The ELSEN Programme (ELSEN meaning: Educational Tutoring Services in Literacy, Special Needs, Extra Lessons, and Numeracy) is the first of its kind to be established in the Plettenberg Bay district, and has been operating since January 2009.
This program consists of Professional Tutoring Services.
The ELSEN concept was introduced by National Awards winning educator, SSETA accredited mentor and life coach with international teaching as well as international research experience.
He trained foreign teachers and instructors in South Korea as well.
We live in an era where education is in crisis, and right from pre-school, children need extra attention.
Many of these children in need of the extra attention in the form of tutoring cannot afford it, and many lack the exposure to literacy.
Special Needs and differently-abled children are also included in this programme.
The educator who started this concept in the country hails from a family of 3 generations of educators, as seen by the following media links:
https://www.plett-tourism.co.za/tag/leigh-dunn/
https://www.plett-tourism.co.za/stories-bind-us-together-leigh-dunn/
The Probus Ladies Club of Plettenberg Bay Spring Presentation
The international expertise of the educator who initiated this program can also be seen on the following media links, namely:
https://www.news24.com/You/Archive/expert-leigh-dunn-20170728
Pre-reading and pre-writing and pre-Maths activities that are currently being used by schools were designed by this educator. Follow video link:
YouTube: Leigh Dunn: Formosa Primary School, Plettenberg Bay – YOU TUBE 8 Nov 2011;
and YouTube: videophread: Leigh M Dunn
The ELSEN programme is focused on children who are underprivileged, and marginalised in many areas of their lives – socially, emotionally, and even academically, and specifically for children with learning disabilities, although not restricted thereto. This programme not only serves as a SAFE HAVEN for children with special educational needs, but also as a RESOURCE and INFORMATION CENTER to other educators and schools and homeschools.
Our VISION STATEMENT, namely: “To allow every learner, regardless of background or learning disability, to feel accepted, loved and an achiever”, is based on the Constitutional principles of equality, human dignity and equal access to basic education for all (Sections 9, 10, and 29 of our National Constitution).
This vision of ours is being achieved by reaching down to the level of every individual learner, through differentiation and intervention strategies, and by communicating in the learners’ most familiar language of fantasy and play.
After winning the South African National Teaching Award for Special Needs and Inclusive Education in Sandton on February 23rd 2012, this ELSEN programme has been identified as a pioneer in Inclusive Education in our country.
It is an honour to be sharing our very own ideas and programmes, as we strive to assist every school in becoming a full-service inclusive school, as decided in National parliament on May 8th 2012.
In our class, every child is of utmost importance to us, because we believe that: “Even the smallest star shines in the darkness…”
The Documentary that was made on ELSEN was nationally and internationally acclaimed, and used by the Artevelde University of Ghent in Belgium on a special programme, to train and equip Special Needs teachers from around the world, and especially from developing countries.
This Documentary is called “Challenges in Inclusive Education in South Africa” and was produced by Daron Chatz Productions. It is available for viewing on Vimeo. See the following media link:
ELSEN proudly won the National Teaching Award for Excellence in Inclusive Education in South Africa
Challenges of Inclusive Education in South Africa 2012 from DARON CHATZ | PHOTOGRAPHY | FILM on Vimeo.
We make sure that every day is filled with creativity, fantasy and fun, because according to the developmental stages of Piaget, exploration, fantasy and play form the basis of all learning…
Our learners are continually being exposed to co-curricular (outdoor); extra-curricular (after-hour); inter-class; and inter-school activities. We partake in projects with main-stream classes, and we frequently interact with the children from daycare or pre-school centers, as well as with other schools and with the children from Genesis foster home in Plettenberg Bay, New Beginnings Place of Safety (orphanage) in Kwanokothula outside Plettenberg Bay, as well as with other home schools and private students.
We allow these activities, to include our learners on all levels of society and education, as prescribed by Education White Paper 6 of 2001 on Special Needs and Inclusive Education.
Our academic activities include: Music Therapy, Pottery, Beading, Drawing and Colouring, Baking and Decorating; EduPeg Mathematics programs; Mathematics and Language-centered Board games, Basic Reading, Shared Reading, Basic Computers (perceptual skills), as well as Occupational Therapy programmes like “Handle”, “Brain Gym” and “MonkeyNastix”, among others… and always including the fun element, which is so vital for learning…
Our vision is further to empower those children and young people who do not have such opportunities, through the enjoyment factor, which is such a vital element in any form of learning.
Multi-level teaching
Instead of implementing specialized education (where learners with specific syndromes or specific learning disorders are placed in a school specializing in that specific learning disability), our ELSEN tutoring programme caters for everyone – including our learners with disabilities ranging from Dyslexia, ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), FASD (Foetal Alcohol Syndrome), Dyspraxia, Visual Impairments, various ranges of ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), and even slight physical handicaps, and even those who simply need an extra bit of support.
Apart from these varying abilities, each of these learners also has their own developmental level. Therefore we focus on personal individualised attention, including different intervention techniques and differentiation strategies.
Funding and Educational resources
Funding is always a challenge, and therefore we are forced to consider alternative sources of income. We are dependent on local businesses and NGO’s to buy in to our vision, our educational needs and our challenges.
Shortage of suitable Special Needs Schools and similar ELSEN tutoring programmes
The demand for good special needs programs and schools is ever increasing. Children are exposed to different levels of stress and challenges, and therefore the amount of special needs children, and even those who simply need a bit of extra support, is increasing daily as well.
Government legislation (Education White Paper 6 of 2001) prescribes that special needs learners need to be taught in small group situations, with a maximum of 15 learners per class, to promote individual attention and the building of trust relationships between educator / caregiver and learner. Although the maximum class size is 15, it immediately becomes less, in the case of learners with physical challenges, seeing that by law a physically challenged learner equals 5 normal learners. Our ELSEN Unit therefore operates optimally with a number of 10 to 12 learners.
This is a huge matter of concern, seeing that the need for Special Needs classes in our country is ever increasing, and waiting-lists to Special Needs schools are very long.
This is a great challenge to specialised tutoring services throughout the country.
Research has proven that new syndromes like FDS (Foetal Drug Syndrome) are being developed in our country, which even further increases our need for more special needs classes, specialised schools, adaptive curricula, and extra professional tutoring services.
Future prospects for Special Needs learners
According to law, learners in government schools are only allowed to be accommodated in the ELSEN programme until the age of 13, after which they start developing sexually, and become a threat to the younger classmates. There needs to be high-school ELSEN programmes developed, because the 13 year-old ELSEN learners cannot be accommodated at a primary school any longer. These learners are referred to Skills Schools, but the application process and waiting lists are often so long, that these children end up being neglected. They need to be 14 years of age, in order to apply to a skills school, yet these schools sadly only accommodate them until the age of 16 years. We need to create opportunities for the inclusion of these youngsters in our society, in our attempt of assisting them towards developing into healthy citizens of our country. For this reason, the programme has been rolled out further than government schools only, and strives to serve all children of all levels of education and background, without discriminating…
Our academic curriculum content includes the following:
- During the first term each year, the ELSEN learner follows our own uniquely designed baseline assessment and school readiness program, designed by Nationally Acclaimed Professional Remedial Therapist Leigh Michael Dunn. From there, the learner progresses to our own ELSEN curriculum, based on the NCS (National Curriculum Statement) and CAPS (Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements), which includes our pre-writing and pre-reading activities, which form a cornerstone to academic development. The programme is unique and individualised.
- Once the learner manages to master these pre-reading and pre-writing activities, we have a unique phonics and reading program, which they follow. This includes our own reading book, filled with pictograms.
- We also have our own pictogram book, for the learners with speech problems.
- Learners are assessed in the areas of gross-motor skill, fine-motor skill, mathematics (numeracy), language (literacy) and life skills. Afrikaans is the mother-tongue of most learners in the area, so although we do activities in English as additional language, most of our assessment is done in their mother-tongue.
- The additional tutoring service includes overall academic support and assistance
- How do learners get admitted to the ELSEN programme?
- Do we accommodate physically challenged learners?
- Does government funding provide in the educational needs of this program?
- Is the educator fully qualified to teach these children?
- Is there another adult or class aid, for times of emergency?
- Are there ELSEN policies available?
- Does our education department have an ELSEN curriculum?
- Are schools ready and geared for Inclusive Education?
- Do we serve learners from other communities and language groups?
- In what ways do we receive support from the Education Department?
- Can ELSEN learners be successfully placed back into main stream education?
- Will government provide more ELSEN Units?
- Do we get ELSEN Units all over South Africa?
- How long will ELSEN Units continue to exist?
- What has winning the National Teaching Award in Special Needs Teaching and Inclusive Education meant for this ELSEN Unit?
- What has the documentary meant for this ELSEN Unit?
- What does the Formosa ELSEN Unit wish to achieve through this website?
- Can an ELSEN learner ever develop normally?
- Is FASD (Foetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder) curable?
- What is the age range of the learners in this ELSEN Unit?
1. How do learners get admitted to the ELSEN Unit?
The ELSEN Programme initially fell under the auspices of the Special Needs Directorate of the Western Cape Education Department in Cape Town, which means that it is a government program, and therefore the following admission procedures need to be followed at all times, regardless of whether the programmes offered are governmental or not:
Before any learner can be placed in the ELSEN programme, they needed to be registered as a learner at a government school. They need to be at least in Grade 1 of that school, and they need to possess their own C-EMIS number. The educator needs to keep record of poor progress throughout the year. The child then needed to be referred to the school’s EST (Educator Support Team) by his/her educator.
The EST then contacts the educational psychologist, who needs to do a complete range of assessments including an IQ test. The educational psychologist then needs to bring the results to the school, and the school will then fill in an application form for admission to an ELSEN Unit. The parent, educator and school principal all need to sign this application, which then gets sent to the Western Cape Education Department’s head office via our educational psychologist, who makes a recommendation.
The waiting period could be anything between one month and one year, after which the education head office sends the approved application to the ELSEN programme. The ELSEN educator then consults the waiting list, seeing that a maximum of 15 learners but optimally 10 to 12 learners can be accommodated.
In the meanwhile, the educator makes an appointment to meet the child, to see whether he/she will fit into the class situation.
Many learners were then placed in the ELSEN program on a trial period, during which all stakeholders (the educator, parent, EST and educational psychologist tries to infer whether it would be in the best interest of the child to be placed in the ELSEN Unit.)
The child only would get admitted once all these matters were taken into account, in order to ensure that this is the right place for the child to develop and progress.
Well, thanks to the rolling out of this program to other sectors, the educational stakeholders simply have to come to an agreement of how this process would be done – all for the benefit of the child, as our national constitution determines.
Children are admitted to the ELSEN programme according to the following order of preference:
- Learners whose parents are willing to get involved;
- All learners, regardless of background or ability, according to the latest Inclusive Education government policies;
- The younger, the better;
- Learners who have a need for extra academic attention;
- Learners whose mother-tongue is English or Afrikaans;
- Learners who are from the Plettenberg Bay and surrounding areas;
- Learners who are not physically challenged but only mentally challenged;
- Learners who come from a daycare center, pre-school or school, including homeschool;
Finally, if space allows, and learners are placed out to other classes or schools, physically challenged learners can be considered.
2. Do we accommodate physically challenged learners?
The answer to question 1 will make our policies clear. It is therefore possible for us to admit a physically challenged learner into our ELSEN Programme, without discrimination.
3. Does government funding provide in the educational needs of this program?
No. Therefore we always need to think of creative ways of making an extra income. Through this website, it is our goal to create a greater awareness of our programs and our needs. Every bit of support is appreciated.
4. Is the educator fully qualified to teach these children?
The educator in this programme gets other qualified tutors involved as well as the need arises.
The educator studied a B.A degree in Educational Psychology as well as a post-graduate teaching diploma at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth. Thereafter he studied a B.Ed degree with specialization in Education Psychology (Children with Learning Disabilities) at the same university.
He did research abroad, and taught abroad in Europe and the Far East.
After starting the ELSEN Programme as the first male ELSEN educator in 2009, he further enrolled for a B.Ed Honours degree in Education Management, Education Law and Education Systems, through the North West University in Potchefstroom. This degree helped him with ELSEN policy design. He passed the degree CUM LAUDE.
As part of Government’s policy, he also had to do a practical training at Carpe Diem Special Needs School in George in term 1 of 2009, on the specifics of teaching children with special educational needs, before initiating the programme.
In March and April 2012, he had the privilege of visiting more than 20 Special Needs institutions in Europe, to do some further research on Inclusive Education practices worldwide.
A documentary was made on the work that he does. This was done by Daron Chatz Productions, and the main videographer was from the USA.
The documentary on the work that this exceptional teacher does, was used in 2012 and 2013 at the Artevelde University in Ghent in Belgium for training special needs teachers worldwide. See: https://showme.co.za/plett/showme-cares/education-training-charity/documentary-on-education-launched-in-plett/.
The educator was nominated for an honourary degree by an International university linked to the College of Divinity International in October 2019.
On YouTube, his teachings can be seen on the following YouTube channels:
YouTube: Leigh Dunn: Formosa; and YouTube: videophread: Leigh M Dunn
5. Is there another adult or class aid, for times of emergency?
There is a definite need for also having a female adult around on a daily basis, to provide in certain specific needs of the learners, and especially because research has proven that young children much easier relate to a mother figure, than to a male authority figure.
We therefore are fortunate enough to always have full-time assistance from qualified female assistants, who often get paid a small monthly stipend, or volunteer. These ladies assist with discipline and supervision, class activities, differentiation and individual work of specific learners, caring, meals, toilet routine, and cleaning.
6. Are there ELSEN policies available?
There are no ELSEN policies on central government level, nor on provincial government level, nor on local government level.
ELSEN programmes, ELSEN classes and even ELSEN schools are expected to follow the NCS (National Curriculum Statement) and CAPS (Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements) policy documents, which we do. And we are expected to teach these children the main-stream curriculum, but on a lower, adapted level. When I noticed this shortcoming in policy and curriculum, I started to design an ELSEN curriculum and policy, suitable for our ELSEN learners, and based on national legislation, including the National Constitution, The Grade R White Book of 2007, The Education White Paper of 2001 on Inclusive Education and Special Needs teaching, as well as on the NCS and CAPS documents.
Our uniquely designed ELSEN programs (including our own baseline assessment, school readiness programs, pre-reading and pre-writing activities), policies and draft ELSEN curricula have combined all of the above-mentioned legislation, yet adding a necessary touch of creativity, fun and fantasy…
Children need the fun element put back into their school curriculum, and will only succeed if they enjoy what they are doing. This forms the basis of my ELSEN programs, which landed our ELSEN Programme the National Teaching Award for Excellence in Special Needs Teaching and Inclusive Education in 2012 – 2013.
7. Does our education department have an ELSEN curriculum?
See the answer to question 6.
8. Are schools ready and geared for Inclusive Education?
We have done some research and discovered that even school principals and education officials do not fully understand the terms: “full service inclusive schools” and “resource centers”.
Most schools still believe the misconception that an ELSEN Programme is a place of separation, where the child with learning disabilities gets treated “differently” and “separately”.
“Inclusive” education means “including” those who are different, which means that every school and every classroom needs to include and provide for their own learners, regardless of their ability or disability.
This means that schools cannot “dump” their slow learners in ELSEN Programmes anymore. They need to care and provide in the needs of these children too, and they need to teach these children, by adapting their teaching styles and methods.
Even government schools that do not have ELSEN programmes will get an educational assistant / remedial educator, who will have to serve the whole school. This is not a learning support educator, but a help for the school.
Schools which do have ELSEN Programmes will become full-service schools, and the ELSEN Programme will become a resource center to the school, and probably to other developing full-service inclusive schools as well, exactly as this programme of our has been doing for more than 10 years.
This programme has been identified as a pioneer in this field, which is a first for the Western Cape, and then needs to roll out to the rest of our country.
9. Do we serve learners from other communities and language groups?
This ELSEN Programme does not belong to any school. It is a programme much broader than just one school.
We serve and have been serving learners from all the areas in Plettenberg Bay, namely learners from the following suburbs, : Wittedrift, New Horizons, Kwanokothula, Qolweni, Kranshoek, and Plettenberg Bay central.
This situation will change, as soon as our schools become full-service inclusive schools, having to provide for their own learners, which will be to the benefit of these children, who often need to travel quite far.
It is important that these children be taught in their mother-tongue, especially when doing phonics, and therefore we operate for example mainly in English or Afrikaans.
10. In what ways do we receive support from the Education Department?
In the Western Cape, every education district has an IE Team (Inclusive Education Team). This team consists of occupational therapists, speech therapists, educational psychologists and social workers. We fall under the Eden Education District in George. The Eden IE Team has many towns and hundreds of schools to serve. Although we have a really good relation with them, they often do not have the time to visit us or provide any form of support.
Especially our Occupational Therapist, makes sure to visit us and determine our needs, although this cannot happen as often as we wish, due to a hectic schedule on their side.
We therefore need to divert to option B, which is making contact with local Occupational Therapists ourselves, courtesy of the Bitou 10 Foundation, The Sabrina Love Foundation, and “Die Sterreweg” Daycare Center for Physically Handicapped learners in our town. These therapists provide an excellent service, and we wish to thank them for always being available.
Yet, as our learners change and develop, so do our needs. Therefore we are so dependent on the assistance of the business sector and the public.
11. Can ELSEN learners be successfully placed back into main stream education?
Learners with special educational needs always need special academic attention. Yet, we have proved that it is possible for an ELSEN learner to develop and progress emotionally, socially and even academically, to a position in which he/she is capable of functioning satisfactorily in a main-stream class. This is encouraged to happen more frequently, according to the principles of Inclusive Education. In 2009, our ELSEN Programme was the first to place learners back into main-stream education, and our education minister made mention of it on SABC2’s Morning Live program in October of that year. When they do get placed into a main-stream class, they follow an additional remedial support program, and progress is monitored regularly.
Other of our learners receive private tutoring or homeschooling, as needed.
12. Will government assist with providing additional ELSEN Programmes?
Although the ELSEN program is successful, and the need exists for the program to be phased into high schools as well, government funding is limited. The idea is that instead of opening more ELSEN Programmes, the existing programmes will become resource centers. Schools with these resource centers will become full-service inclusive schools, and these resource centers will also assist other schools. And the schools which do not have ELSEN Programmes, will be receiving an additional class assistant / aid, to help educators to implement inclusive practices in that school.
13. Do we get ELSEN Programmes all over South Africa?
In the previous apartheid education system, schools used to have special needs classes known as “Adaptation Classes”. These classes were taken away in 1994, with the new Constitution. Yet, seeing that many learners failed to progress in main-stream education, and systemic evaluation results were so poor, the Western Cape Education department pioneered the establishing of ELSEN Units, and started establishing ELSEN schools, from the year 2001, when Education White Paper 6 on Special Needs and Inclusive Education was released.
The ELSEN program is only found in the Western Cape, but as they change to resource centers, it will be phased into the rest of South Africa, in our government’s goal of aiding every school in our country towards becoming a full-service inclusive school.
14. How long will ELSEN Programmes continue to exist?
There will always be a need for special needs teaching and especially for specialised tutoring. And although Inclusive education means that these children need to be included in main-stream education, the ELSEN Programmes will become resource centers, which will fill very important roles in our country. These classes will not only serve specific learners, but will serve as a guideline to other classes and schools in the Inclusive education model.
Yet this ELSEN programme of ours is unique and serves much more than only schools, providing more than a curriculum.
15. What has winning the National Teaching Award in Special Needs Teaching and Inclusive Education meant for this ELSEN Programme?
The award has placed this ELSEN Programme and its educator in a strategic position as pioneer in Inclusive education in our country, which allows us to share ideas and good practices with other schools, institutions, families and individuals. We are often asked to write articles, mentor, tutor, advise, speak to educationalists and journalists, and share our best practices with other educators and schools, which we regard a great honour indeed!
16. What has the documentary meant for this ELSEN Programme?
The documentary has been viewed by many educational stake-holders, and has been used by the University of Ghent in Belgium in November 2012 and in 2013, as a tool to train educators from developing countries in Inclusive Education and Special Needs teaching, at the International Special Educational Needs Conference. This means that our ideas and suggestions have been shared worldwide, and we know that we are making a difference in the education situation in the world.
17. What does the ELSEN Programme wish to achieve through this website?
Through this website, we wish to create a much greater awareness of specialised tutoring and Special Needs education – a sector of our society which has still been very hidden and misunderstood in our country.
18. Can an ELSEN learner ever develop normally?
With the necessary emotional, social, physical, cognitive and academic stimulation, it is possible for an ELSEN learner to excel and succeed in life. They are often placed back into main-stream education, or into a skills school, where they learn important life skills and learn to cope as well-developed citizens of our country.
19. Is FASD (Foetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder) curable?
No. Mothers seldom realize how detrimental alcohol abuse during pregnancy can be. The child’s brain and body are under-developed, and it then stays in the child’s genes, which makes it even a genetically transferable disorder. There are different levels of FASD, from subtle, and teachable, to visible and highly problematic. Yet, the disorder is incurable.
20. What is the age range of the learners in this ELSEN Programme?
The learners are preferably between the ages of 7 and 13. They either need to be placed into main-stream, or admitted to a skills school, after the age of 12, depending on their level of development and achievement within the ELSEN Programme.
We are also open to providing assistance, even to those who do not fit in the proposed age range. That is why we are a unique, specialised tutoring service.
‘This is me’ school play
Out and About in Plettenberg Bay
In the Classroom
Madiba Day
Physical Address: Willow crescent
Postal Address: PO Box 557
Plettenberg Bay
South Africa
Postal Code: 6600
Telephone: +27(0)820842636
Mobile: +27(0)820842636
Email: info@elsensa.co.za
Website: http://www.elsensa.co.za
Directions: New Horizons
Plettenberg Bay
South Africa
Latitude: -34.05031266902128
Longitude: 23.342331647872925
