Children diagnosed with neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism, experience various types of challenges at school. Picture: Tumisu (Pixabay)
As a mother of a neurodiverse child, who by the age of eight had attended four schools, I have found navigating the private school options for schooling to be frustrating and complicated.
The regulations ensuring compliance and the qualifications the learners receive upon completion can be confusing and sometimes misleading.
Globally, about one in 100 children are born with autism. In South Africa, studies have found the prevalence of autism to be between 0.08% to 2% of the population.
Currently, there are 442 special needs schools registered in South Africa.
From 2002 to 2022, the number of registered remedial schools in South Africa increased from 295 to 489, and learners with disabilities in public schools increased from 77,000 to 121,461. Nationally, the enrolment of learners in special schools increased from 435 to 137,483.
To accommodate the educational needs of neurodiverse children, a growing number of private schools have been opened to address those learners' individual needs.
Remedial schools typically offer smaller class sizes, on-site therapy services including occupational therapy and speech therapy, and adapts the curriculum to the individual needs of the learner.
The Department of Basic Education has been developing a White Paper for an inclusive education schooling system since 2001. However, it only articulates policy aspirations rather than imperatives.
The department admits that its strategies to accommodate children and learners with disabilities have been relatively ineffective due to a lack of commitment to a multi-disciplinary approach to advance the implementation of an inclusive education policy.
Private remedial schools are opening all over the country, but often there is no clarity on who is regulating these schools.
The curricula that private schools for neurodiverse students vary, from the South African National Curriculum Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS), the UK-based Cambridge curriculum, Montessori, IMPAQ and ASDAN, to name a few.
Private schools are divided into two bodies - independent schools and cottage schools.
Independent schools are registered with the Department of Basic Education, which oversees certain regulations, such as the building that the school is housed in, the play areas and the teachers' qualifications.
One of the challenges that schools face to become registered as independent schools is that the regulations required to establish a remedial school are not clearly defined.
DBE spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga told IOL remedial centres were usually not “schools” as such, but they were places where parents take their children for assistance. He said they did meet the requirements of being a school.
He said these facilities were either registered as a school or home education facility.
For this reason, he said they were not under the jurisdiction of the Department of Basic Education.
As to monitoring the curriculum, as many of the officials from the DBE are not versed in the other curricula, they cannot oversee the curriculum or monitor its outcomes.
This means that they do not have jurisdiction over the teaching methods of the learners' education, giving the schools the freedom to adapt the syllabus to the individual needs of the learners. It also allows the schools to increase the teacher-to-learner ratio.
Registering an independent school can be a lengthy process, with some waiting for up to five years to be registered with the DBE.
As a result of these delays in registering as an independent school, many have opted to become what is known as cottage schools.
Hestelle Karpakis from NeuroQuest center in Table View says “Many cottage schools for neurodiverse children follow overseas curricula, such as Cambridge, where the learner's assessments are done on-site and then sent to the educational organisation to be marked”.
“These schools can employ international assistance for guidelines in the methodology of teaching the syllabus, and pay a fee for the exams to be graded or learners can write at an exam centre in South Africa. All the matric assessments are done externally through exam centres”.
Many of the smaller remedial schools are now operating as cottage schools. For these schools to operate legally they are required to register with the Pestalozzi Trust - a privately run organisation that was established to protect children who are home schooled from the DBE forcing them to attend a state school.
The Trust is purely a legal body that has no say or authority over the curriculum or the outcomes of the education that the scholars receive. Cottage schools pay an annual fee to belong to the trust.
A principal goal of the Pestalozzi Trust as set out in the trust deed is: “To preserve the fundamental universally and constitutionally recognised rights of parents and families diligently to guide and direct the education of their children”.
Currently, the trust is representing around 2,500 home schoolers registered in Gauteng on the Gauteng Home Education Joint Liaison Committee (GHEJOLT) on a liaison body consisting of homeschoolers and the Gauteng Department of Education to defend the rights of parents to homeschool their children, should the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill be passed into law.
The proposed BELA Bill will take away parents' right to control their children's education and enforce curriculums on parents who choose to home school their children.
Private schools for neurodiverse children in South Africa play a crucial role in providing tailored education that meets the unique needs of each student.
By offering diverse curricula these schools ensure that neurodiverse students can receive a high-quality education and qualifications recognised around the world.
This approach not only supports their academic development but also fosters their social and emotional growth, preparing them for successful futures.
IOL Lifestyle
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