Learning Guide: Unit 6 - School-based aftercare.

Creating a Caring School A Guide for School Management Teams Unit Six School-based aftercare SAIDE

UNIT SIX
School-based aftercare

Introduction

Early childhood development, improved nutritional provision and keeping children in
school for as long as possible are considered to be three key educational investment
areas for vulnerable children. Increased participation in schooling has long-term
development and social benefits beyond education and employment opportunities in
adult life. Children who are able to participate successfully in learning and teaching are
less likely to stay away from school (Richter, L. and Chandan, U: 2008)1. But the
dilemma facing large numbers of vulnerable children is that their ability to participate
fully in learning is compromised because of their disadvantaged home environment in
which their basic needs are not met. As the rates of absenteeism, interrupted schooling
and drop out are generally higher for vulnerable children, they often fall behind and
this in turn leads to poor performance and a higher likelihood that they will stay away
from school. The challenge for schools is to break this cycle. They can do this by
offering quality education and supporting vulnerable learners to keep up with their
schoolwork and achieve success. In the previous unit we established that a well-run
school nutrition programme is a key support intervention since there is a close
association between good nutrition and increased capacity for learning. Providing
support to vulnerable learners in the afternoon when formal lessons are over is not only
a strategy for helping to keep learners safe, but also an effective way of helping them
to improve their performance and increase school attendance. But are schools getting
involved in this kind of support?

Some of the schools selected for our study had aftercare arrangements as part of their
strategy for supporting vulnerable learners. In this unit we take a closer look at these
initiatives and discuss the different approaches to aftercare that we encountered. We
reflect on the role of school management in aftercare initiatives for vulnerable learners
and also on how the community and local businesses can be drawn in to support such
initiatives. Considering various contexts, we conclude by reflecting on the kind of
aftercare support you can provide at your school.

Key questions

This unit explores the following questions:

1. What are the benefits of aftercare support for learners?
2. What types of aftercare support strategies can be organised?
3. What is involved in managing school-based aftercare support?
4. Which aftercare strategy is most suitable for your school?

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Outcomes

By the end of this Unit you should be able to:

Recognise of the benefits of aftercare support for learners.
Describe the different types of aftercare strategies and what is involved in
organising each one.
Recognise the role that external organisations and the community can play in
school-based aftercare programmes.
Reflect on your own school context and identify the type of aftercare support
strategy that would be most suitable.
Identify the most suitable approach for your school to set up an aftercare facility.

What kind of aftercare do schools offer?

A number of schools have recognised the need to provide learners with some form of
support when formal school activities close for the day. Some benefits of this kind of
support are reflected in the words of a learner who attends aftercare.

I like staying at the aftercare because I feel safe and have a place to do my homework.
I also have fun playing with other children and enjoy the games we play. Before I came to
the centre I was alone and felt very sad.

The examples of aftercare support described in the case studies (below) will highlight
the different ways in which aftercare support can be offered and the value that these
initiatives can add to the lives of vulnerable learners and the school.

Activity 1
ACTIVITY How do principals organise aftercare support at their schools?

As you read the three case studies, you will notice that each of the schools is located in
a different context and that their aftercare service reflects the varied levels of resources
available to them.

You can compare information about the three aftercare initiatives by writing down
your answers to the questions for each school in the table below.

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123


Oxford Ndlovu Ngesi

Who attends?

What is on offer?

Who manages
the programme?

Where do the
resources
come from?

How does it
support
the school

We have already encountered these three case study schools in earlier units of this
guide.

In this Unit, we will examine the aftercare facilities that Oxford Girls’ Primary, Ndlovu
Primary and Ngesi Primary have established.



CASE STUDY 9 – AFTERCARE ORGANISED BY THE SCHOOL IN AN URBAN SETTING

The aftercare facility at Oxford Girls Primary School runs during school time and in the holidays. The Grade R (Reception)

teacher runs this facility and she gets help from parents, who volunteer their services to the aftercare programmes in lieu of

fees. The aftercare offers a meal and a set period for the children to do their homework. The Grade R teacher liaises with

her colleagues if she picks up a need for remediation in any particular area during the homework session. At the end of the

afternoon a programme of ‘fun’ activities which including reading, drawing, playing and sport activities are facilitated.

The aftercare programme is also available to some young children who attend an Early Childhood Development (ECD) Centre

that is situated across the road from the school and whose parents are unable to fetch them when the centre closes at

around midday. In so doing, the school’s services are extended even further into the local community.

CASE STUDY 10 – AFTERCARE ORGANISED BY AN EXTERNAL ORGANISATION
IN A RURAL SETTING

Ndlovu Primary School is situated in a rural area of Kwa-Zulu Natal. The school serves a very poor community where water

is scarce and agricultural activity is limited to small-scale cattle and goat rearing. We first introduced Ndlovu Primary in Unit

5 when we discussed its nutrition programme that is integrated into the aftercare facility.

The aftercare programme is run by NOAH (Nurturing Orphans of AIDS for Humanity). The aftercare facility receives funding

from NOAH, as well as from the nearby Phinda game reserve and from the Media in Education Trust Africa (MiETA). It is a

community-based programme run at Ndlovu school. It serves about 258 vulnerable children from Ndlovu Primary School. It

also takes in orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) from the surrounding schools including the local secondary school.

Typically, the teachers from the schools alert the aftercare professional staff and volunteers to the fact that specific children

are in need of the support offered by the aftercare facility. The children and their care givers (where applicable) are

approached by the volunteers and invited to attend the aftercare. The aftercare programme runs from 13H30 until 16H00

during the school term.

The aftercare programme is comprised of:

• a meal served daily

• supervised homework

• sports on a Tuesday (mainly soccer and netball played on an piece of empty ground and supervised by volunteers)

• craft on a Wednesday (the craft work is taught by traditional crafters from the community – beadwork, weaving as well

as pottery - some of which is sold to tourists)

• home visits undertaken on Fridays by volunteers from the aftercare facility

• opportunity for counselling

During the holidays the programme of activities continues, usually starting at 12h00 noon with a meal. The programme then

ends with another meal at 16h00.

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CASE STUDY 11 – AFTERCARE ORGANISED BY THE SCHOOL IN COLLABORATION
WITH A COMMUNITY GROUP IN AN URBAN SETTING

Ngesi Primary is a fairly large school situated in a township of the East Rand of Gauteng. We have also already read about

this school in Unit 4 when we discussed setting up networks of support.

One of the more active committees in the school is the Welfare committee, which spearheads the school’s programmes for

Orphaned and Vunerable Children. It is led by Mrs Manana, a Grade 5 teacher. The work of the committee includes the

aftercare programme, as well as overseeing the provincial nutrition programme and a food garden.

As we have already read, the aftercare at Ngesi Primary School started as an initiative of some grannies in the township.

The grannies were motivated by their concern for learners left to their own devices in the afternoons after school. In particular

they were anxious about the young girls, who were vulnerable to abuse by unemployed men who hang out in groups on the

township streets. The women approached the school offering to set up an aftercare facility in which learners would be off

the streets, in a safe place and have a space in which to do their homework. A classroom was made available for this

purpose, and the supervised afternoon homework sessions began. A meal is provided and some Life Skills programmes

are run for the learners. The women also encourage the children to talk about their problems and help them to wash their

uniforms so they looked neat and tidy every day.

Later, with the involvement of the Department of Education, the aftercare programme became more formalised and the two

caregivers were recognised as part of the school staff.



Comment
The principals in all three schools claimed that having aftercare for learners supported the work
of the school in fundamental ways. It ensured that the basic needs of children (like safety, food
and play) were met. The basic homework routines also helped learners to keep up with their
academic work. This meant the teachers could effectively continue with teaching and learning
because learners came to the classes prepared. While an aftercare programme cannot solve the
problems in the community, it can help to protect the children from harm.

In these and other examples of aftercare that were encountered in this study, we found that in
their most basic form the aftercare facilities offered a safe place for children to stay after school.
While the best examples offered structured homework support, a programme of extramural
activities and recreation as well as an opportunity for psycho–social support.

Here is a quick overview of the different approaches the three schools took.

Oxford Ndlovu Ngesi

Who attends? • Learners from school, • Learners from Ndlovu, • Learners from Ngesi,
and and who do not have a safe
• young children from an • learners from the place to stay in the
Early Childhood surrounding schools afternoons
Development Centre including the local
secondary school

What is on offer? • A meal • A meal • A meal
• Supervised homework • Supervised homework • Supervised homework
time time time
• Safe play and other • Sports and crafts • Informal counselling
activities • Home visits • Washing of clothes
• Referral for psycho- • Counselling and
socio support • Referral for more
support

Who manages • The principal, • Outside organisations • Group of interested
the programme? • Grade R teacher (NGOs) in liaison with outsiders (community
• parent volunteers the school initiative) in liaison with
the school welfare
committee

Where do the • Within school • Two NGOs, local • Local community and
resources community business, outside local business in liaison
come from? funders in liaison with with the school
the school

How does it • Keep children safe • Keep children safe • Keep children safe
support and fed and fed and fed
the school • Get homework done/ • Get homework done • Get homework done
Academic support • Emotional support • Emotional support
• Home care visits

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It has been interesting to note that of the three case studies, only Oxford Primary relies on
resources from within the school community, using one of its own teachers to run the aftercare
programme. Oversight is provided by the school principal. In the other two schools the resources
come primarily from outside the school and teachers do not play a leading role, although at
Ndolovu the initial liaison with the NGOs and local business was facilitated by the principal’s
proactive approach. At Ngesi, it was the grannies from the community who were proactive and
approached the school, offering their services. At both Ndlovu and Ngesi the aftercare
programme is co-ordinated by people from outside the school although the school personnel do
liaise with the outside agencies. In these two instances the aftercare initiative is seen as being
separate from the school. Also, the programme in the afternoons seems less formal and more
pastoral. After attending their lessons in the morning, the children get fed, have an opportunity
to do their homework, have a safe place to pursue extra-curricular interests and also have some
free time to play. The arrangements at Ndlovu and Ngesi primary schools exemplify the value
added by external organisations and individuals and highlight the immense benefit that support
networks can add to a school.



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The benefits of aftercare support

These examples have shown some of the main benefits of aftercare support for learners
and the school.

Benefits for learners Benefits for the school
• Provision of a safe place in the afternoon which • Increased awareness of the needs of
protects learners from possible abuse and vulnerable children
exploitation
• Space and time to do homework • Improved enrolment, attendance, discipline and
• Possibility of getting help with schoolwork from learner achievement (lower drop out rates)
adults or other learners
• Emotional support from caring adults • Strengthened relationships with parents and
• Have fun with other children by getting involved the wider community
in games
• Strengthen and develop physical and team • Strengthened links with external organisations
building skills through participation in sports that can provide a range of support services to
activities the school
• Learn life skills through participation in a range
of informal and structured activities that teach • Closer working relationship and sharing of
children how to cope with everyday situations resources with other schools
• Have access to information about HIV and AIDS
• Have access to counselling (psycho-socio • Improved access to resources for supporting
support) vulnerable learners and teaching life orientation
• Have access to health care support skills.
• Receive food in the afternoon
• Some access to home care

School-based aftercare support strategies

Should aftercare be considered an optional extra? Or should schools seriously see it as
an integral part of providing access to quality education for vulnerable learners? In
Unit 2 we discussed the implications for schools of several policies that clearly state
that schools are responsible for providing quality education for all. This means that
schools are required to maximise the participation of all learners in the curriculum and
to minimise barriers to learning. In short, the education must be inclusive. Since
barriers to learning and development are predominantly socio-economic in origin,
schools have to make the necessary adjustments in the way the school programme is
managed in order to meet the needs of vulnerable learners affected by HIV and AIDS
or any other socio-economic barrier to education.

It is a known fact that vulnerable children often stay away from school not out of choice
but because of the challenges in their home environment. During the course of this
study we found no instances of academic support for learners who were unable to
attend school either due to their own illness or for any other reason. While the National
Policy on HIV/AIDS for Learners, Students and Educators in Further Education and Training
Institutions (DoE:1999)2 clearly states that schools are obliged to support continued
learning where possible, none of the schools we visited had developed a system of how
they would offer academic support.



Providing homework support is a common feature of the aftercare programmes we
have looked at so far. In most cases, however, this is limited to setting a fixed time
during which the learners can get the homework done. Only Oxford Primary offers a
system where learners could get some form of academic and remedial support. The
approach used by Oxford Primary is a simple one that could easily be instituted in any
school. All it entails is that each teacher be required to stay on in their classroom for one
hour after formal classes have ended each day and to purposively spend that time
supporting learners who need additional academic support.

Adequate academic support to learners is intimately linked to the school’s mission and
core business of learning. Committed teachers integrate academic support in their day-
to-day teaching. But when schools are faced with large numbers of learners who are
unable to cope or who cannot always attend lessons, management is obliged to find
alternative ways of providing academic support.

The following diagram gives an overview of the options that schools can use to provide
additional academic and other important support to meet the needs of vulnerable learners.

Options for school-based aftercare support

Option 5 Option 1
Schools collaborate External organisation
A
manages aftercare at
Central aftercare facility venue outside school
is shared Continuing
Academic Support School refers learners

Learners from different
Academic support for
schools attend
ill learners unable to
attend school

Academic support
Option 4 provided by teachers Option 2
School initiates and in the afternoon School collaborates with
manages own aftercare external organisation
Aftercare facility is School provides the venue
managed by school for and equipment
own learners
Option 3 Strong link with aftercare
Gets external funding support
Community care group
supports school

Community group initiates
aftercare

School adopts initiative

Caregivers are part of
school staff

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Strategy A: Continuing academic support

We view strategy A as an extension of the school’s responsibility to provide adequate
academic support to learners. The strategy is two pronged and is comprised of:

Academic support provided by teachers who are available in their classes for a
specified time in the afternoon. During this time teachers are able to offer remedial
support to learners as necessary. Many of the learners who participate in remedial
support will probably be vulnerable learners.

A clear plan that specifies how the school intends to accommodate the needs of
learners who are unable to participate regularly in the school programme due to
illness or for other legitimate reasons.

Academic support in the afternoon
Teachers are required to stay on for extracurricular activities in the afternoon and
academic support could be included in the afternoon programme of activities. The
burden can be shared among the teachers with teachers being allocated specific days
on which they are to be on duty.

Academic support for vulnerable learners who are unable to attend school
regularly
According to the National Policy on HIV and AIDS for Learners, Students and
Educators in Further Education and Training Institutions:

If and when learners with HIV or AIDS become incapacitated through illness, the school
should make work available to them for study at home and should support continued
learning where possible.... Or provide older learners with distance education (Ibid pp 9-13).3

This applies to all learners who are unable to attend school for health or other
legitimate reasons. This kind of support is probably more challenging to organise. In
the first place you would have to identify those learners who would qualify for this
kind of support. In Unit 3 we saw that by analysing the attendance records, the
performance of learners on assessment tasks and the teacher’s observations of learners
during lessons, it is possible to get an idea about which learners may be at risk. A home
visit would reveal the learner’s home situation and could serve to confirm their
vulnerability status.

After the initial assessment, various options for academic support would then have to
be sought. Here are some ideas:



A parent, caregiver or other suitable member of the community can be approached
to visit the learner and assist him/her to complete specified tasks set by the teacher.
The tasks are part of a learning pack that also is comprised of helpful guidelines and
other supportive learning materials. Completed tasks are sent to the responsible
teacher who marks them and provides feedback to the learner. This feedback is
mediated by the parent or caregiver for primary school children.

A peer support group could be formed if there are a few vulnerable learners who
live close together. Members of the group receive the learning packs and work
together on specified tasks. A parent, caregiver, or other suitable member of the
community could provide support to the group and oversee the completion of
tasks.

Vulnerable learners can attend an aftercare facility at the school or at a centre in the
community. The school can organise remedial classes as part of the aftercare
programme.

By providing additional academic support for vulnerable learners you can increase
their chances of keeping up with the work, and strengthen their confidence and
motivation, which are important internal factors for achieving success. These simple
support actions by committed teachers can have a significant impact on the lives of
vulnerable learners.

Activity 2
ACTIVITY How can you implement Strategy A in your school?

Strategy A is not considered an optional extra but an integral part of the school’s
programme of academic support, especially for vulnerable learners.

Discuss the following questions with your management team and record the main
points of your discussion.

1. What is your reaction to the notion that Strategy A is an integral part of the school’s
responsibility to provide academic support to learners?
2. What kind of resistance do you expect from teachers with regard to providing
remedial support in the afternoon? How will you counter this possible resistance?
3. How would you go about implementing remedial afternoon support?
4. What ideas do you have for providing academic support to learners who are unable
to come to school regularly?

You can draw on these ideas when you prepare the care and support plan in Unit 8.

133


Comment
Making Strategy A work will require strong leadership and an ability to mobilise the right kind
of support. Whatever ideas you come up with must be workable in your context. So it might be
useful to start implementing something that you have a fairly good sense will work well with
minimum effort. Our visits to schools that offered aftercare showed that even homework
supervision where little or no remedial academic support was offered was beneficial to vulnerable
learners.

You will obviously have to deal with resistance on the part of teachers, since they would be
reluctant to get involved in any activity that they perceive would extend their school day. Their
initial reaction may also be negative, for they may think that this is yet another burden that they
have to carry. You will have to pre-empt this type of reaction by preparing how you will
communicate this new initiative to them. Help them to understand that academic support is
required as part of the school’s responsibility to vulnerable learners, and involve the teachers in
coming up with ideas on how this might work. The Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC)
Resolution No 7 - Workload of School Based Educators4 – requires that “all educators should be
at school during the formal school day, which should not be less than seven hours per day”.

For most primary school teachers, an extra 45 minutes to one hour spent in the class
STOP room each day supporting learners with homework or helping them to catch up
THINK
missed work after formal classes are completed, will not require additional time
over and above the required seven hours.

The equivalent type of support for secondary school learners may require teachers to stay on at
school a little longer. However this type of academic support/extra and co-curricular duties,
including pastoral duties, are in fact assumed in terms of the ELRC Resolution 7 to be part of
the workload of school-based educators anyway!

Academic support for learners who are unable to attend school regularly needs a more considered
approach and plan. You may want to set up a small task team under the supervision of the SMT
to investigate what methods might be appropriate. A draft set of ideas can be discussed with
teachers and can result in a definite plan of action.

School-based aftercare options

Academic support is not the only kind of support that vulnerable children need.
Aftercare facilities are able to meet other important needs such as safety, nutrition, play
and companionship as well as psycho-social support. We noticed in the diagram above
(options for school-based aftercare support) the various aftercare options that can be
implemented to offer vulnerable learners support. Let’s examine the three main options
and find out:



what is involved in each aftercare option ?
what kind of support external organisations can offer?
what the role of school management is in successfully implementing any of these
options?

1. External organisation manages the aftercare support (Options 1 and 2)

External organisations like NOAH, MiETA and Save the Children run aftercare
programmes in different provinces in South Africa. Programmes are run at centres
outside the school grounds as well as at school venues. In the next activity you can
reflect on an initiative organised by Save the Children (UK) in the Free State.

Activity 3
ACTIVITY What is the relationship between the external agency and the school in this
aftercare programme?

When you read Case Study 12 focus your attention on these three main questions:

1. What activities take place?
2. What is the organisation responsible for?
3. What is the school management responsible for?

We have already looked at the Zama Intermediate School case study in Unit 2 when we
examined the principal’s role in managing a range of external interventions. This time
we will be considering how the aftercare programme was established, and the SMT’s
collaboration with the NGO in running it.

135


CASE STUDY 12 – COLLABORATION WITH AN EXTERNAL ORGANISATION

The Zama Intermediate School aftercare programme started after a Department of Education official introduced the

principal to Save the Children (UK). The NGO was already running support programmes for vulnerable children in some school

districts of the Free State. In 2006 a contractual agreement between Save the Children (UK) and the school was signed and

the Caring Schools Programme was introduced. Approximately 200 learners attend the aftercare programme, which always

starts with a meal in the afternoon. Afterwards, a programme of activities begins. The programme is facilitated by the Save

the Children Youth Facilitators and includes a homework slot.

During homework time the learners are grouped according to their grade and the Youth Facilitators and some teachers

(members of the School-based Support Team) help learners with their homework. They also listen to the learners’ reading.

Once the homework is done the children can take part in a range of activities including drama, sport and games. Gardening

activities are also undertaken.

On the basis of the contract that the school signed with Save the Children (UK), the school management team (SMT) and the

school-based support team (SBST) are required to play an active role in supporting and guiding the Youth Facilitators to run

the aftercare programme. This agreement encourages greater ownership and participatory decision making on the part of

the school. The fact that the aftercare programme is a formal, contractual agreement seems to ensure that the care and

support offered in the programme serves the needs of the learners and the needs of the school.

As part of the contract, Save the Children provides the school with specified funds per year. This payment is made in three

parts: the first payment is made immediately after signing the contract; the next two payments are contingent on the school

supplying the necessary progress reports to Save the Children. The school also receives materials, which can be used in

the programme.

Comment
The aftercare initiative at Zama was started by an outside organisation and did not grow from
an initiative within the school itself. This means that at first the school played a more passive
role, providing a site where the Caring Schools Programme could take shape.

The contract with Save the Children, however, soon put the school into a more active support
role. The school not only provided the location for the programme, but also made teachers from
the SBST (School Based Support Team) available to help with written homework. In this way
they could share their skills with the Youth Facilitators and also make sure the aftercare
programme supported the curriculum of the school. The management of the school (principal
and SMT) did not actively participate in aftercare. They were asked to support the programme
in a different, more developmental way. They were given the task of supporting and guiding the
Youth Facilitators, developing their capacity to organise the aftercare. This developmental role
is crucial for making the programme sustainable, should Save the Children pull out. By
supporting the Youth Facilitators it is hoped that the local community develops the capacity to
support the school through the aftercare intervention.



The previous case study shows the role a school can play in an aftercare initiative that
was set up and is managed by an external organisation. The school can collaborate in a
variety of different ways with these types of initiatives. Here is a detailed description
of another externally initiated aftercare programme, the NOAH’s Ark Programme. It
shows what the programme offers, what the organisation is responsible for and how
the school can collaborate. The example below is taken from the Ndlovu Primary
School Case Study in Kwazulu Natal.

The NOAH’s Ark Aftercare Programme

What the The aftercare programme runs from 13H30 until 16H00 during the school term. It is
programme offers comprised of:
• a meal served daily,
• supervised homework
• sports on a Tuesday (mainly soccer and netball played on an piece of empty ground
and supervised by volunteers).
• craft on a Wednesday (the craft work is taught by traditional crafters from the
community – beadwork, weaving as well as pottery- some of which is sold to
tourists)
• on Fridays volunteers from the Ark undertake home visits
• opportunity for counselling

The meal provided daily is a key component of the programme. The learners are also
served food at 09h00 every day during the school holidays. Sometimes food parcels
are provided for the children to take home in the holidays (instead of a meal being
served at the school). Typically the meal consists of rice or samp or pap accompanied
by red meat or chicken or soya mince or vegetables. E-pap, highly fortified mealie meal
is also served.

A structured homework session is built into the afternoon programme. A volunteer group
of out of school youth that have matriculated, and some teachers help the learners with
this. However, it appears that this is only done once a week.

Additional activities, some with a therapeutic purpose facilitated by another NGO
DramAidE5, are undertaken to help vulnerable learners to cope with their situations. This
includes building memory boxes, participating in drama activities and role-play and
having guest speakers speak on a range of motivational topics.

On a Friday the Ark volunteers visit the homes of vulnerable learners. Each volunteer is
responsible for three homes. They have a form called the HomeVisit Checklist, which
they fill in to record what they observe and on which any necessary follow up actions are
recorded. This form covers a range of information from the appearance of the child and
the home conditions, to who is present at the home and their relationship to the child.
The form also covers information pertaining to any social assistance the child receives.

The Ark manager employed by NOAH is a trained counsellor and is able to provide a
counselling service.

During the holidays the programme of activities continues usually starting at 12h00 with
a meal. The programme then ends with another meal at 16h00.

The roles and The Ark has three paid employees: the manager, a child minder and a cook, who
responsibilities of prepares the food daily. NOAH pays these three staff members a modest salary. In
the organization addition there are some community-based volunteers who do home visits and some out
of school youth you have completed their Matric who offer homework support and
supervise sporting activities. Although they are volunteers, NOAH has a policy of paying
a small stipend or providing food parcels as an incentive to volunteers.

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The NOAH’s Ark Aftercare Programme

The roles and The teachers are most often responsible for identifying vulnerable learners and alerting
responsibilities of the NOAH staff as to which learners need to be part of the aftercare programme.
the school
SGB members and other parents are responsible for collecting the firewood that is used
for cooking the meals. The SGB chair makes sure that this is done.

A large, empty classroom at Ndlovu Primary School is used as a dining room and the
school has provided all the necessary crockery and cutlery.

The Ark uses the school computer room as its activity room for both homework as well
as the other activities such as the craftwork.

We can see from both the above examples that the level of collaboration between the
external agency and the school can be minimal or it can be more involved. Where
schools play an active role it is possible to create a stronger link between the aftercare
programme and the school’s efforts. The close collaboration can be of benefit to both
the school and the aftercare project, and increase the chances of long-term sustainability
of a programme such as this.

2. Community supported school-based aftercare initiative (Option 3)

We have already been introduced to the example of the caring grandmothers. This
group of concerned Gogos organised themselves into a community care group called
Itsoseng, which was later registered as a CBO by the Department of Social Development.
Let’s look at how this small initiative developed into a school-based aftercare project.
Here is a detailed description of what the programme offers, what support the
community provides and how the school is involved.

Community supported school-based aftercare programme

What the Participation in the aftercare programme
programme offers At the time that this case study was done, there were 72 learners, identified as
vulnerable learners who participated in this programme. Children without parents or
whose parents are unemployed were given preference. A register recording the names
programme participants was kept and updated annually.

The programme
The Aftercare programme starts at 14H00 and operates from Monday to Friday during
the school term. An empty classroom has been furnished for the Aftercare programme
to use. A weekly schedule is followed at the Aftercare programme.
• A register is taken of who is absent and who is present.
• The learners are then provided with a meal. The menu consists mainly of porridge,
rice, vegetable, mince meat, beef, chicken, fruit and fruit juice.
• The activities undertaken include singing and prayer (usually before eating).
Supervised homework is scheduled three days a week, while on the other two days
reading is scheduled for thirty minutes. After the homework or reading, learners do
gardening once a week, storytelling, sports and music appreciation activities.
• Facilities are set up for boys and girls to wash themselves on alternate days. The
caregivers also collect school uniforms that need to be washed and shoe polish is
provided daily for the learners to clean their shoes.



Community supported school-based aftercare programme

The roles and Emperor’s Palace (Hotel and Casino):
responsibilities of • provides funds for running the aftercare and organises regular audits.
the external • pays the employees who run the aftercare facility directly
organisations
(local business, The Department of Social Welfare assists the school with home visits, referrals of
community–based learners to relevant service providers, and facilitates access to social grants.
organisation (CBO)
and local Women from the community who started off the aftercare programme on a voluntary
government basis are now paid for their services by Emperor’s Palace.
structures).

The roles and The School Governing Body, principal and deputy principal are responsible for managing
responsibilities of the funds. The deputy principal is responsible for keeping records and writing income
the school and expenditure statements and an annual report accounting for the monies spent. The
SGB then allocates money to the employees of the aftercare facility (the two caregivers
and the cook) to buy food, soap, washing powder, gas, seeds for the garden etc.

The school-based welfare committee, headed up by a Grade 5 teacher, provides
guidance and support to the staff of the aftercare programme. In particular, they liaise
with Itsoseng (which has grown into a well established CBO) around referrals and grants
for vulnerable learners.

The Welfare committee is responsible for establishing and maintaining the vegetable
garden at the school. The vegetables are used both for supplementing meals in the
aftercare programme as well as for making up parcels to be sent home with needy
learners.

Two other teachers assist wherever they can. They generally come in to ensure that the
aftercare programme is running smoothly and they monitor the quality of the food. They
also present motivational talks on interesting topics.

This is a good example of an aftercare programme that started informally as a small
venture by a group of concerned grandmothers and has now become integrated into
the school set up, where regular funding from a large business makes it possible to offer
a structured programme which has a daily schedule of activities and support for
vulnerable learners. Links between the aftercare facility and the welfare committee of
the school are strong and well managed and the staff involved show a high level of
commitment. Effective accounting and financial management ensures that the funders
stay happy to continue supporting the programme.

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3. The school initiates and manages the aftercare programme
(Options 4 and 5)

The aftercare programme organised at Oxford Primary School is a good example of an
initiative started by the principal who is actively involved in managing the programme.

School initiated and managed aftercare programme

What the The aftercare programme runs from 13h30 – 18h00 daily during the school term and
programme offers also operates during the school holidays. Approximately 30 children attend the aftercare.

It is run by the Grade R teacher at the school with the help of one parent volunteer who
comes in before the children get there to prepare the afternoon meal and then stays to
assist with looking after the children.

The aftercare facility is accommodated in a house on the school property which was
originally built for school staff many years ago. It is fenced off from the rest of the school
property and is a secure area with its own access gate and dedicated playing area with
swings and various other types of playground equipment.

The facility is also made available to some young children who attend an Early Childhood
Development (ECD) Centre (nursery school) that is situated across the road from the
school and whose parents are unable to fetch them when the ECD centre closes at
around midday.

The aftercare offers a structured programme which consists of having a meal, a set
period for the children to do their homework and a programme of activities including
playing in the garden.

The Grade R teacher supervises the homework and signs the children’s homework book.
She also liaises with the parents regarding any important school notifications. Additionally,
she also links up with other teachers in the school if she picks up a need for remediation
in any particular area, thus forming a useful feedback loop, which helps to ensure that
learners are supported in both teaching and learning.



School initiated and managed aftercare programme

There is a monthly charge of R 250.00 to parents who make use of this facility for their
Funding and children, but even this fee is negotiable and parents pay what they can.
external support
Since most of the parents – 65 - 70% – are unable to pay the school fees, the principal
has set up a system whereby parents are asked to volunteer their services to the school
in lieu of fees. This works on a rotational basis with ten parents working at the school for
one term at a time. The principal assesses the parents’ skill and language levels and
deploys them in the school accordingly. Some parents help with cleaning, some look after
the garden including the vegetable garden, two work as teachers, assistants in the
classroom and even do substitution when a teacher is ill, and one assists with the school
aftercare programme.

The roles and The proactive nature of the principal has resulted in a range of initiatives being
responsibilities of implemented to support vulnerable learners in this school. These include:
the school • Staff receiving training around a range of issues pertaining to HIV and AIDS
• Implementing a process for identifying vulnerable learners and following through with
the necessary support actions
• Making and maintaining records regarding vulnerable learners and follow up actions
taken
• Undertaking home visits where necessary
• Facilitating and managing a counselling service
• Putting in place a systematic process for vulnerable learner referrals
• Establishing a large vegetable garden to provide food to the most needy learners
• Running a clothes bank – a system for collecting items of the school uniform and
providing them to needy learners
• Integrating a schoolwork/homework support system in the daily school programme
• Offering an aftercare facility at the school that runs during school time and during the
holidays.

This is an example of what is possible when management plays a visionary leadership
role, which is backed up by good management practice. As a result of the aftercare
intervention organised by the principal, the school enjoys a positive relationship with
the community. This is particularly apparent in the way that parents are willing to
participate in the volunteer system at the school.

A variation on the above option is for schools that are located within close proximity of
each other to collaborate and share an aftercare facility, which is open to all vulnerable
learners from their schools. The aftercare programme could be delivered at one of the
schools that is central and easily accessible to all learners. A collaborative agreement
will specify the nature of the programme offered, where funds will be drawn from to
pay for the expenses of running the aftercare support, and what the responsibilities are
of the partner schools.

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Critical success factors for managing aftercare programmes

All the examples we have examined show what schools can do and how communities
and external agencies can assist the school to offer a variety of support services after
school for the benefit of vulnerable learners. We can learn both from the successes that
were achieved as well from as the shortcomings that were noticed. It seems that factors,
which increase the likelihood of successful management of an aftercare initiative,
include the following.
Dedicated and strong leadership and management. Where principals were dynamic and
showed good management practices they were able to recognise external
opportunities and negotiate beneficial agreements with external agencies. Frequently
schools that experience the biggest challenges are the least equipped to deal with
them. Building leadership and management capacity at schools is thus of critical
importance for the success of any initiative to provide support for vulnerable learners.

Active involvement of the school in small community initiatives as well as large projects
run by external organisations can build a symbiotic relationship that is beneficial for
both the project and the school. A sound collaborative relationship can also promote
long-term sustainability of the aftercare support.

The importance of contractual agreements between the school and external agencies.
For example the agreement used by Save the Children (UK) requires participation
in the project by every level of school management. Their active involvement is
directly linked to funding becoming available. Clear terms and roles and
responsibilities create a solid framework for collaboration between the school and
the external provider. This also applies to initiatives in which schools collaborate to
organise a central aftercare facility.

The importance of getting sufficient funds to cover all the costs of the aftercare programme.
The aftercare programmes we looked were all reliant on external sources of funding. It
is essential for the success of the venture that the sources of funding are diverse and
reliable.

The importance of skilled financial managers. Building the relevant skills of those who
are vested with the responsibility of budgeting, raising and managing the funding
is critical. Capacity building courses such as ‘Finance for Non-financial Managers’
should be prioritised.

The central role of nutrition. The benefits of providing food for learners at the aftercare
facility cannot be underestimated. It offers a huge incentive for learners to
participate in the programme.

The importance of offering a multi-facetted programme. Since the needs of vulnerable
learners are varied and complex, it is necessary to offer a variety of services such as
play activities, homework supervision, meals, life orientation skills training,
gardening, counselling, home visits and referral system for grants.



What aftercare strategy is suitable for your school?

The case studies that we have examined have shown that aftercare is separate from the
programme of learning and teaching that takes place at schools during the day. It is
helpful to see the two sets of programmes as distinct. We have already reflected on the
academic support role that schools are expected to carry out in their normal daily
schedule. We referred to the academic support that teachers could provide for a short
period in the afternoon as Strategy A. Where feasible, teachers from the school could get
involved in offering academic support in an aftercare facility. But it is essential to see
the academic support as an integral part of the school’s core responsibility and not as
an optional extra. By now you will have some idea of how you might implement an
academic support strategy at your school.

In addition to the academic support provided by teachers in the afternoon, the school
can get involved in collaborating with an existing aftercare programme, working with
other schools in the area to set up a common aftercare facility, or set up and manage
their own aftercare support programme for vulnerable learners. This programme offers
varied support activities designed to meet the needs of vulnerable learners. You have
seen what others are doing to provide aftercare for vulnerable learners. The ideas can
stimulate you to reflect on what you can do at your school given the resources and
capacity you have, and the opportunities that exist in your community.

Activity 4
ACTIVITY Identify an aftercare strategy for your school

The challenge for you and your management team is to come up ideas for a workable
aftercare strategy. This is essentially an initial planning activity that consists of two
main tasks:

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Task 1

This is a simple research task that a couple of members of the SMT can carry out. An
important first step in finding the most suitable strategy is to investigate what kind of
aftercare support exists in your community, and how individuals, businesses and
organisations in the community can support the school in an aftercare initiative. These
questions can be used to guide the investigation. The findings are recorded in a short
written report.
1. What kind of aftercare support exists in the community? Ask teachers, parents,
caregivers, leaders of Faith based Organisations (CBOs) and NGOs operating in your
area, clinics, and community development facilitators. Record your findings and give
a clear description of the support that is being provided, who is involved, and what
their contact details are.
2. What kind of support can you expect from individuals, businesses and organisations
in the area? Use similar contacts to get this information and give details about the
nature of the support that is potentially available, names and contact number of
relevant people.

Task 2

The management team meets for a planning activity, which entails brainstorming,
critically reflecting on the written report, and compiling an initial set of ideas for aftercare.

The resources you need for the planning activity include:
TOOLKIT • Use Tool 23: What kind of aftercare service can your school offer? to record your
ideas
• The written report prepared in Task 2
• Ideas from the case studies in this unit.

You can draw on the ideas you compiled about aftercare when you prepare the care and
support plan in Unit 8.

Comment
Before you even consider aftercare support it is necessary to examine the nature and the scope
of the challenge of providing such support at your school. How many vulnerable learners do you
have at your school? How do you establish whether they are eligible for participating in the
aftercare programme? What are their most urgent needs? What are the implications of setting
up, managing and maintaining such a programme? The examples you looked in this unit will
have given you a good idea of what is involved.



Your choice of aftercare option is dependent to a large extent on the environment in which your
school is located. If there is already an existing aftercare programme run by an external agency,
the community or even another school, you could decide that it would be beneficial to look for
ways of collaborating with this programme. If no aftercare support exists, then a strong option
would be to set up an aftercare programme. You could work with another school in the
immediate area, or with the community and involve various people such as parents, out of school
and unemployed young people and retired people. Use whichever option you think is most
appropriate given the opportunities and constraints of your context. Consider carefully how to
use the ideas you have generated to create a workable plan that will result in positive actions.

You do not necessarily have to implement an aftercare programme that offers the full
range of services at once. You can use a phased approach whereby you build up the
programme gradually as depicted graphically in the diagram below.

Setting up a school-based aftercare programme

Referral Home
system Visits

1.
2. 3. 4.
Homework supervison and
Programme of fun Afternoon Counselling
academic support
activities and games meals Life skills/
Orientation

You could start with a few activities that you can manage easily with resources that you
are assured of. For example, you could begin with afternoon homework supervision,
since this might be quite easy to organise. You may be able to get willing parents
involved at the start and one of the teachers could liaise with the parents regularly. It
might also be possible to get sponsorship from a local business to offer children fruit, a
cool drink and sandwiches at the beginning. Later, as you are able to raise regular
funding, you can offer light meals. In a phased approach you build the programme up
step by step. A challenge in a phased approach is to keep your eye on the big picture
and keep expanding the range of support and services and not become complacent by
sticking with a programme that offers minimum support.

145


You could, of course, plan the full range of activities right from the start. This approach
requires that you have the necessary funding and capacity to do so. It demands careful
planning and a huge input of time and effort on the part of management, because there
is so much to organise at once. A challenge in this approach is to ‘fly’ too quickly
without having the necessary resources or the required infrastructure; in the process
you might set yourself up for failure.

Tool 24
TOOLKIT Some ideas for aftercare activities

This Tool will help you think about a possible range of creative activities that could be
offered as part of an aftercare programme at your school.

Despite the obvious possibilities and advantages of having an afterschool programme,
there are many educators in management positions and teachers who are resistant to
the idea of setting up school-based aftercare. Although they worry about the needs of
vulnerable children in their midst and want to respond, they feel incapable of
extending themselves because they are barely coping with their existing school and
home responsibilities. If they start an aftercare initiative they are afraid that they will
be overwhelmed by the new demands. It is helpful to pay attention to these
reservations and to find creative ways of working with external partners and
harnessing support from the community. Principals must always be careful not to
overextend their teachers since this would seriously undermine their ability to carry
out their teaching responsibilities.

However, we have seen how principals and teachers in other schools across the country
have managed to get support from outside agencies and individuals and have worked
with a range of partners. Successful aftercare partnerships can provide a more varied
programme of support to vulnerable learners than is possible for an individual school.
Well-managed aftercare programmes do not benefit only vulnerable learners and the
school but they have a positive knock-on effect on the community.

Key points

Several aftercare initiatives we examined revealed the different ways in which aftercare
programmes are set up and managed, the activities and support that are organised, the
roles and responsibilities of school management, and the nature of the support
provided by NGOs, government departments, businesses, parents and the community.

In Unit 6 we explored:

What the benefits of aftercare support for learners are.
What types of aftercare support strategies can be organised.
What is involved in managing school-based aftercare programmes.
What aftercare strategy is likely to be most suitable for your school.



Some important insights we gained:

1. Aftercare and support with schoolwork is considered to be one of the interventions,
together with basic nutrition and psycho-socio support, that is a precondition for
successful learning and teaching. By getting involved in organising aftercare for
vulnerable learners, schools can enhance their learning capacity, increase the
likelihood of improved performance and boost school attendance.

2. It is part of the school’s core responsibility to provide academic support for learners
who are not coping or who do not attend school because of illness or for other
legitimate reasons. Many of these will be vulnerable learners. But remedial
academic support is not the same as aftercare. The aftercare programme is much
broader and could incorporate academic support, which remains the responsibility
of the school.

3. The successful aftercare programmes we looked at were multi-faceted and
integrated a range of support services such as homework support, a nutrition
programme, food garden, a referral system for grants and home visits to families of
vulnerable children.

4. A variety of approaches can be used organise aftercare programmes. Schools can
link up and collaborate with existing aftercare facilities organised and managed by
external organisations; they can integrate community support initiatives into the
school system; and they can set up and manage an aftercare programme internally.
Given the opportunities and constraints that exist in the school’s environment,
management has to decide which option is most suitable.

5. School management has to look for assistance with funding and other forms of
support both from within and outside of their communities to implement aftercare
support for vulnerable learners. Regular funding is a prerequisite for organising a
successful aftercare programme and therefore proper budgeting and planning are
important.

6. Contractual agreements that specify terms and clarify roles and responsibilities are
essential for successful collaboration between the school and external partners.

7. Recognising that good leadership and management are the key to successful and
sustainable after care programmes, building leadership and management capacity
at schools is critical.

147

Learning Guide: Unit 6 - School-based aftercare.

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