
Harty argues language acquisition only occurs in a competent model with scaffolding. What is key is
the use of visual reinforcement where the picture becomes the bridge, and it’s easier to make the
association from home language and classroom language. She is particularly interested in teachers
and the way classrooms are structured. She has a kit with posters and visual cards that anyone can
use.
Edupeg:
Swersky explained her model at Edupeg that works in 130 schools. This is a series of tools that can
be used by teachers to develop skills in literacy and numeracy. The tools are durable and much of
the approach is in supporting teachers by co facilitating classroom learning. She explains the
motivation comes from existing obstacles to effective teaching for example, lack of teacher
confidence, a chalk and talk pedagogy, a lack of active learning, teachers have limited understanding
of different learning styles. She used the example of worksheets not being an adequate
acknowledgement of children’s comprehension to illustrate her point. She explains that the tools
bring fun to the content and the learners are actively engaged, there is a wonderful hum of busy
learning and discipline problems evaporate. The model allows for blended learning where the
Camilla Swart- Western Cape Bridge Coordinator- Aug 2013
46
children learn to work independently freeing up the teacher to focus on particular groups of children
while the others continue with that activity. This methodology may be helpful within teacher
training at the University.
Shine:
Shine has 8 centres and 10 schools, and uses a social franchising model to achieve reach and scale.
Working in schools where language is a barrier. Any child at the end of grade 1 who is not coping
with literacy is referred to the programme. There were 60 of 80- but big reduction this year, perhaps
owing to Caps i.e. time and task or could be a shift in the quality of teaching. They create a Grade 2
hot house, recap for language. The programme happens twice a week with one on one support. The
NGO has designed 36 games- covering common words and phonics. The volunteer doesn’t need to
know the theory and can simply play the game with the learner. This is a mediated learning
experience, having a reading partner reduces anxiety and time to think is built into the sessions.
There is also paired reading, and Shine has 30-40 books in specific levels. In their work they have
found that confidence is the key shift in progress. As the confidence in reading happens the next
step is comprehension and includes reading for enjoyment. The programme acknowledges different
learning styles. Importantly the learners are assessed every 6 months. Parent workshops are making
a real difference e.g. introducing NaliBali books. The challenge in the programme is to find the right
and commited volunteers. The preferred option is to recruit local volunteers from the community in
Westlake, Athlone, Woodstcok, Obervatory, Prestwich, Zonnebloem. Links to academia would be
helpful for volunteer training and could form part of early teacher training.
School Development Unit:
UCT School Development Unit has an Inkanyezi programme for foundation and intermediate phase
in in four schools in Khayelitsha – expanding to twelve schools. It is an accredited course from UCT,
the focus is building reading and writing skills and has language components built into the
curriculum. There is also a short course on thinking and reasoning. The team goes into schools twice
a month, currently piloting PGCE, whereby the teacher mentors UCT student, UCT mentors the
teacher. The idea is to link teacher training with the schools. It’s a long process that requires a
process of relationship building. Work with CAPS that’s what we have to work with. Bursaries were
recently stopped from WCED and they are looking for funders.
HCI Foundation:
Corrine Abel described her passion for education in disadvantaged schools, particularly, and she
explained the importance of supporting teachers. She described the model they have developed in
collaboration with Litha, Edupeg and Leap they took a school and saw what could be achieved as a
collective impact.
The group learnt more about each other’s organizations, research and approaches and was the start
of building the relationship for future work. What seemed like an obvious link was using the NGOs as
potential placements for students. For the NGOs integrating some of the research using picture
books and visual reinforcement for teaching literacy could offer a strong evidence base.
Camilla Swart- Western Cape Bridge Coordinator- Aug 2013
47
ICT
30 January 2013 (10:00-12:00) CT Science Centre
Topic: Sharing Best Practice from Edunova
Speakers: Benji Euvrard and Siobhan Thatcher
Edunova has been evolving an intervention in schools that, not only addresses the support needs of
the computer labs but also, offers training and an entrepreneurial model for unemployed youth.
Benji Euvrard and Siobhan Thatcher shared their learning from developing the Edunova programme.
Edunova has been an active member of Bridge and is highly collaborative, it was important to share
their approach to collective impact as a way to further encourage this within the community.
Benji began explaining the IT Entrepreneur Programme that Edunova has developed. Many schools
in the WCED do have computer labs, however the level of functionality and use varies. This can be
attributed to a resistance from teachers, some of whom lack ICT skills and are overwhelmed with the
idea of integrating ICT into lesson plans. Also, many of the computer labs were installed without ongoing support, as a result if software is out of date or computers are broken there is no expertise
within the school for maintenance.
In the local area there are a number of unemployed youth, Edunova identified the gap and decided
to train the unemployed youth in ICT, to coach teachers in integrating ICT into lessons and also to be
on-site to fix and update computers.
The training model takes up to a year, the first half of the course focusses on basic ICT skills, the
second half has a mentoring element with the trainees based in the schools. The learning from this
early stage was to establish buy-in from the participants. With the high unemployment rate in the
area, many young people jump at the first opportunity presented to them, without necessarily
understanding the full picture. Edunova therefore has an interview process, to ascertain how much
the participants understand about the training would, a baseline of their current skills and if they
have a real interest in ICT. This manages expectations from the start. Another element that needed
more focus, than first anticipated, was the intensity required in the mentoring phase. They found the
more that was invested in the ‘coaching’ and support aspect, the greater the throughput and
confidence of participants.
Edunova found it was also valuable to source participants from the local community as opposed to
widening the net too far. The participants know the community and the integration of learning is
higher when there isn’t an additional need to understand the community context. From a logistics
perspective it also meant that travel costs were lower etc.
Having a sense of belonging to the organization seemed to improve the participant’s experience.
Time was spent on sharing the vision and ethos of Edunova, this involved an induction period where
they would learn the various aspects of the NGO and it helped in ensuring that participants would
represent Edunova proudly in the schools they worked. Each trainee also receives an Edunova t-shirt
as a uniform, this makes them easily identifiable to teachers etc and creates brand visibility in the
Camilla Swart- Western Cape Bridge Coordinator- Aug 2013
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school.
Edunova wants the course to be accredited so that the participants have a qualification and can
move and progress their careers. For this reason Edunova is undergoing accreditation through the
Setas. The learning that Benji shared was that this was an arduous process and should only be taken
on if the organization feels it’s necessary and has the capacity to dedicate to the paperwork
involved.
Once participants have undergone the training, some may go onto to be employed within the
schools or find other ICT roles. However there is a group that may not and to ensure access to a
livelihood the next phase of the programme is being developed. The Edunova team are designing an
entrepreneurial model. Graduates can undergo further training to run a small business from a
converted container that would offer ICT services to the community e.g. internet and printing access
as well as repairs and ICT support.
Siobhan went onto to contextualize Edunova as an organization. She explained their ICT Facilitator
programme which aims to support schools with training and resources around ICT. There are three
main hubs of activity for Edunova their Phillipi Learning Centre, N2 Firlands (Somerset West) and
Duncan Village (Eastern Cape) projects. Building networks and stakeholder partnerships are an
important part of their collaborative approach e.g. Helderberg Schools, South African Extraordinary
Schools Coalition and a collaboration with LEAP schools in Duncan Village.
The group was then asked to discuss two questions:
1) How can ICT be integrated into ‘blended learning’ pedagogy in South African schools?
The group discussed that ICT is often seen as a solution in the education crisis however
without teaching fundamentals and school functionality in place it makes the idea of
integrating ICT is a challenge.
Connectivity was raised as a potential issue, however Jenny King explained that there have
been big shifts in overcoming this for even rural schools and things are looking more
promising than they had in the past.
2) What are some current examples of sharing information within schools and NGOs?
- RSS Feeds
- USSD-Mobile
- Moodle and Wiki
- Repository
- Breadbin
Camilla Swart- Western Cape Bridge Coordinator- Aug 2013
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13 March 2013 (10:00-12:00) CT Science Centre
Topic: WCED Strategy for ICT in schools
Speakers: Osman Sadeck WCED Lead in integrating ICT into schools
The session was informal Osman presented two slides that highlighted the strategy for 2013/2014 at
the WCED.
Camilla Swart- Western Cape Bridge Coordinator- Aug 2013
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He took questions from the group.
It was an encouraging session as the COP was able to see the plans and potentially align to
timeframes e.g. for connectivity.
24 April 2013 (10:00-12:00) CT Science Centre
Topic: Mxit shares strategy and potential collaboration
Speakers: Andrew Rudge from Mxit Reach.
Mxit Reach is centered around using the innovative technology built by Mxit to create free mobile
educational, health care, agricultural and community applications. Mxit Reach is committed to
broad-based education and community upliftment. We aim to build collaborative partnerships
targeting critical areas in specifically Africa but also for the Global Village. Mxit is at the cutting edge
of mobile technology, and through this Mxit Reach is geared for partner participation to:
Our goal is to provide tools on Mxit enabling social upliftment.




Educate in health, agriculture & knowledge sharing.
Enhance the growth in productivity.
Align with advocacy programs in support of the MDGs.
Assist with what they already do bigger, better, faster and cheaper.
Andrew described some of the work that Mxit reach has developed. For example the software can
track relationships and networks visually as in the example below:
In terms of Mxit reach and accessibility:
• South African launched in May 2005
• 10 million active users
• Works on over 3,000 phone types, PCs and tablets
• Makes feature phones SMART
• Very low cost (free on Cell C)
• Exis&ng educa&onal services
• U&lises exis&ng technology
• Pondering Panda Surveys
Various applications can be designed using Mxit – therefore key education
partners such as Siyavula, Fundza and Maths drilling programmes are available.
This means learners have access to content on their mobile phones as in the
example adjacent:
The Pondering Panda application can be used to source data from surveys and illustrate them using
infographics to make the information accessible and easily understood.
Camilla Swart- Western Cape Bridge Coordinator- Aug 2013
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A very interesting project that Mxit reach is working on is a virtual school. This has been a
partnership with UNICEF and aims to offer a holistic application to learners. These would include
content like Fundza or Dr Maths, but also access to counselling for bullying and safer schools
applications. It offers a communication opportunity where learners and teachers can send
homework and assessment back and forth. It even has a scientific calculator as an application, which
is usually an expensive resource for the average learner from a disadvantage school. This project has
potential reach beyond South African borders and could be rolled out to other countries using Mxit.
Rudge explained that there is the potential for bringing in additional partners if there was a clear
synergy.
Caring Schools
29 January 2013 (10:00-12:00) LEAP School
Topic: Nutrition and Schools
Speakers: Anniza De Villiers http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/12/794
http://etd.uwc.ac.za/usrfiles/modules/etd/docs/etd_gen8Srv25Nme4_5842_1299225244.pdf
The prevalence of diabetes is increasing globally. In South Africa the mortality rate associated with
diabetes increased from 176 to 240 per 100 000 between 1985 and 2000. In response to the growing
burden of diabetes and other non-communicable diseases the World Health Assembly adopted the
“Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health (DPAS) in May 2004, in order to reduce the
impact of major risk factors such as unhealthy diet and physical inactivity. The HealthKick
programme in the Western Cape of South Africa is such a programme. It aims to improve nutrition
behaviours and increase physical activity in disadvantaged primary school settings by improving the
school environment and surrounding community through various channels. These include
developing curricula focusing on healthy eating and optimal physical activity and training educators
to implement it. In order to describe and document the enablers and challenges of its
implementation, the implementation process of the HealthKick programme required evaluation. This
was done using process evaluation.
De Villiers began by explaining why childhood nutrition is important in the long term. Poor nutrition
Camilla Swart- Western Cape Bridge Coordinator- Aug 2013
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in childhood has been researched to have direct links to heart disease, diabetes and cancer late rin
adult life. These non-communicable diseases are preventable and put a huge strain on the health
system in South Africa.
The intermediate effects of poor nutrition include; obesity, low learner performance, absenteeism,
and health problems like stunting and headaches etc.
Other examples that are associated to intermediate impact of poor nutrition include:

Iron deficiency
•
Fatigue, shorten attention span, decrease work capacity, impair psychomotor development,
affect physical activity and reduce resistance to infections
Poor cognition and lower academic performance
Meat, poultry, egg yolk, dried fruit, nuts, green leafy vegetables as well as food high in Vit C
to help the body absorb the iron.
•
•

Dental caries
•
•
Most common chronic condition in children
Pain can affect school attendance, eating, speaking and subsequent growth and
development
The project aimed to address poor nutrition and improve health through physical activity. It was
funded by the World Diabetes Foundation and the Medical Research Council. The project was
further bolstered by collaboration from University of Cape Town, University of the Western Cape,
Western Cape Education Department, Department of Health and the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
The Aim: To develop, implement and assess the effectiveness of a school-based intervention
program aimed at promoting the uptake and adoption of healthy lifestyle behaviours (healthy eating
and optimal physical activity) for the prevention of risk factors for the development of diabetes in
children, their parents and their educators in disadvantaged communities.
A needs assessment in the form of a Report Card noted the following about the learners in the
WCED schools they worked in.
Physical Activity
•
•
•
Physical activity, physical education and organised sport at school – Grade D
Screen time – Grade F
Physical fitness levels – Grade C
Nutrition
•
•
•
•
Overweight/obesity – Grade CStunting: Grade DFruit and vegetable intake – Grade D
Fast food intake: Grade F
Camilla Swart- Western Cape Bridge Coordinator- Aug 2013
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•
School tuck shop, snacking and beverage intake: Grade D
The programme design took the following into account:
•
•
•
School interventions were more likely to be successful if they were offered at primary
schools and implemented by qualified educators to children in grades 4-7
All best practice studies were based on a firm theory of behaviour, such as cognitive,
social or stages of change theories.
Multi-component school-based programmes seem to encompass all of the
aforementioned elements.
In response to the growing burden of NCDs and in order to
reduce the impact of major risk factors such as unhealthy diet
and physical inactivity, the World Health Assembly adopted the
"Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health" (DPAS) in
May 2004. As one measure, DPAS calls upon Member States to
develop and implement school policies and programmes that
promote healthy diets and increase levels of physical activity.
The background to the methodology was a situational analysis of
the policy environment and physical activity and nutrition
environment at 100 randomly selected Q1 – Q3 primary schools
from 2 Educational districts
 Urban Metropole North
 Rural Breede River/Overberg (now Winelands and Overberg)
•
An interview with the Principal
•
An observation schedule
The question around what was stopping principals from implementing their own health
programmes, as this was a clear need revealed the following obstacles:
•
•
•
•
•
Too little time with competing priorities
Lack of resources
Unsafe for learners to stay behind after school for programmes
Lack of training to deliver information
Poor facilities
A total of 517 grade 4-6 educators in 82 of the 100 primary schools participating in the study were
screened
Data collection
•
•
•
Anthropometry (height, weight and waist circumference)
Blood pressure measurements
Blood glucose measurements
Camilla Swart- Western Cape Bridge Coordinator- Aug 2013
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•
•
Blood cholesterol measurements and
Completion of a questionnaire on nutrition and physical activity levels.
The objectives of the work were:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Eat a variety of foods every day
Eat more different kinds of fruit and vegetables every day
Eat less fat and oily food
Eat less sugar and sweet foods, such as cakes, doughnuts, sweets, etc.
Eat a regular healthy breakfast daily
Bring healthy lunchboxes to school as a daily routine
Increase physical activity of learners during school time
Increase physical activity of learners after school hours
The team produced Health Tool Kits for the school which included manuals, equipment for activities
and posters etc. These were also given to participants in the Bridge session.
There was also information provided that could be included into
the curriculum with detailed lesson plans for teachers, so that they
felt equipped with content and knowledge to share with the
learners:
The Outcome:
The program had a direct impact on educators' NCD health risk
awareness in all 100 schools but especially in the 16 HealthKick
schools.
It also influenced aspects of the school environment in some schools
such as changes to tuck shops and the implementation of vegetable
Camilla Swart- Western Cape Bridge Coordinator- Aug 2013
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gardens.
On another level the program had an impact on the body of knowledge existing in the academic and
research community of South Africa concerning healthy lifestyle interventions in primary schools.
12 March 2013 (10:00-12:00) LEAP School
Topic: Inclusive Education
Speakers: Caroline Taylor – WC Inclusive Education
Inclusive Education Western Cape is aregistered non-profit organisation. It has promoted and
supported inclusive education practices in the Western Cape since 1995.
We believe that an inclusive education system is one that acknowledges the diversity of its learner
population - differences in learning styles, needs and objectives - and which is sufficiently flexible,
supportive and co-operative to accommodate the diversity. It is a system that truly recognises and
responds to the fact that we all have strengths and weaknesses, and might experience barriers to
effective learning at times.
Our primary aim is to promote and support the development of more inclusive practices in ordinary
pre-schools and schools and to foster increased support of children with learning difficulties,
disabilities or other special needs.
This is achieved through:

Providing information, training & support

Helpline responding to requests for support and information

Raising awareness about rights of children in the education system

Nurturing collaboration between schools, parents, professionals & wider community
Taylor spent some time thinking through with the group what they understand ‘inclusion’ to mean in
their context and work with schools. She also brought along four hypothetical scenarios that would
be common in her daily work. The COP was split into smaller groups and asked to design a support
package for each scenario bearing in mind very limited resources. Taylor then went through what
would be possible and what would not be available. The group enjoyed the exercise and it helped
position the information to come.
She addressed common misconceptions around learning barriers and the support required.



Special Education- a different system for ‘special needs’ children.
Integrated education -Trying to change children so they fit into the ‘mainstream’ system.
The system remains constant but the learner must adapt to the context.
Inclusive education - All children are different and can all learn–the system changes to
accommodate everyone.
Camilla Swart- Western Cape Bridge Coordinator- Aug 2013
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Inclusive Education recognises the right of ALL children to feel welcomed into a supportive
educational environment in their own community. It refers to the capacity of ordinary local schools
and ECD Centres to respond to the needs of ALL learners, including those requiring extra support
because of learning or physical disability, social disadvantage, cultural difference or other barriers to
learning.
She went on to define ‘barrier to learning’ as anything that stands in the way of a child being able to
learn. These barriers could be systemic, intrinsic or extrinsic. Importantly she pointed out that
inclusion is not just about disability!
The work of Inclusive Education Western Cape aims to:
 Identifying vulnerable children
 Preventing drop-out & fall-out
 Bringing in out-of-school children & youth
 Whole-school development to understand inclusion and adapt.
 A systemic model that incorporates Full Service Schools & special schools where higher
levels of support are available, and a resource role can be played
Taylor touched on some of the policy for inclusion, not going into too much detail she identified the
following key documents if members wanted to explore the implications more deeply:
 SA Schools Act – ordinary schools open to all & providing support as far as possible
 Education White Paper 6 – lays out systemic structures
 Guidelines to support implementation:
o SIAS
o Inclusive learning Programmes
Taylor explained the context of inclusion within the Western Cape Education Department. The levels
of intervention have been allocated against level of need – within a spectrum and the diagram below
explains the structures.
She defined support as all activities which increase the capacity of a school to respond to diversity.
Providing support to individuals is only one way of attempting to make learning contexts and lessons
Camilla Swart- Western Cape Bridge Coordinator- Aug 2013
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accessible to all learners. Support is also provided, for example, when schools review their cultures,
policies, practices to determine how supportive these are of the individual educator, parent and
learners needs.” Department of Basic Education SIAS Strategy training manual 2006
The main support role players in the schools are:
Senior Management Team, Institutional Level Support Team, Circuit Team, District Based Support
Team, Inclusive Education Team, Parents, Educators and Community, service providers, NGOs
Taylor explained the Inclusive Education Western Cape’s methodology as being solution focused,
holistic and developmental. They have noted the importance of on-site support and an index for
self-evaluation.
Crucially the work includes supporting parents and helping them understand the needs of their
children. This is usually in the form of advocacy, cascading knowledge, demystifying the concept of
support, encouraging pro-active parenting and teacher partnerships.
Taylor explained there is still much work to be done in this specific sector.

Advocacy and awareness raising about inclusive education and promotion of support for
programmes like CSTL

Ensuring a correct message about what inclusion means is infused throughout education
system and in all schools

Teacher capacity building to respond to diversity in classrooms – skills development is
essential.

Meaningful inter-sectoral collaboration!
“Inclusive education is not something which has to happen in addition to education
transformation in South Africa. It is the means through which education transformation will be
achieved”
23 April 2013 (10:00-12:00) LEAP School
Topic: Department of Health and Western Cape Education Department partnership.
Speakers: Thereza Bothma (WCED)
In the South African context, ‘education for all’ is an underlying principle for all Education
Departments. It is commonly accepted that by enhancing teacher quality, access to learning
materials and improved school leadership, then learner outcomes will improve. The reality in our
disadvantaged schools is that the issues around poverty are stumbling blocks in achieving this.
There are a number of ‘barriers to learning’ caused by poverty. For vulnerable children in poverty
these can be intrinsic for example, malnutrition and psychosocial. They can be systemic problems for
example school infrastructure, attracting good teachers into poor areas. This means that sometimes
the teachers are unable to pick up on the intrinsic issues or respond by adapting their pedagogy to
Camilla Swart- Western Cape Bridge Coordinator- Aug 2013
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meet the needs of these vulnerable children. The system is overwhelmed and if the teacher was able
to assess needs appropriately, the referral system may not be able to react. From a societal
perspective we know from research that engaging parents and community is important in school
functionality but, with pressures of unemployment, chronic disease such as HIV/AIDS, teenage
pregnancy, drugs, alcohol, extreme crime and violence is it realistic to expect engagement from this
group?
For the purposes of this session Bothma looked at two specific streams in ‘barriers to learning’,
firstly how the partnership with Department of Health aims to mitigate some of the health risks that
result in barriers and secondly looking at how the department responds to barriers through
specialized education support.
The WCED has a 10 point plan to strengthen the capacity of mainstream schools to be inclusive and
enhance specialized education support. It acknowledges that is can’t do this isolation and needs an
inter-sectoral approach to deal with the complexity. This includes a health package of support that
aims to be preventative, assess and screen learners and then manage ailments and other issues
arising. The essence of the partnership is to create schools that are centres of care and support for
learners. This has culminated in the Care and Support Programme known as (CSTL) which was
adopted by SADC Education Ministers in 2008.
The goal of the CSTL Programme is to realize the educational rights of all children, including those
who are most vulnerable, through schools becoming inclusive centres of learning, care and support.
The CSTL Programme intends to prevent and mitigate factors that have a negative impact on the
enrolment, retention, performance and progression of vulnerable learners in schools by addressing
barriers to learning and teaching.
The following nine priority areas have been identified for programme implementation:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Nutrition
Health Promotion
Infrastructure, Water and Sanitation
Social Welfare Services
Safety and Protection
Psychosocial Support
Curriculum Support
Co-curricular Support
Material Support
The idea behind the promoting health is a systems approach to ultimately impact on learner
outcomes, like literacy and numeracy. The health policy also looks at teachers and ensuring a
healthy workforce with job satisfaction, that considers stress and burn out. A community that is
engaged where attitude shifts can be sustained particularly around preventative approaches to
chronic diseases. In addition to this provide a learning environment that is safe and clean. This
learning environment can also act as a location to promote access amongst children to the full range
of public health and poverty reduction interventions.
Camilla Swart- Western Cape Bridge Coordinator- Aug 2013
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Steps:
-
-
-
Provide effective skills-based health education (health education should ideally be
incorporated into the school curriculum and provided through the LO curriculum.
Department of Health staff can be used as resources/consultants to assist with providing
health education);
Implement school policies and practices that support health;
Provide a safe, healthy and supportive environment, both physical and psycho-social.
Strengthen relationships with the community.
Draw on local and regional support services;
Promote self-care and wellness of all members of the school community
Engage health and education officials, educators, learners, parents and community leaders
in efforts to promote health
HIV/AIDS is specifically recognized in White Paper 6….however learning is also compromised
by: Chronic conditions (e.g. diabetes, epilepsy); under & over-nutrition; parasite infestation;
acute infections; substance abuse; injury
Factors in the school environment leading to poor health include poor sanitation & hygiene;
poor nutrition; lack of physical exercise; bullying
Health Awareness and Promotion is built into the curriculum in the following ways:
-
-
Health is addressed as content topics from grades R-12 in the Life Skills (Grades R-6) and Life
Orientation (Grades 7-12) curriculum. The aims are reflected as:
Knowledge of personal health and safety, Creative Arts and Physical Education (Grades R-3)
Guide learners to make informed and responsible decisions about their health and environment;
Creative Arts and Physical Education (Grades 4-9)
Guide learners to make informed and responsible decisions about their own health and wellbeing and the health and well-being of others; Career choices and Physical Education (Grades
10-12)
The Foundation Phase (Grades R-3) includes issues like: my body; good basic hygiene practices;
exercise; healthy habits; protecting our bodies from illnesses; healthy living; health protection.
Camilla Swart- Western Cape Bridge Coordinator- Aug 2013
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-
The Intermediate phase (Grades 4-6) focuses on: personal hygiene; dietary habits of children;
personal health; healthy environment; HIV and AIDS education.
The Senior Phase (Grades 7-9) deals with: substance abuse; and common diseases: TB, diabetes,
epilepsy, obesity, anorexia , HIV and AIDS
The FET Phase (Grades 10-12) focuses on health and exercise; role of nutrition in health; healthy
lifestyle choices; human factors that causes ill-health; lifestyle diseases.
Inclusion and Institutional Level Support Teams:
•
Where the learning or developmental barrier is more serious it may require the support of
specialists. Educators need advice and help from colleagues to think through a support package
for these learners from the point of referral to how the learner will be assisted in the school. In
order to facilitate the identification of learners with serious barriers and to monitor the support
within school Institutional Level Support Teams are established. It is the policy of WCED that
every school has such a committee. An ILST usually consists of experienced educators, but can
include other relevant role players such as professionals, parents, and even learners. The core
team is made up of the principal, heads of department from various phases, Grade head,
learning support educator, Life Orientation teacher, member of the governing body. The main
function is to ensure the school is thinking strategically about preventing barriers to learning for
learners, identifying the learners with serious barriers, together analyze referrals and resources
to draw up and then monitor Individual Education and Development Plans (IEDP). The
committee will also consult with specialists regarding the IEDP and communicate the needs of
these learners to district based support teams. The continuum of care is in the form of SIAS,
which is a set of forms on how the support needs of learners should be identified and how they
should be supported in the education system. ILST coordinators will feed information to the
Education and Health Coordinating Committee. Feedback from DoH will be given to ILST via the
EHCC.
A goal is to ensure that the learners with special educational needs are successfully integrated into
the mainstream.
Health addresses the following through school nurse visits and partnerships with local clinics:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Dental caries
Vision problems
Hearing problems
Ear nose and throat problems including impacted wax and otitis media.
Obesity
Skin problems including scabies and ringworm.
•
Establish joint steering committees with the WCED and DoH districts management to
oversee districts-based planning and implementation of ISHP
•
Ensure that the ISHP plans is developed and integrated into the district health plans.
Camilla Swart- Western Cape Bridge Coordinator- Aug 2013
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•
Allocate a person to oversee and manage the ISHP.
•
Conduct an audit of existing capacity for the delivery of the ISHP
•
Appoint school health outreach teams who are responsible for providing and co-ordinating
provision of the school health package to all targeted learners
•
Strengthen existing systems for communication, transport, equipment
referral pathways;
•
Monitor implementation of the ISHP as outlined in the ISHP monitoring and evaluation
plan
•
Conduct capacity building of both health professionals and educators
and two-way
• The ISHP provides a systemic approach so that these problems are tackled holistically. The
school tackles its problems within its own context. Thus the school itself takes
responsibility for prioritising its needs and accessing resources.
• Teacher identifies barriers to learning
• (SIAS) Screening, Identification, Assessment and Support
• ILST – Institutional Level Support Team
• ISP – Individual Support Plan (Teacher, Parent and ILST)
• District Based Support Team (DBST)
• Circuit Support Team (Psychologist, Social Worker and Learning Support Advisor)
• Makes use of the IE team (Psychologist, Occupation Therapist and Learning Support)
• School Doctor or Health Clinic and Day Hospital or Tygerberg or Red Cross Hospital, City of
Health (ECD)
• Every learner will receive a medical screening once by the DOH during each of the four
educational phases, as well as a screening using the Screening
•
Intervention Assessment Support (SIAS) tool in Gr R/1 by the WCED. Additional individual
Abnormalities Found During Gr 1 Screening at Schools in
The Metro Jan- July 2010
Other
3206
Skin Problems
4230
9144
Dental Problems
Speech Problems
184
Hearing Problems
170
ENT Problems
3856
Vision Problems
1984
923
Eye Problems
Gross Motor
Underw eight
Overw eight
118
416
628
Camilla Swart- Western Cape Bridge Coordinator- Aug 2013
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assessments will also be offered to all learners whose learning is sub-optimal, at the
request of an educator or parent or at the request of the learner (self-referral). Assisting
ILST’s to identify at-risk learners and address barriers to learning
•
Use appropriate resources
•
Stress, depression, Peer educator groups
•
District Education and Health Coordinating Committee (DEHCC) consist of both members
from DoH and members from WCED at Education District.
Bothma explained the importance of record keeping, especially in to relation to a collaboration
between two departments. They have designed a standard template that means a learner will have
elements of their health tracked and recorded and this will follow them through the school tracking
system e.g Semus.
Post School Opportunities
18 March 2013 (10:00-12:00) Leap School
Topic: McKinsey Report on Bridging the gap between Education and Employment
Speaker: Camilla Swart (Bridge)
Post School Community of Practice met to discuss the recent McKinsey Report on bridging the gap
between Education and Employment. While the report does not focus on South Africa it was seen as
helpful to compare international best practice.
This report focuses on skill development, with special attention on connecting education to
employment. To build a knowledge base, McKinsey studied more than 100 approaches in 25
countries. To build a strong empirical base, we also surveyed more than 8,000 young people,
employers, and education providers.
Unemployment represents not just a gigantic pool of untapped talent; it is also a source of social
unrest and individual despair. Worldwide, young people are 3 x more likely than their parents to be
out of work. In Greece, Spain, and South Africa, more 50% of young people are unemployed, and
jobless levels of 25 % is common in Europe, the Middle East, and Northern Africa. In OECD countries,
more than 1in8 of all 15- 24year olds are not in employment, education, or training (NEET).
International Labour Organization estimates 75 million young people are unemployed. Including
estimates of underemployed youth would potentially triple this number.
Paradoxically, there is a critical skills shortage. This problem is not likely to be a temporary blip, it will
probably get worse. Across the 9 countries only 43% of employers surveyed could find enough
skilled entry-level workers. The McKinsey Global Institute estimates by 2020 a global shortfall of 85
million high- and middle- skilled workers.
Clearly, employers need to work with education providers so that students learn the skills they need
to succeed at work, and governments also have a crucial role to play. But there is little clarity on
Camilla Swart- Western Cape Bridge Coordinator- Aug 2013
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which practices and interventions work and which can be scaled up.
Why are the three major stakeholders not seeing the same thing? This is because they are not
engaged with each other. One-third of employers say they never communicate with education
providers; of those that do, fewer than half say it proved effective.
Learners
Cost is the top barrier for tertiary access. However, 70% say they would pay for additional education
if it would improve their career outcomes. Parents and young people, need data about career
options and training pathways. Also 40 % of youth report that they were not familiar with the
market conditions and requirements even for well-known professions.
The importance of apprenticeships is highlighted by 60 % of youth say that on-the-job training and
hands-on learning are the most effective instructional techniques, but fewer than half of receive
that.
Many students choose courses half blindly, without a vision of whether there will be a demand for
their qualifications upon graduation. Fewer than half are confident that if they had to do it again,
they would study the same subject. A quarter of youth do not make a smooth transition to work;
their first jobs are unrelated to their field of study and they want to change positions quickly.
What seems to be making the difference?
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Direct, early, and focused intervention and it is important to introduce lower-cost
educational options and effective financing.
They need guidance on career paths, postsecondary placement opportunities, and wages.
Interventions tailored to individual circumstances, such as one-on-one outreach, assigned
mentors and guidance counsellors, and customized solutions.
Youth who actively manage their decisions about their education and career.
Invited high-school students to tour the plant with their parents to get a first-hand
impression. “Parents who used to say ‘absolutely not’ change their minds completely
when they see [the facilities],”
Outreach workers go door-to-door in villages to speak to youth and their parents about
the opportunities on offer with blue-chip companies. engages community leaders—from
village elders to local officials—
Career counselling over the phone or in person
They need to see for themselves that people from their own background can succeed.
In “Education for education,” Pratham provides skills training to youth who volunteer in its
tutoring and mentoring programs for primary school students.
Creating paths for these youth that do not force them to choose between studying and
working would allow more of them to fully benefit from their desire for education.
Educators
There are a number of issues facing the role of educators. There needs to be more focus on
vocational roles to bridge the skills gap. However, occupations that require a higher level of studies
tend to carry more status.
Teaching talent may be low or variable, or the cost of physical expansion at existing or new locations
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is high.
Students want to find a job suited for their skills—and fast. Employers want to find the right talent.
Educators value high placement rates as an indication of the relevance and quality of their programs.
What the results imply is that educators could pay more attention to what is for many students a key
priority of pursuing education—getting a good job.
The report highlighted the importance of tertiary readiness and assessing this more meaningfully
e.g. a hot debate in South Africa around Matric results. One example is the WorkKeys® Assessment
System, which is best known for its college-admittance exam. WorkKeys is used to measure the
extent to which an individual has the foundational (and advanced) skills required for success in the
workplace. Also in the UK the National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) is used.
What seems to be working?
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Employers and educators need to communicate with one another resulting in a standard
core curriculum complemented by employer-specific top ups
Embed career planning into the school curriculum.Schools have also been working with
universities to ensure that their vocational curriculum allows for a seamless transition to a
university.
In “Learn now, pay later,” students pay 30% of tuition during the course and the rest in
installments after they have secured a job and started earning.
Australian government also requires all higher-education institutions to collect
information on their graduates’ employment activities four months after their course.
Good Universities Guide, which has created a five-star rating system based on three
graduate outcome metrics.
Classes online allows Udacity and other MOOCs such as Coursera and EdX to deliver the
same content to hundreds of thousands of students from almost every country in the
world at a minimal cost
Employers
“People ask us why we invest so much to develop the skills of our people,” a Siemens executive
explained. “I ask them instead, ‘How much is it going to cost you to not have skilled workers?’”
Larger corporates have shown some success in major investment in skills development. However
many small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) do not have the resources and capabilities to invest
in comprehensive training. At the same time, they may struggle to find the right talent, due to the
relative lack of resources in identifying and recruiting skilled people. It therefore makes sense to
seek out third parties to help.
The report surfaces the need for investment in ‘soft skills’ development. Employers cite work ethic
and teamwork as the most important skills in almost every country. In addition, Employers rate
youth leadership competencies higher than providers do.
What seems to be working?
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31% of employers are successful in getting the talent it requires. What distinguishes these
employers is that they reach out regularly to education providers and youth, offering them
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time, skills, and money.
Providers will guarantee their students a job, and employers will “prehire” youth and
oversee—and even
But raising the reputation of relatively unpopular jobs matters in broader terms.
Scaling up distance learning could be a cost-effective way to provide more educational
opportunities.
By involving employers in financing the training and education of youth, we can allow
more youth to enrol in otherwise unaffordable programs, as well as encourage employers
to be more invested in the subsequent intersections of building skills and finding a job.
The most common model is to place students in internship or apprenticeship
opportunities to acquire hands-on experience on the job. Students spend a portion of
their time at the workplace, applying their classroom learning in real-life situations. This
model can, however, be difficult to implement at scale. Serious-game simulation could
become the apprenticeship of the 21st century for example; providers are also using
physical simulations, such as setting up a faux hotel (India) or creating a startlingly realistic
coal mine (Australia). TAFE Box Hill Institute features a fully equipped hospital ward,
including an intensive-care unit with sophisticated human dummies.
System
Develop detailed and comprehensive information about various occupations. This could be in the
form of a web site that features comprehensive job profiles with information on salaries, hours
required, qualifications, industry trends, and training programs. This database can provide projected
job openings, estimated earnings, and specific educational programs that will prepare an individual
for a given occupation. Education providers can purchase access for their students to this database
on a subscription basis. Also users can compare the performance of different institutions by
graduation rates, employment, and salaries.
Research is needed to assess longitudinal dimension to this data, meaning that the trajectory of
students is tracked over time. Countries need system integrators to take a high-level view of
fragmented education-to-employment system.
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To work with education providers and employers to develop skill solutions, gather data,
and identify and disseminate positive examples. Such integrators can be defined by sector,
region, or target population.
Catalyzing stakeholder action in priority areas
Monitoring and managing the quality of outcomes.
The group wondered how the role of SETAs could be included in this.
The problem, then, is not that success is impossible or unknowable—it is that it is scattered and
small scale compared with the need. Education providers and employers actively step into one
another’s worlds. The most transformative solutions involve multiple providers and employers
working within a particular industry or function. These solve the skill gap at a sector level; by
splitting costs among multiple stakeholders, investment is reduced for everyone.
Non Profits and think tanks can also be helpful. In the United States, the Aspen Institute, Lumina
Foundation, and the Gates Foundation are investing heavily in the study of interventions to figure
out what works then spreading awareness through publications and annual “best practice” awards.
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This emphasizes the role of Bridge.
The group went onto look at case studies and discuss if these ideas could be integrated into a South
African context.
8 May 2013 (10:00-12:00) CT Science Centre
Topic: Career Planet
Speaker: Thandy Tyhaliti
Career Planet is a technology-based, not-for-profit, company that provides an online eco-system of
support for unemployed youth, with the aim of increasing and facilitating employment.
Their core business is the provision of (mainly entry level) opportunities, career guidance, and skills
development, including entrepreneurial skills.
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Link users with opportunities
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Provide:
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CV creation tool
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Career guidance service
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Online learning and work seeker support which includes: Articles on selfdevelopment i.e. (How to Market yourself, How to get experience when you
can’t get a job etc.)
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Career and training related information
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Entrepreneurship support
Carer Planet targets young people 15 – 35, mostly from disadvantaged communities, many of whom
are not familiar or confident in using online support. This group also has limited access to internet
cafes and libraries etc. From the perspective of career guidance their exposure is typically limited to
the influence of family and friends. In addition understanding the jargon and style of job
advertisements can be confusing and unfamiliar. The result is they feel despondent and frustrated,
this in turn emans many of them lose motivation and there is a continuation of unemployment and
under-employment cycles.
Career Planet hopes to be strategic in the information and opportunities that they are sharing. They
include caeer options beyond the traditional well known occupations. The types of occupations
showcased are also in the context of analysis into scarce and critical skills for the South African
economy. There is a knowledge of employers and their needs.
Social media is a vital tool to their work
Facebook Reach and Impact:
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1341 Likes; Quality career advising engagements
Challenges: Facilitating meaningful dialogue; getting honest feedback;
getting more frequent and higher volumes of career guidance questions
from users
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1263 followers
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Quicker sharing (RT) of our opportunities
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Challenges: More organisations and companies follow than seekers. It is
hard to measure whether the unemployed youth are on Twitter
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www.careerplanet.co.za
Internet usage in SA grew 25% in the past year (2012, World Wide Worx).
Many of our users access online portals like ours at internet cafes and
libraries. This is more frequent in urban areas.
Challenges: Libraries offer limited times for patrons, frustrating users and
therefore discouraging them from visiting their local library.
Twitter
The Website
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Mobi Site
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www.careerplanet.mobi
7.9 million South Africans accessed the Internet via their cellphones, and
that 2.48 million did not have access to computers.
About 6 million people received the Internet through computers, laptops,
and tablet computers… 90% used their cellphones. (2012, World Wide
Worx)
Computer Literacy: How to deal with the 12th language being the internet
Users access to affordable data
Reaching the rural areas where there is a greater need
Assessing and measuring our impact
The importance and benefits of FET Colleges
Partnership with Juta for Work Readiness:
Career Planet has partnered with Juta to role out a work readiness programme for applicants.
Statistics offered by the National Council of Provinces show that in our schools there is a drop-out
rate of 64%. What is going to happen to the learners that did not make it to Matric and what can be
done about it? Juta’s General Education and Training / Adult Education and Training (AET)
qualification provides a bridge to FET tertiary training. AET is identified as a critical priority in South
Africa as it plays a vital role in equipping adult learners with the necessary knowledge, skills and
values needed for social and economic development and the promotion of social justice and
equality. This course is accredited at a NQF 1 Qualification level by Umalusi. The first course begins 1
June 2013 and the duration is 6 months. It is a Blended learning approach involving both face-to-face
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tutoring and online learning with tablets. Core to the curriculum is communication studies and
mathematical literacy, time-management, career pathing and understanding the work place.
Examples of Electives:
Small, Medium, and Micro-sized Enterprises (SMME), Economic and Management Sciences,
Technology
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Access to FET Colleges
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Marketable to prospective employers
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Confidence building
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More computer savvy
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Impact an entire family
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The bridging qualifications will help youth and adult learners become employable and in turn
will contribute and assist in decreasing the youth unemployment rate which is currently
about 50%.
After School Tutoring and Extra Curricular Activities
31 January 2013 (10:00- 12:00) CT Science Centre
Topic: Capacity Building for Education NPOs
Speaker: Johanna Stamps, Sarah Leigh Paul, Carla Ferriera, Dominique Brand, Louise Jones.
Sarah Leigh Paul from Africa@Heart is a marketing and communications consultancy aimed at
assisting NGOs and small businesses in Africa.
A short reflective exercise answering these questions started off the session:
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Who are we?
Why are we here?
How are we unique?
How can we make a dramatic difference?
Who cares?
Do you care?
Do your staff live your brand with vigour and convey it with passion?
Can you in 3 sentences convey to people what you do?
Is your story powerful, believable and exciting? Do you BELIEVE in your brand?
Words of Wisdom- Building your campaign:
1. Start off slowly
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2. Use your contacts
3. We don't have the resources of big brands so we have to keep it simple. More complicated
does not mean more successful, it just means bigger budget and more resources required.
4. We also have to be willing to muck in and get dirty. You don't have the resources to
outsource activations, so you have to be willing to get out there and to market your
organisation yourself.
5. Sometimes you have to spend money to make money. You have to start building a small
marketing budget line into your yearly budget. Without a little spending money you are
really going to battle to create an effective campaign.
6. Engage ambassadors who essentially become free advertising for you. (PS you NEVER pay an
ambassador – they must believe in your brand as much as you do and be there for the love of
it).
7. People have become a bit jaded about Social Media. It is an effective tool when used with
other marketing tools. That is not to say it is not incredibly powerful on its own but first you
have to make it into a powerful tool, it takes work, but it is definitely worth it in the end. If
you want to use social media as a marketing you need to have a social media strategy and
you need someone to manage it.
8. Don't be scared to make some noise – which campaigns do you think raise the most money
the controversial ones e.g. rhino poaching, but rhino poaching wasn't always a hot topic it
was made into one.
9. Be innovative – don't copy what everyone around you is doing, even if it has worked for
them, it has been done so it very well may not work for you. There is so much noise out there
to be heard you have to stand out, to stand out you have to be different.
10. My number one rule of engagement when it comes to campaigns... they are launched to the
staff first. Every campaign I have worked on gets launched to the organisations staff first and
everyone gets involved. Get them excited and you can without a doubt get others excited.
Louise Jones from the old Mutual Foundation gave the perspective of the funder and was able to
highlight what funders look for in proposals. She explained her role as a steward responsible for CSI
funding that ensures long term positive social impact that also is able to meet business sustainability
issues.
Here she shares her tips for writing effective funding proposals:
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Does it fit into Foundation’s focus areas?
Funding mandate?
Any government/local authority links? (For us, private-public partnerships are
good.)
Provincial representation?
National footprint?
Measurable impact?
What indicators of social impact?
Is there available budget?
What is beneficiary BEE %?
Cost ratio per beneficiary?
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Is there sound governance in place – audited financial statements, registered
NPO status, Board of Directors, constitution, tax clearance, credible history, what
M&E measures, any external agency verification or industry recognition etc.
Competency/qualifications of people managing the project?
She also outlined common mistakes and best practice:
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Do your homework before submitting a proposal – research donor websites,
speak with programme manager.
Don’t ‘cut and paste’ from one organization to the next.
Download and use the correct application forms (if any).
Enquire about timeline for submission (if any) – Trustee meeting schedules etc.
Enquire about any applicable funding limits / cycles.
If it’s possible, address donor needs when drafting your funding proposal.
If possible, try and have a dedicated person to handle funding applications,
donor reports, governance questions etc.
You are the expert in your field! If donor requests something which is not
advisable, educate them, don’t just accede!
Johanna Stamps a fundraising consultant shares her experience and ideas:
The Fundraising Spectrum
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Grants (CSI / Foundation)+
Online Giving+
Events / Experiences+
Income Generating+++
She explains the secret to a good fundraising strategy is to align mission, means of engagement with
the ‘ask’.
Carla Ferriera from Given gain explained the benefits of online giving. The diagram below describes
their model:
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She went onto share tips on how to maximise the impact of online giving:
Her tips were:
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Don’t expect funds to flow in by itself
Do take care of the admin
Empower by giving examples
Encourage creativity
Nurture the relationship
Dominique Brand a monitoring and evaluation expert was able to share some brief information on
linking Monitoring and Evaluation to your fundraising strategy.
Monitoring: On-going and systematic watching over of activities and outputs
Evaluation: A systematic examination of a project’s achievements compared to its planned
objectives and expected outputs.
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The group was able to discuss what is meant by the various terms and stages as outline below asking
questions relative to their context.
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Activities: What you do to achieve the changes you expect
Input: It can be cash/people/buildings
Output: What the activities produce
Immediate Outcome: What you expect to happen as a result of the activities
and the outputs short-term benefits for the target group
Intermediate Outcome: What you expect to happen as a result of the activities
and the outputs long-term benefits for the target group
Long term Outcome: This should be related to your objectives or goal
Indicator: Monitoring systems consists of sets of indicators that measure
processes, outputs and outcomes.
Her tips:
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Include M&E from the beginning
Make sure everybody commits to it
Set your own deliverables / indicator
Don’t set yourself up for failure – be realistic
Make it simple and flexible
Make sure you have the resources for it
Don’t worry – it’s not that hard!
Make sure your outcomes are:
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Specific
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o
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Measurable
Achievable
Relevant
Time bound
14 March 2013 (10:00- 12:00) CT Science Centre
Topic: Reflective Practice for NPOs
Speaker: Jillian Reilly
Jillian Reilly is an American writer, consultant, wife and mother now living in South Africa. She has
worked in the global aid industry across Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe for more than 15 years. She
recently published a book called ‘Shame: Confessions of an Aid worker in Africa’. The book is about
twenty-three-year-old Jillian Reilly went to southern Africa in 1993 at the close of apartheid,
desperate to do good. She only planned to stay for six months, but the promise of playing savior was
just too great. Jillian’s career in the aid industry flourished.
To the world, she looked like a successful ‘do-gooder’ — even a precocious one. If only she weren’t
being suffocated by her own sense of futility. Jillian left southern Africa in 2000 quite clear that the
only person she could save was herself. 'Shame' is her story: the story of a young American woman
growing up, and old, in Africa. Realizing her own limitations, and the sorry realities of the big
business of doing good.
The purpose of the session was to facilitate a discussion for those working in the Non-profit sector to
reflect on the way they are engaging with beneficiaries and some elements of ego that are intrinsic
in how we work.
Jillian described her story and then there was open dialogue as people in the room reflected on the
obstacles and frustrations of the work and the ways they can be more self-aware and take
cognisance of the power dynamics involved in any helping role.
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