Spitskop Special Needs School opened its doors on the 11th February 2013. The school is situated in Thabazimbi and the first of its kind in the Waterberg District. We are a non-profit organization with Section 18A status, a Public Benefit Organization and B-BBEE certified and the school has no formal financial anchor. We have been registered with the Department of Education, our EMIS number is 961104300 as a private special need school but still no funding from the government’s side.

The school provides care, stimulation and education for 42 children with pervasive developmental disorders, such as Autism, Down’s syndrome, Epilepsy, Brain damage, Cerebral Palsy, learning barriers and other problems that affect normal development. The development of basic life skills and cognitive stimulation is very important, most of these children lack communication skills and therefore, do not understand the world that they are living in. Our aim is to develop these children to the best of their abilities, to enable them to function in society.

We also started an Academic Orientated Centre for children that could not “cope” with the high demands of main stream schooling. After careful evaluation, these children follows a Vocational group 50% CAPS / 50% Life skills and they will be placed into Specialized Centres where they will learn a craft.  These children have a need for an educational system that offers learners classes with fewer learners in a class and assistance with one-on-one education, should it be required.

The school aims to tackle these uniquely challenged children’s problems, holistically. Besides cognitive and academic stimulation, we spend a lot of time outdoors. We have a greenhouse tunnel which is nurtured and maintained by the children. Organized outside play, plays an enormous role in these children’s social development, they also care for the farm animals and their basic sense of responsibility is developed. We have a temporarily erected swimming pool where the children learn basic water safety, exercise and have a lot of fun. Two Jungle Gyms and a Trampoline also provide exercise through play.

We have a feeding scheme, two meals per day. A well-equipped Physical therapy room, one-on-one program, learn through play and educational games that addresses specific development problems. Part of the skills development program is Kitchen Activities, where the basic skills of cooking as well as kitchen safety are implemented. Computer literacy is also part of the development program. Spitskop Special Needs School’s aim is to provide all of the above to the best of its ability.

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