Strengthening Home-School Partnerships: Wordworks’ collaboration with WCED and Year Beyond

29/07/2025

Wordworks, in collaboration with the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) and Year Beyond, launched a project in July 2025 to support parents and caregivers of Grade 4 learners from 25 schools across the province. By providing guidance, resources, and practical strategies, families were able to actively support early literacy and overall learning at home.

Parents and caregivers played a crucial role in shaping children’s learning habits and literacy development. By expanding initiatives to interact directly with families, Wordworks helped children build strong foundations in reading, language skills, and confidence in their learning journey.

From 22 to 24 July 2025, Wordworks trained 25 retired and ex-teachers to facilitate the Home-School Partnerships (HSP) programme. These experienced teacher-facilitators equipped parents with practical strategies and educational resources to support children’s reading programs, literacy development, and early language learning at home.

The HSP programme was designed for Foundation Phase and Learning Support teachers to create a collaborative space where parents could share knowledge and ideas about children’s language and early literacy development. Through eight weeks of interactive workshops, parents and caregivers gained skills to foster daily literacy activities and strengthen home-school connections.

By building cooperation between families and schools, the programme empowered parents as their children’s first teachers and reinforced the impact of early childhood literacy programmes, educational resources for parents and caregivers, and home-school partnerships across communities.