The Integrated Community Development Programme (ICDP) Trust - Lebone Centre

VISION:

"Nurturing Children, Empowering Families, Transforming Communities":
Safe and vibrant communities where children grow into well-rounded, happy individuals realising their full potential. 

MISSION:

To create and implement innovative early stimulation programmes, tailored to age-appropriate stages, that comprehensively support the developmental pathways of young children in marginalised communities in Makhanda

CORE VALUES:

At the Lebone Centre:
- We believe in the right of all people to develop to their full potential.
- We commit to treating all people in a dignified and respectful manner.
- We hold ourselves accountable to the community we serve and to each other.
- We believe in the value of teamwork and partnerships.

Mrs Tarr is the Director of the Lebone Centre. She is responsible for oversight of all the Lebone Centre programmes as well as organisational management and fundraising. She was appointed Director in 2022. 

The Lebone Centre is committed to implementing a comprehensive range of programmes to support the holistic development of young children both on-site at the Lebone Centre and off-site in schools and various community locations. This is done through the Pipeline Programme, with the overall objective of supporting confident and capable children 0-9 years (and families) to contribute positively to society and achieve their developmental potential as a means to break the cycle of poverty. Various projects are delivered through a Pipeline Programme to impact children’s development through early stimulation and holistic support, as well as nurturing the parent-child relationship

Project READ is one of the organisation's flagship projects that was established in September 2011. The project was initially overseen by the Projects Manager who has over 30 years of experience working in the NPO and literacy sector, and is currently overseen by the Lebone Centre Director who is a qualified occupational therapist and supported by the Projects Manager. The project site coordinator has been trained and has utilised literacy support materials for the past 8 years. She has a very good working relationship with school management and teachers, as well as the volunteers and SEF participants she oversees. 

The Lebone Centre Director is supported by the Trustees of the Integrated Community Development Trust (ICDP) to develop the Pipeline Programme in line with best practices in the sector. We firmly believe that, for the organisation to remain relevant and to achieve its overall objective, we need to implement best practices. In addition, from a social justice perspective and in a resource-scarce country, we need to ensure that the interventions offered are effective and cost-efficient so that resources can be equitably utilised. 

Support literacy development in Grade R & 1 learners in the language of teaching to read and write with confidence. 

A recent study (PIRLS) indicated that 81% of learners in South Africa are unable to read for meaning when they turn 10 (Grade 4) (Department of Basic Education, 2023). https://www.up.ac.za/media/shared/164/ZP_Files/2023/piirls-2021_highlights-report.zp235559.pdf

Research conducted by GADRA Education in Makhanda revealed a slightly better result with over 40% of learners being able to read for meaning. However, this is by no means acceptable although much better than the national average. https://gadraeducation.co.za/media/1200/grade-4-research-report.pdf

In marginalised communities, often deeply rooted in multi-generational poverty, children face systemic barriers that impede their developmental trajectory. Barriers may include:

• low literacy levels in parents, 
• the language of teaching in the child's school is not the same as the home language of the learners and 
• learners’ foundational pre-literacy skills that have not been mastered by the time they enter formal schooling in Grade R. 

By providing learners with additional support, the risk factors that negatively impact their development can be mitigated, and this is crucial to disrupting the poverty cycle and cultivating an environment that encourages the realisation of their full potential.

The Lebone Literacy Programme (LLP)  has been running for the past 12 years at various no-fee schools in Makhanda which are located in marginalised, previously disadvantaged communities. The LLP has two components: Project READ and Nal’ibali Reading Clubs.

Project READ:

Project READ  supports Grade R and Grade 1 learners in no-fee schools in previously disadvantaged communities. These learners are identified through formal assessment and discussion with the class teacher as requiring additional literacy support. Each identified learner in the programme is allocated to a trained literacy facilitator. The facilitator provides weekly 1:1 or small group literacy support (in the language of teaching) for the learners, using WordWorks TIME materials. Baseline assessments are conducted as well as end-of-year assessments to determine their progress. 

By ensuring that children are ready to read by the end of Grade R or enhancing their reading skills in Grades 1, this programme lays a strong foundation for academic success. 

The project is intended to positively impact a learner's ability to be ready to read and write (at the end of Grade R) or their reading and writing ability in Grade 1. Fluent reading and writing in the Foundation Phase serves as a foundation for academic success in later grades as learners have improved comprehension skills, a better vocabulary and higher levels of critical thinking. Reading programmes can empower students to reach their full potential and contribute positively to society.

Nal'ibali Reading Clubs support a selection of Grade 2 learners (who were previously part of Project READ) to participate in weekly reading clubs with trained volunteers and utilise Nal'ibali supplements. 

To date, we have not conducted formal research on Project READ. However, we have data from several years of assessments (baseline and end-of-year). We also stay updated on current trends in the literacy space. 

The Lebone Centre is actively involved in  the Education Cluster (Makhanda Circle of Unity) and the Makhanda Literacy Collective, which aims to improve literacy outcomes for learners across schools in Makhanda (from preschool to Grade 12 level) and 

Currently, the Lebone Centre leads literacy initiatives in Makhanda in the Foundation Phase. Based on our success, Rhodes University Community Engagement (RUCE) co-opted the Lebone Centre in 2023 and 2024 to train student volunteers to implement Project Read at three additional no-fee schools across the City. Project READ is being implemented at five schools across the City: Grahamstown Primary School, George Dickerson Primary School, CV Vellum, Ntaba Maria and St Mary’s Primary School.

The Lebone Centre works closely with GADRA Education, which is currently training Grade 1 teachers to teach literacy skills in English medium schools. Once teacher training is complete, we will shift the primary intervention from Grade 1 to Grade R in English Language of Teaching and Learning (LOLT) schools. We will continue to support Grade R learners at the English, Afrikaans and isiXhosa LOTL and Grade 1 learners in Afrikaans or isiXhosa LOLT schools (depending on available resources/funding).

In May 2024, we will be presenting the Project READ collaboration between RUCE and the Lebone Centre at the RUCE Community Engagement Conference. In June 2024, we are presenting a follow-up paper at the Amazwi Children's Literacy Conference on classroom libraries. We presented various projects run by the Lebone Centre at the Amazwi Children's Literature Conference and the Literacy Association of South Africa (LITASA) in 2023. 

We have worked closely with various academic departments at Rhodes University and have conducted research on classroom library interventions,  multilingual teaching in preschools and the effectiveness of a home visiting programme in the First 1000 Days project. We are currently working with the Rhodes University Journalism Department on providing training to families to utilise microSD cards pre-loaded with digital literacy materials. This aims to improve access to literacy materials through digital mediums such as audiobooks and e-books for children, teens and adults to imbed reading for pleasure in the community and is part of a larger project to "Create Communities of Readers", funded by the DG Murray Trust. 

WordWorks, as a national organisation, has not had a formal evaluation done of their Foundation Phase literacy materials (other than masters dissertation https://www.wordworks.org.za/w...) This research would be of value to them as well. 

All monitoring is done internally utilising existing assessment tools (WordWorks Early Literacy Assessment -WELA) and capturing the data on an Excel spreadsheet. 

A small-scale analysis of the results of the assessments indicates that children attending Project READ have improved reading and writing. 

Qualitative feedback from the class teachers is positive, and most teachers indicate that all children in the class would benefit from attending Project  READ if we had more resources and volunteers. 

When one compares the impact of the project with the number of project beneficiaries, it is extremely cost-effective, particularly as volunteers are utilised to keep personnel costs to a minimum. 

The Lebone Centre is dedicated to advancing social justice by enhancing literacy levels among Grade R and Grade 1 learners living in previously disadvantaged communities and marginalised neighbourhoods. This vital initiative aims to provide foundational literacy skills crucial for academic achievement and holistic development. Through the innovative Project READ and supporting individual or small groups of emerging readers and writers, we seek to empower learners with literacy skills to excel in their educational journey. 

We believe the literacy interventions we provide through Project READ have a positive impact on the literacy development of all learners who engage in the programme. The project has been operational since September 2011. However, as a small and implementing organisation, we do not have the means to analyse the data from assessments and/or track the children's progress or further success.  We need hard evidence as to the success of the intervention. 

In a resource-scarce community (human resources, financial resources), we need to make sure that the intervention is cost-effective and achieves the aim of improving learners reading and writing as a foundation for later academic success. 

1. Do learners who participate in the programme improve in reading and writing ?
2. At which grade level and in what dosage should intervention be aimed to have the greatest impact on literacy?
3. Does engaging in Project READ make a difference to learners' attitudes to reading and writing? 

1. The effectiveness of the programme in improving literacy in learners
2. The effectiveness of utilising volunteers as programme implementers and the effectiveness of training that they receive.
3. Programme dosage (the time allocated to each session, the number of sessions, frequency of sessions, programme materials)

1. To adapt the Project READ programme to incorporate the outputs into the current format or change the current format (if needed) to positively impact learner literacy at participating schools.
2. To share the research findings with WordWorks (who developed the literacy materials used).  
3. To share the knowledge with stakeholders (including the Department of Basic Education, the Teacher Training Faculty at Rhodes University and other civil society organisations working either in schools or in the afterschool sector) on an effective and cost-efficient programme that can be implemented to improve learner literacy levels in resource-scarce communities. 
4. To provide evidence to funders that the intervention is effective in improving literacy levels in Grade R and 1 learners.
5. To provide evidence to roll the programme out across Makhanda through the Vice Chancellor's Initiative to make Makhanda a Centre of Excellence for Education across all ages. 

The desired long-term outcome would be to ensure that Project READ positively impacts learners so that they can read for meaning by the end of Grade 4 in the language of teaching and learning.  

Furthermore, the project would provide compelling evidence of its efficacy to potential funders. This evidence-based approach would enhance the organisation's grant/funding proposals and also improve our capacity to secure continued funding over multiple years, ensuring sustained impact and progress.