The Afterschool Zone in Kensington – owned and run by Carla Olfsen and Wayne Blomkamp – is making a difference in the lives of 58 families.
The facility has eight teachers and caters to 80 children. It was launched in 2015, with the support of Leicester Road Primary School to provide after school care for schoolchildren. Olfsen has 27 years experience in teaching. “I started teaching at Primrose Primary School. Prior to the Afterschool Zone I was a deputy head of Summit College Primary School.
“After retiring, my partner and I bought this house and renovated it. It was then when the idea of the Afterschool Zone came about. I wanted to continue passing on knowledge through teaching. The facility came at the right time,” she said.
In 2015, the Sunday Times sponsored five iPads to the facility in order to promote education. The Zone assists youngsters with homework and other activities and, when necessary, they receive individual attention.
Parents of children who attend the Afterschool Zone are satisfied with the facility and happy with the services it provides to their children. Irene Slabbert said she has been a parent to children at Leicester Road Primary School since 2007. “Until the Afterschool Zone opened, my children had nowhere to go after school. I had to make arrangements for transportation, which resulted in my daughter only getting home from school sometimes as late as 4pm. My daughter was unable to participate in after school activities and sports as transport and after school care arrangements were a constant problem,” she said.
Slabbert said her daughter has been attending the Afterschool Zone for two years now and she would be devastated should it close. The facility has incredible play areas for children. Besides providing various sporting areas for the youngsters, the Afterschool Zone has tight security. They have a safe and reliable security system, where every parent or guardian is able to gain access into the school with the use of their fingerprints.
Sandra Abrahams who has been a teacher at the Afterschool Zone since its launch in 2015 said working for the school has been incredible. “I get to learn something new every day by working with children.”
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