Anglo American Platinum Schools Project (AAPSP)
Anglo American Platinum launched their schools project to improve learners’ mathematics, science and English skills. The project covers three technical high schools which they have partnered with near the mine’s operations in Limpopo Province namely:
Mogale Wa Bagale Technical High School in Burgersfort in the Sekhukhune District; Phaladingoe Technical High School in the Mogalakwane area in the Waterberg District; and Thekganang Technical High School in the Amandebult area also in the Waterberg District.
Since the project’s inception, the number and severity of social problems affecting the learners has been staggering and AAP could not deal with this alone. Further to this many learners are not aware of the different types of jobs/careers that are out there, what studies are required for the different careers and which institutions are able to cater for the different careers. AAPSP therefore took the decision to include the dimension psychological services to assist students with psycho-social, career and educational problems which impact on their learning.
In February 2021, AAP selected the Sci-Bono Career Centre to be the preferred supplier to execute the one of the seven scopes of enquiry, namely Direct Learner Support: Psychological Services for grade 9 and 12’s. The project will run over three years.
The Psychological Services Workstream signed a project charter with the AAPSP and committed to deliver intervention programs in the following key performance areas (KPAs)
To provide career development support to learners in order to enable them to make informed career decisions as well as have appropriate plans for future studies in higher education or the world of work.
To provide psycho-social programs and activities to help learners develop social and coping skills to adapt, integrate, and relate healthily in and outside the school environment, which will result in improved discipline in the school.
To provide educational psychological assessments to learners who present with demonstrable barriers to learning and who are possible candidates for accommodations, placements and concessions.
To implement strategies for building resilience of learners who are at risk of educational failure in order to improve academic resilience and success.
To provide support to educators, HODs and School Based Support Teams (SBST) on how to facilitate learner career development as well as apply learner resilience strategies in order to build institutional capacity post the life span of the project.
Transfer of skills to Life Orientation educators on how to facilitate learner career development and support.
Year 1 closed out with the following key highlights:
Subject Choice Assessment, Report Writing and Feedback
117 Grade 9 learners from Phaladingoe Technical High School.
71 Grade 9 learners from Thekganang Technical High School.
Subject Choice Group Workshops
198 Grade 9 learners from Mogale Wa Bagale Technical High School
Career guidance and job search skills workshops were delivered to the top 10 Grade 12 learners shortlisted for Anglo bursaries as well as online tertiary study applications for admissions into the 2022 academic year.
Career Guidance Group Workshop
25 learners attended the workshops, an additional 103 from Phaladingoe also received career guidance on the request of the School Principal.
Job Search Skills Workshop
27 learners attended the workshops
Online university applications
78 learners applied to tertiary institutions. Another 10 from the shortlist from Anglo also applied online through PS Connect’s online career transitioning platform.
School Based Counselling
Support Program
Registered counsellors have been placed in the three schools and are providing counselling sessions for individual learners as well as run exam preparation group workshops for learners in Grades 10, 11 and 12 where necessary.
The project activities were delivered under difficult and untenable COVID-19 circumstances resulting in a series of adaptations to the initial project plans. As a result, the workstream had to navigate against a range of priority competing curriculum imperatives in order to achieve some of the project charter outcomes.
The same conditions will most likely continue to prevail and will require the team to switch over and adapt to online offerings. All in all, AAP have been happy with the overall performance of this psychological services workstream.
