This presentation by Tracey Butchart of Reflective Learning illustrates the remarkable improvements that can be achieved through using a metacognitive approach to catching up backlogs in mathematics. Read more
The onset of Covid-19 in 2020 fast-tracked the BRIDGE communities of practice (CoPs) into a virtual learning space. The move to online CoP events resulted in changes to our CoP methodology and Read more
The purpose of this CoP was two-fold: Reflect on approaches to building multi-stakeholder partnerships, as per the Do More Foundation’s Leave No Child Behind Initiative. Understand the Department of Social Development Read more
The 'Leave no Child Behind' initiative is geared towards the implementation of the National Integrated Early Childhood Development Policy (NIECDP) in Local Municipal Wards 16 and 19 of the Nkomazi Region, in Mpumalanga. Read more
Tess Peacock, an ECD activist, provided a presentation on a campaign that could galvanise the sector around the current process and to advocate for an effective legal system. Read more
Lizette Berry, a senior researcher from the Children’s Institute, briefly touched on the Children’s Act and explored some of the challenges affecting the ECD sector as a result of the Act. Read more
At the end of August 2020, the DSD introduced a Children's Amendment Bill (B19-2020) into parliament for consideration and on the 19th October 2020, the Bill was published for public comment, this process will run up unt Read more
The National ECD CoP convened around the topic: ECD and the Law. The objective of the ECD CoP was to bring issues around the legal framework closer to the ECD CoP members so that they could better understand what the iss Read more
Cullen Mackenzie's brief overview of school climate surveys shows how conversations on school climate lead to changes in perception and action, holistic improvements in school safety and more conducive learning environme Read more
Mduduzi Qwabe of the Catholic Institute of Education (CIE) outlined the CIE’s Building Peaceful Schools programme which focuses on peacebuilding, conflict resolution and restorative justice. Read more
Angela Pienaar, Deputy Principal of St Augustine’s Catholic Primary School, gave details of the school’s Child Safeguarding Committee and its implementation of child safeguarding operations. Read more
This presentation by Anne Baker of the Catholic Institute of Education (CIE) introduced key aspects of school safety, as well as the National School Safety Framework. Read more
A Dialogue on school safety which outlined The National School Safety Framework. The dialogue looked at aspects of the CIE’s Building Peaceful Schools programme by highlighting the role of the school safety committee a Read more
This is presentation given by Donna Podems at the M&E community of practice on how monitoring and evaluation can respond in agile ways to changing learning contexts. Read more
This is a presentation by Nompumelelo Mohohlwane and Debra Shepard from the Basic Department of Education who shared insights on learning losses due to Covid-19 and catch up plans. Read more
When we look towards 2021, a major concern in education is the impact that learning losses and backlogs will have on new and returning learners at all levels of schooling. What does it mean for curriculum planning and pr Read more
Hassiena presented on the current realities regarding teachers in South Africa and highlighted the importance for teacher internships. We need more schools to grow their own teachers TOGETHER. Collaboration is essential! Read more
Judy Tate provided an update on The Extraordinary Leaders Development Programme from The South African Extraordinary Schools Coalition. A product of the Coalition administered by GTI and Khanyisa and supported by BRIDGE. Read more
Phadiela spoke about an induction programme to assist the new teachers that have started at her school, The Centre of Science and Technology (COSAT) in Khayelitsha which was especially difficult this year withe Covid-19 Read more
Combining adaptive learning with predictive analytics holds great potential for improving the way students learn AI-based learning systems can collect and process huge amounts of data from students’ learning activities Read more
Making use of blended learning which an educational approach that combines online educational opportunities and materials with face-to-face classroom materials during Covid-19. Read more
Being aware of your own emotional health is very important and is part of the 21st century skills for leaders as it is the basis for being socially and culturally aware. The presentation provides ways in which leaders ca Read more
At this meeting, we navigated the theme “Growing Leadership from Within” and listened to inspiring presentations onPersonal Growth; Strategies for D Read more
This is a follow-up survey that looks into the plight of the ECD workforce during the C-19 pandemic. The survey indicates that in the period between August-September 2020, over 4500 ECD practitioners were still experienc Read more
In this presentation, Lawrence Manyesa described the process followed by the Vuleka SSB High School in implementing online teaching to enable teaching and learning to continue during the Covid-19 school closure and reope Read more
The KZN ECD CoP explored how different ECD organisations and the respective programmes had made changes to cope with the pandemic and how the 'new normal' had come to be defined according to these organisations and progr Read more
Professor Ebrahim from UNISA provided a presentation on how the higher education institutions (HEI) had formulated a response to the ECD educator workforce and emphasised elements that would allow the sector to not only Read more
Singakwenza, a KZN based organisation that focuses on training ECD practitioners and caregivers to effectively stimulate young children through toys and resources made from waste material, gave the KZN CoP a presentation Read more
Ntataise gave the KZN ECD CoP a presentation on how they had adapted their training to suit the lockdown regulations whilst ensuring that training and development of ECD practitioners continue. Read more
The learning curve for online teaching and learning has been steep, and much has been learnt in a short while. People are now in a position to take stock of their experiences and evaluate some of the problems and opportu Read more
This online Early Grade Reading CoP shared and explored lessons from reading programmes in South Africa and internationally. To this end the CoP was structured around collaborative presentations from the United States Ag Read more
Khulisa (with partner Benita Williams Evaluation) conducted a Design and Implementation Evaluation of the Reading Support Project (RSP) on behalf of USAID Southern Africa. Comprising 263 schools and over 1500 teachers, t Read more
The need to offer psychosocial support to our education community - and questions around how to monitor and evaluate whether our interventions have any impact - is clearly front of mind for many. This was borne out by th Read more
This was the first Mpumalanga ECD CoP and the focus was on the experiences of the ECD workforce since the reopening of ECD programmes/and or partial care facilities. CoP members shared some positive and negative impacts Read more
Due to the Covid-19 lockdown and the continuing prevalence of online meetings in preference to face-to-face meetings, we are all becoming accustomed to virtual engagements. But are we getting better at them, and are we g Read more
The aim of this National ECD CoP meeting was to understand what the ECD workforce was experiencing on the ground since the official reopening of the ECD programmes/facilities due to the COVID-19 lockdown. We have seen a Read more
Monica Bandeira from the Regional Psychosocial Support Initiative (REPSSI) gave a rich and detailed presentation on a number of aspects of psychosocial support, practical information on ways of conducting M&E during Read more
This Principals Upfront webinar held on 22 July, 2020, explored how technology is enabling the GDE and school management teams (SMTs) to manage the system and provide sustainable remote learning to mitigate the impact of Read more
The e-learning division shared how schools can promote the use of technology to ensure that learning takes place during the Covid-19 pandemic. Read more
Tim Hlongwane who is the SAPA Gauteng President shared on how schools could use technology to promote learning beyond the classroom as well as communicate to stakeholders. Read more
The Gauteng Department of Education presented at the virtual Principals Upfront Seminar hosted on 22 July. The depratment shared the work that has been done throughout the lockdown period to support online teaching and l Read more
Many young trainee teachers never have the opportunity to talk about their lives or the obstacles that might stand in the way of their development as good teachers. This CoP explored an online group coaching model, focus Read more
The SAESC held its first online meeting in July 2020 and in keeping up with the times, it has embraced the use of many virtual technologies through the use of Mentimeter and Google Jamboards. Anthony Selly introduced the Read more
Hampered by the limitations of group size on WhatsApp the group shifted over to another platform called Telegram, and grew exponentially, emphasizing the need for such easily accessible education platforms. This led to t Read more
Judy Tate presented on how the Coalition has developed a programme to address what leadership will look like in the future. The programme is called The Extraordinary Leaders Development Programme from Th Read more
The Covid-19 pandemic has focussed attention on online education. This stimulating virtual session of BRIDGE’s Maths and Science Community of Practice engaged with two presenters who are working in this space. Nonhlan Read more
Lee Rusznyak from Wits University shares some details with the Initial Teacher Education CoP on the JET Researcher’s Boot Camp Theme 11: A model for extra-school-based teaching practicum in Covid-19 and beyond. Read more
As the Covid-19 pandemic continues, students studying to become teachers continue to face challenges in relation to the teaching practice/ work integrated learning element of their studies. Over the past two CoP meetings Read more
This is a presentation done by Vuyelwa Mbalekwa from Shine Literacy on the work done by the organisation and how they have supported learning in the home during Covid-19. Read more
This was the first joint Early Childhood Development and Early Grade Reading Community of Practice that BRIDGE has hosted. Covid-19 has disrupted our sense of normality; with this in mind, the purpose of this meeting was Read more
As education stakeholders continue to grapple with the impact of Covid-19 on schools and learners in all contexts, it is clear that reliable data is essential for making good decisions on how to address emerging challeng Read more
This is a presentation given by Nyaradzo Mutanha of Tshikululu Social Investments at our M&E CoP. Nyaradzo shared common M&E terminology and tools in the time of Covid-19 Read more
This is a presentation given by Benita Williams on the role of M&E in coordinating education responses to Covid-19 and the need for evidence. Read more
This is a presentation given at our M&E community of practice meeting by Asgar Bhikhoo of the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation on Navigating M&E Systems during COVID-19. Asgar shared tips, tools and tricks to allow fo Read more
On the 21st May, the WC ECD CoP held a meeting to come with ideas around the reopening of ECD programmes. The CoP members took time to discuss their concerns around the issue of reopening and also identifying what ECD pr Read more
The objective of the meeting was to better understand what to expect under the Covid-19 circumstances so we can plan appropriately for the future and identify opportunities for ECD. It is believed that Covid-19 has most Read more
Covid-19 is not only posing risks and challenges to entrepreneurs and businesses but is creating opportunities as well. A key development has been the move towards greater digitization, even in non-technological contexts Read more
On the 7th May 2020. The WC ECD CoP held a meeting to understand what members had been doing with regards to COVID-19 challenges in the sector and province. A brief discussion was also held on navigating the reopening of Read more
To date there has been no communication regarding the re-opening of ECD sites under level 4 of lockdown. There are risks with both opening ECDs and keeping them closed. BRIDGE facilitated a CoP to get perspectives on mem Read more
SmartStart has analysed and documented a number of reopening scenarios and ECD programme modality analysis to identify risks, opportunities and mitigation risks around reopening of ECD programmes in the COVID context. Read more
SmartStart has analysed and documented a number of reopening scenarios and ECD programme modality analysis to identify risks, opportunities and mitigation risks around reopening of ECD programmes in the COVID context. Read more
The Covid-19 pandemic has deeply affected education across all sectors. This online meeting of the Initial Teacher Education Community of Practice explored its impact on teacher education programmes in higher education, Read more
You've had constant invites to "join a Zoom meeting", your friends and families have all said "let's hang out on Zoom"....but you have no idea what Zoom is!! BRIDGE has put together this simple, easy to use and handy gui Read more
In line with government’s concern for lives and livelihoods, we believe that support needs to be offered to ECD operators owing to the circumstances they find themselves in due to COVID-19. It is for this reason that a Read more
March 2020 marked the start of public recognition of the Covid-19 virus in South Africa, and the practice of social distancing. In response to this new reality, BRIDGE held its first online only M&E CoP meeting, with Read more
This is a consolidation of presentations given at the first M&E community of practice meeting held on 17 March 2020. The main topic covered challenges of data. Read more
How are schools and districts using data to drive learner improvement? This was the theme of the first Principals Upfront dialogue of 2020. Noluthando Mqakelana of New Leaders Foundation discussed the value of data to sc Read more
Principals Upfront – Presentation on Data-driven Decision Making in Schools: Starting the Process of Improvement, by Noluthando Mqakelana of New Leaders Fou Read more
The Department of Labour addressed ECD CoP in October 2020 and the CoP had requested further investigations by the reference group specifically on the matter of the National Minimum Wage Act and the adverse effects it ha Read more
Our first Teacher Development CoP looked at becoming a Trauma-Informed teacher, with a particular focus on how teachers can become trauma-informed and teacher wellbeing. Read more
From the Function Shift dialogues, recommendations were made by ECD Civil Society and the CECDN team to potentially guide and influence the transition and all the changes that would need to take place as a result. This p Read more
The ECD civil society undertook dialogues in all nine provinces and these dialogues were facilitated by the Collaboration of ECD Networks (CECDN). The CECDN is a collaboration between BRIDGE Innovation in Learning, Natio Read more
The support provided by effective mentorship and coaching will help professionalise the ECD sector, and ensure that ECCE teachers learn good practice. The National ECD CoP held on 10 March 2020 shared mentorship and coac Read more
The CECDN Provincial Dialogues were consolidated into an initial document of raw comments. These comments serve as a reference, included in the final report on the dialogues, of the rich conversations that took place. Read more
The WC ECD CoP had a CoP exploring the different departments that are involved in providing services for ECD. This was a brainstorm session where CoP members identified the departments and also provided contacts where po Read more
BRIDGE hosted the first EGR CoP at Read Educational Trust. The CoP focused on the importance of developing Pre-literacy skills in children and what these skills are. Read more
This is a presentation given by Andrew Barret at the maths and science community of practice held on 25 Feburary 2020. Andrew’s presentation focused on OLICO Maths Education’s work in the after-school or extra-curric Read more
The BRIDGE Maths and Science Community of Practice (CoP) has in the past contemplated the content of the curriculum, often with a view to suggesting changes to it. We have heard the opinion - strongly stated - that the F Read more
The first SAESC meeting was held on 24 February at Holy Family College in Parktown. Among other themes, the meeting focussed on innovative classrooms, experiential learning and sustainable development. Read more
This presentation by Nkosi Mthembu, a grade 8-9 Robotics teacher and a grade 10-12 IT teacher at St David’s explains how to build a circuit and the learning opportunities this creates for learners and educators. Read more
Vicky Kumm presented on the history of True North, their M&E journey and how it has evolved. Vicky spoke to the inputs, outputs and outcomes of their 21-year Logic Model which started in 2007 with a vision to support Read more
In a continued effort to encourage knowledge sharing and peer-learning, the Western Cape Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) CoP invited individual CoP members to present and discuss their M&E journey at CoP meetings Read more
PIECCE is a multi-stakeholder collaborative project (January 2017 to March 2020), funded by the European Union, the Department of Higher Education and Training, and UNICEF, which produced a Programme Framework for a Dipl Read more
Presentation made by Khotso Tsotsotso of New Leaders Foundation at the M&E community of practice meeting held in November 2019. His presentation focused on Impact Investing and M&E. Read more
Presentation given by Fatimah Wadvalla from IQ Business at the M&E community of practice meeting held in November 2019. Fatima's presentation focused on Integrating M&E for robust reporting. Read more