The Isibindi Ezikoleni model (meaning ‘courage in schools’ in isiZulu) aims to improve the well-being of vulnerable and at-risk learners with their safety, education, health, and psychosocial needs through school-based child and youth care work. Isibindi Ezikoleni supports the retention and progression of learners by providing targeted school-based child and youth care academic development and psychosocial support services.
The Isibindi Ezikoleni Model provides a holistic and integrated child and youth care (CYC) response to the needs of girls and boys in primary and secondary schools.
The CYC profession is regulated in South Africa and is a recognised social service profession. Child and youth care workers (CYCWs) are trained to develop caring professional relationships with young people, and to work in their lifespace.
The design of the Isibindi Ezikoleni Model is to provide school-based child and youth care services that meet the physical, social, emotional, cognitive and spiritual needs of vulnerable learners and strengthen their resilience by placing CYCWs in schools; creating a safe physical space for the delivery of CYC services; and delivering a core package of school-based CYC services, supported by home visits.
Who has it Benefited?
Isibindi Ezikoleni programmes started in 2016 and have now reached over 20,000 high-risk learners and more than 100,000 low to medium-risk learners through a range of whole-school, class, group and individual activities in schools. There have been over 500 trained child and youth care workers working in over 400 schools to support children. The programmes derived from the model support children in schools and includes children who have dropped out and are supported to re-integrate to school. Differences occur, for example, in terms of the age, grade and gender of learners targeted, as well as in the categories of learners who would receive special attention.
Existing projects
Basic Education Employment Initiative Programme (BEEIP)
NACCW partnered with the Free State, Eastern Cape, and Northern Cape Provincial Departments of Education to improve the wellbeing of school communities by training close to 300 people in modules of the auxiliary child and youth care qualification under the Basic Education Employment Initiative Programme. The programme was implemented in nearly 200 schools across the provinces, reached close to 10,000 ‘high-risk’ learners for in-depth child and youth care services and over 30,000 learners of ‘low to medium’ risk.
Key to the success of this programme was the supervision and mentorship of the education assistants as Trainee Auxiliary CYCWs by qualified, experienced and registered CYCWs. One mentor was responsible for the mentorship and supervision of 10 – 12 Trainee Auxiliary CYCWs. Many principals said that they saw the value of having Trainee Auxiliary CYCWs at their schools because they can manage the varying situations and needs of learners.