The impact of support for Grade Seven learners and beyond

The Nokuphila Primary School is run by The Love Trust, an NPO dedicated to eradicating poverty through quality education and psychosocial care for its learners.

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Starting from as early as Grade 000 through to Grade Seven (with hopes of soon adding grades eight and nine), they help prepare the learners to be their best selves and contributing members of society.

Nadine Kuyper, an educational psychologist with a background in teaching at government and informal settlement schools, is familiar with the education system in one of South Africa’s poorest communities.

“The transition from primary school to high school is such a big one to move from what is a smaller environment that is structured, supportive and nurturing into a completely different climate,” Kuyper said.

“Everything, academically and socially, comes with renewed pressures and so many more demands and expectations.

“This period in the psychological development of a child is an important time for learning independence. It’s unavoidable – teenagers will and need to make mistakes. By learning from mistakes and their natural consequences, learners build experience. It’s how they deal with those consequences that will determine the type of experiences that help shape our identities and self-image.

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“Between the ages of 13 and 18 is a very critical psychosocial stage in a child’s development. During this stage, children are focused on identity and there’s big insecurity about a sense of self, which often leads to identity versus role confusion.

“Role confusion means if a child doesn’t, in this critical period, develop that sense of who they are and a sense of belonging, they get confused. Later in life, it can often cause quite a big rift in intimate relationships, job relationships and just being a functional member of society.”

Kuyper said learners from poorer and disadvantaged communities have an added layer of stress and pressure.

“The discrepancy in South Africa between schooling for the privileged versus the disadvantaged is massive because of what resources they have access to.

“Support is the greatest resource we could provide, but for learners in these poorer communities, access to support systems at home, school and in the community are nearly non-existent.”

Kuyper believes that although transitioning from Grade Seven to Eight is a critical stage, by keeping those support structures in place past this stage, you ‘pave the way for them to buy into their future’, making the learners more resilient and more likely to stay in school.

What can be done by parents and teachers to help prepare children for this transition?

“The transition is just one aspect, coping throughout high school is another. By providing support, teachers and parents form part of a learner’s identity, which they start piecing together in high school.

“Their self-confidence and self-awareness are tied to their support base. Providing consistent support throughout is crucial.

“We must be very careful to not project our experiences. Support doesn’t mean normalising their experiences, because their experience is different if you look back at the world after navigating social media, technology and Covid-19.”

Kuyper stated parents and teachers need to extend their support throughout and truly be present on a learner’s school journey.

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