Gauteng Gr R Language Improvement Programme
Donor: Gauteng Education Development Trust, USAID, Zenex Foundation,The Maitrie Trust
Partners: Gauteng Department of Education, JET Education Services, Schools Development Unit, Kelello
Duration: 2022-2025
Location: Gauteng Province
Project model:
The Grade R Improvement Programme is an initiative of the Gauteng Department of Education to capacitate all Grade R teachers in public schools with home language and maths classroom resources, training and support. Wordworks has been the technical advisor in the development of the province’s home language classroom programme adapted from our Stellar Home Language while the Schools Development Unit (SDU) provided the maths content expertise for the development of the Gr R maths classroom programme. Through a train – the -trainer model, Wordworks and SDU trained and supported 180 trainers, comprising all Foundation Phase subject advisors and selected Department Heads, to conduct resource- based training and support for 3741 Gr R teachers. The project made it possible to version the home language and maths classroom programmes into eleven South African languages. An external evaluation of the Gr R home language programme conducted by Kelello in 2023, shows that teachers implementing the home language programme developed stronger literacy teaching practices, and children in these classrooms demonstrated improved early literacy skills.
The province required us to adapt the Stellar and R- Maths classroom programmes for Special Needs schools. Wordworks contracted Special Needs specialists, whose expertise contributed to the development of Stellar (in 2024) and R-Maths (ongoing in 2025) classroom materials to support blind, deaf, physical and neurological and cognitive modalities in the special needs spectrum. In addition, Wordworks trained trainers to conduct resource-based workshops with 95 Special Needs teachers.
Sustaining the intervention:
Both the home language and maths programmes have been accepted as part of the official Grade R programme for the province. Department of Education officials and Foundation Phase Department Heads are capacitated to support classroom implementation. An online course of the home language programme has been created, making it possible for new teachers entering the system to be trained on the classroom programme, as well as giving trained teachers the opportunity to use the online modules to refresh their content knowledge.
Research and results:
We do not have evaluation results from this particular project but you may find it useful to look at these two learning briefs which unpack the approach taken to language teaching in the Stellar Programme.
In the field:
