A fundamental aspect of the Edufundi Support Programme design is to ensure that it works alongside the Department of Education - complimenting and supporting their work. In doing so, the effectiveness of the programme is improved.
Our three-part Mentorship Series brings together four expert voices to explore the topic of educator mentorship in South African schools. Why is mentorship needed, and what makes it successful or not? What deep change can mentorship bring about - and how can we ensure its sustainability, for the future of all learners?
Walking into Impendulo Primary School in the Makhaza neighbourhood of Khayelitsha, you would not imagine that it hosts 1,530 learners in small classrooms with limited resources. The school is immaculate and has a tranquil energy to it. Learner behaviour and discipline has a large role to play in this, according to the teachers and deputy principal at the school.
Sustainability. It’s a word that is used in many different contexts these days - from the environment to development work. But what does it mean in the context of Edufundi?
A recent article published in the Daily Maverick explored the need for newly qualified teachers in South Africa to be properly supported and mentored in their first years of teaching.
In Saturday’s Eastern Cape workshop, as soon as people started to arrive the room began to spill over with love and support. The support that schools receive comes from many places.
“Edufundi came at the right time for me, I did not know what to do but now I am confident,” said a Departmental Head in the Eastern Cape who started in a new position in a new school last year. She was echoing the words of a young deputy principal in KwaZulu-Natal who is excited about the coaching she is receiving that has helped her to get direction and order in her work.
“This is the first workshop where I didn’t want to leave!” says one participant. “I loved you last year and I love you this year still, Mrs V; I’m always excited to come to these workshops,” says another. Statements like this can be heard from many who attend Edufundi’s Lead Like a Champion workshops.