## **ANNUAL REPORT April 2021 – March 2022 Registered Charity Number 1103909** ## **Objects** The objects of Tyume Valley Schools Development Association (TVSDA), as set out in its governing document, are to enhance educational opportunities and improve the life chances of children in the remote and impoverished Tyume Valley, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. TVSDA furthers its charitable purposes for the public benefit, by working closely with primary and secondary schools in Tyume Valley to provide additional resources, teaching and other learning opportunities, with a focus on: - Improving children’s ability to read, write, speak and understand English language - Introducing children to basic IT skills and vocabulary - Involving local teachers, school principals and community members - Promoting links between Tyume Valley schools and the wider world. The Trustees have had regard to the Charity Commission’s public benefit guidance when exercising any powers or duties to which the guidance is relevant. ������������������ 1 ## **The Impact of Covid-19** NB The South African school year runs from January to December, so this report covers part of two school years. _**2021**_ It should be noted that like 2020, 2021 was not a normal year. Although most school lockdowns took place in 2020 the impact of Covid-19 continued to cause uncertainty and disruption in schools throughout 2021. The first school term began in mid-February, a month late. The country was on adjusted alert level 3 (restrictions on many activities including workplace and socially) from 16 June to 27 June and 26 July to 12 September 2021 and on adjusted alert level 4 (extreme precautions to limit community transmission and outbreaks) from 28 June to 25 July 2021. The resulting adjustments and shortening of the school term times and academic weeks disrupted teaching and learning. Social distancing requirements meant that it was not possible to transport children to afternoon classes and it was not until May 2021 that TVS was able to begin to provide the restricted programme of activities described in the next section. _**2022**_ By the beginning of 2022 the direct impact of Covid-19 was no longer felt but the legacy of two years of disrupted education still had a major effect on learners, whose socialisation and levels of understanding in key subjects was far below the standard required for them to progress satisfactorily. ## **Primary School Teaching and Learning** _**2021 School Year**_ **(** _**April to December)**_ At the beginning of the school year a total of eight Learning Support Assistants were recruited and given training in general teaching methodology and English Language teaching before being allocated for two days a week to local primary schools. to support teachers with school post-Covid catch-up. To accommodate as many learners as possible and fit in with changes to the school timetable TVS cut the length of its pre-Covid _Starting English_ course to a six-week module focussing on English as a spoken language and engaging learners through action songs, rhymes, games and stories. Participation was extended to some 300 children. An initial cohort of 163 Grade 4 learners from 8 different primary schools began the course in May, followed by a second cohort of 137 Grade 4 learners from 7 different Primary Schools. The six-week module took place in the afternoons at the respective schools’ premises, with one TVS staff member, one Learning Support Assistant and one schoolteacher in attendance and TVS supplied the learners with sandwiches and juice. The academic ability and language fluency varied from school to school which required each lesson to be adapted to each different circumstance and learner abilities. Lesson extensions together with practical advice and guidance was supplied through various mediums by the expert TVS team based in the U.K. and the TVS ground staff quickly learnt to adapt the lessons to the various circumstances. The programme was well received by School Principals, teachers and enthusiastic learners alike. Learning Support Assistants were able to provide a continuation and support of the lessons learnt during the Starting English programme during normal school hours. Travelling to and conducting the _Starting English_ programme in different schools allowed for a broader understanding and solving of each schools’ particular challenges and the overall evidence indicates that 2 the _Starting English_ programme had a positive influence on learners’ attitudes towards and understanding of the English Language in general. This being achieved within a relatively short period of time. ## _**2022 School Year (January to March)**_ With the ending of social distancing at the end of 2021 it was possible for TVS to revert to a full afternoon programme but TVS found itself without a base. Both Phandulwaze High School and Dyamala Primary School, which had previously hosted the programme, no longer had space to accommodate it and strenuous efforts to find accommodation at Melani Primary School and Tyali High School were unsuccessful. When the opportunity arose to occupy unused classrooms at Amabhele High School in Krwa Krwa village the offer was accepted with thanks. Once the buildings had been upgraded and repaired it was possible for TVS to set up two classrooms. Shelving and books were transferred from the former library in Dyamala and given a new home in the old science laboratory at Amabhele and four composting toilets were installed close to the TVS classrooms for the use of TVS learners. 3 The difficulties encountered during the Covid outbreak highlighted the need for increased support in key subjects such as English and Maths and for the use of ICT in teaching and learning. Plus, it was clear that **all** schools enrolled in 2021 were still in need of help. In response TVS developed eight-week modules of _Starting English_ and a new _Starting Maths_ course to be presented to Grade 3 and 4 learners (to be presented in Terms 1 and 2) and a revised version of the TechLearn course piloted in 2019 for Grades 5 and 6 (to be presented in Terms 3 and 4). Learning Support Assistants worked with the same schools as in 2021 but with extended hours, and training for LSAs and teachers was developed using specially written Teaching English and Teaching Maths modules closely integrated with both afternoon sessions and in-school lessons. The provision of laptops and projectors enabled the introduction of the use of Powerpoint presentations and videos for teaching purposes which were particularly useful in encouraging a new approach to Maths education. The first cohort of the Starting English and Starting Maths Programmes, consisted of eight primary schools, totalling 138 Grade 3 & 4 Learners. The first few weeks of the course, being held in the afternoons during mid-summer, proved quite difficult with learner fatigue and high temperatures creating a limit on the amount of course content that the learners could absorb. Fortunately, the in-school, morning follow up sessions with the LSAs proved most helpful and lesson content that was not covered during the afternoon session, was taught during school hours the next day. The introduction of Maths was especially problematic. Some of the LSAs found it difficult to present unfamiliar teaching material and extra training and support was required. Once again there was considerable variation between learners from different schools which needed to be addressed. ## **Reading Clubs** Due to Covid, the work of the reading clubs was unable to take place throughout much of 2020. Some books were collected and cleaned and redistributed to children in the villages. But this had to be done individually as gatherings were not permitted under lockdown rules. The beginning of the school year in 2021 saw a renewed effort to develop and grow the village Reading Clubs. The new LSAs were trained using the Nali’Bali online course. This gave them the skills and knowledge to help in villages but also to promote reading and a love of books within schools. By April of that year the initial four Reading Clubs were up and running again and by April 2022 this had increased to seven, covering around 200 children. ## **Study Camps** Although TVS was unable to hold any study camps during this reporting period due to Covid restrictions we were able to facilitate the participation of seventy Tyume primary school children in a Leadership, Environment and Sustainability Education (LEASE) camp held at Hobbiton in Hogsback in November 2021 ## **Amabhele High School Tech Lessons** Midway through term 1 and at the request of the Grade 8 learners of Amabhele High School, Wednesday morning computer classes commenced with 28 willing and eager learners, who are basically following TVS TechLearn principles and exercises. Once the 4 TVS strong room has been completed (to store the laptops on the premises), Grade 12 learners will be taught basic I.T. skills by the TVS team. ## **Monitoring and Evaluation** **2021** A pre-course “Speaking and Listening Test” consisting of basic introductions, checking learners’ abilities to follow instructions in spoken English as well as vocabulary and narrative skills was conducted with each learner before the beginning of the 6-week Starting English module. Running the Starting English Programme in eight different schools showed different levels of capability within the various groups of learners and how they participated in the programme. Through close monitoring and mentoring by the South African management staff, Learning Support Assistants and tutors, and the U.K. TVS team, these challenges were addressed as they arose. A Whattapp group was appointed for this purpose and regular, online meetings took place to allow for adaptations/extensions of the programme to take place. Unfortunately, due to academic school calendar disruptions caused by Covid-19 lockdown regulations, TVS staff were unable to complete all of the post-course testing but results from MacFarlane Primary School, which had a lower school average than the other schools with the first test, showed an overall 24% improvement with their post-test results, suggesting a positive impact. _**2022**_ In June 2022 a group of TVS trustees paid the first visit to Tyume by any Board members since September 2019. This provided familiarisation for new trustees and the opportunity to conduct an extensive monitoring and evaluation exercise aimed at reviewing the period to April 2022 and assessing a number of outcome indicators including - Improvement in the quality of teaching - Teacher and LSA implementation of interactive teaching methodology - Improvement in levels of literacy - Improvement in numeracy - Increased parental and community involvement The exercise concluded that key activities had all been progressed according to plan. Analysis of the outcome indicators suggested that improvements in the quality of teaching had taken place, that teachers and LSAs were implementing more interactive teaching methodology, and that the children involved participated more, had more 5 confidence, and enjoyed learning. There was, however, insufficient data to identify a measurable improvement in levels of literacy and numeracy. All of the children in the 2022 cohort were severely affected by the impact of the Covid pandemic on schools. They lost many months of education at the start of their school career which they had not yet made up and they had had no previous input from TVS. Assumptions made about their level of education based on that of pre-Covid cohorts may have been over-optimistic. Furthermore, it is likely that the eight-week modules studied ( _Starting English_ and _Starting Maths_ ) were simply not long enough to produce any identifiable progress. The lessons learned from the evaluation were taken on board and will play an important part in planning for 2023. ## **Thanks** Thanks are due to - Our dedicated staff and volunteers - our regular supporters, without whose help we could not continue - Tom Redman who ran the 2021 London Marathon on our behalf - The Solon Foundation, South Africa, which has supported us for the last four years - Waste to Wonder, which donated furniture for the Amabhele Learning Centre - ▪ The Chalk Cliff Trust - The Souter Charitable Foundation ## BOARD OF TRUSTEES Maxwell Ayamba Gaynor Cobb Claire Davies (Treasurer) Stephanie Gallier (Secretary) John Hagestadt Liz Hanks Wendy Hodgkinson Margaret Kiloh (Chair) Jim Lewis Stephen Muggeridge Margaret Woodward ## **Declaration** Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees Margaret Kiloh Stephanie Gallier ## S Gallier Chair Secretary Date: 30 November 202 6 ## **TYUME VALLEY SCHOOLS** ��������������������������������������������� 7 Recelpts & Paynents Acc(NMKs 6th Awll 2021 ts 5th Awll 2022 2020-2021 UnreA1C￿ Restrirted Totsl fvnds fvnds Re￿Ip￿ Donatiors Grants Bank Int Glft Repatrynent Misc 16447 6539 16447 29253 15655 1915 2681 17570 22714 5020 5020 2672 295 2671 22714 52220 26715 4596 31311 Payrnerrts SA prwamme c05ts.. Stsff Costs 23791 6774 4319 11627 3810 Stutty camps Sthool fee5 Vehicle expenses Monitorin8 & pwramrne wsits by UK trUMe￿ & bnlunteers 3910 3910 3130 3130 3163 3163 71 71 7449 17968 SA adrninistratx)n c£Jsts UK fundrdisin8 costs UK administraiion costs Bank charges Totsl payments 3791 li¥) 5582 159 37441 3791 1140 5582 159 657 657 131 12059 131 19508 11467 7449 N•t r•c•lpts 11247 3312 11803 AnalysLs of c4th funds UK bank accouni SA bank attourt & petty cash 10451 18431 ICW) 20451 2307 20738 41189 23273 13544 36817 23273 1060 14604 IIJ60 37877 CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examinerfs Report Report to the trusteesl members of IY U M & VP(LLky sc*loOLS ASSOC. 31 mth-cA JOJJ Charty no ifanyl j lJo3qo9 Nl+ On accounts for the year ended Set out on pages Irynembei 10 IndLQe ttte page numDers ol ad¢rti0￿al s*eels.' I report to the trustees on my examination of the ac£ount5 of the above chantyllhe Trusl'l for the year ended } I t¥ 3 U] Responsibilities and As the chanty trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation basis of report of the accounts in acciydance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 lllhe Acri. I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in Carrying out my examination. I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under se¢tion 1451511bl of the Act. I have completed my examination. I confirm that no malenal matters have come to my attention (other than that disclosed below ') In connection wrth the examinats.on which gives me cause to believe that in. any material respect." accounting records were not kept in accordance wrth section 130 of the Act or the accounts do not accord wrth the accounts.ng records Independent examiner's statement I have no concems and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination lo which attention should ￿ drawn in order lo enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reaGhed. ' Please delete the words in the brackets rfthey do not apply. Signed: Date: li Name: Relevant professional qualificationlsl or body (if any): ghYrLL. Address: IER October 2018 Section B Disclosure Only complete rfthe examiner needs to highlight matters of concern15ee CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts.. directions and guidan￿ for examinersl. Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose. IER October 2018