The Learning Trust

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲.

-They want adults who listen.
-They want places where they feel welcome.
-They want consistency.
-They want someone they can trust.

These are not small things. They are protective factors that help children develop confidence, resilience and a sense of security.

Across South Africa, after-school programmes help create these conditions every day.

𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲, 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗱.

Today marks the start of the National Child Protection Week2026, and this time reminds us that keeping children safe is everyone's responsibility. Across South Africa, After School Programmes (ASPs) provide safe and supportive environments where children can build confidence, form trusted relationships and continue learning .

This week, we will be sharing stories, insights and practical reflections on the role that ASPs play in supporting children's wellbeing and development.

Grantee Spotlight | Tore’s Foundation

Meet one of our newest grantee partners in the Western Cape, Tore’s Foundation, an organisation creating powerful after-school learning spaces through debate across 43 schools on the Cape Flats in Cape Town.

Reaching more than 800 learners each week, the programme focuses on Grade 9–11 learners, a critical stage where many young people are vulnerable to disengagement and dropping out. Through debate, learners are developing confidence, critical thinking skills and the ability to engage meaningfully with the world around them.

The impact extends far beyond the classroom. Learners gain exposure to higher learning institutions such as the University of Cape Town (UCT), Stellenbosch University and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) (CPUT), while participating in public debates and preparing for life beyond school.

One of the most powerful reflections of the programme’s impact is seeing former participants return as facilitators, investing back into the same communities and creating pathways for the next generation of young people.

This is what strong after-school programmes make possible. Not only academic support, but spaces where confidence grows, voices are strengthened and future opportunities begin to take shape.

South Africa’s latest unemployment statistics remind us that young people continue to carry the heaviest burden of the country’s labour market crisis. Millions remain excluded from meaningful work opportunities, despite making up nearly half of the working-age population.

This week, The Learning Trust joined Youth Capital and other civil society organisations in an important dialogue on strengthening transitions from public employment into sustainable livelihoods.

Through our work on the Social Employment Fund (SEF), we continue to see how public employment programmes can create meaningful pathways into work experience, skills development, mentorship, and community impact.

But we also know that young people need support that extends beyond temporary opportunities.

This is why the call for a multi-year, ring-fenced Public Employment Programmes (PEPs) budget matters.

Sustainable investment is needed to help young people move from short-term opportunities into long-term livelihood pathways.

Still buzzing from the energy at Career Connect 2026 hosted by our Social Employment Fund (SEF) implementing partner and grantee alumni, Phakamani Young Minds Academy - PYMA (PYMA).

Last week in Johannesburg, learners, SEF participants, unemployed youth, higher education institutions, industry professionals and community partners came together for powerful conversations about careers, skills development and the future of work.

We’re proud to support organisations like PYMA that continue to create meaningful spaces connecting young people to information, mentorship, guidance and opportunity.

What stood out throughout the day was the importance of access. Access to support, pathways and possibilities that help young people imagine and prepare for different futures.

Conversations around TVET colleges, entrepreneurship and skills development challenged narrow ideas of success and reinforced the need for multiple pathways into economic participation.

After School Programmes (ASPs) continue to play an important role in helping young people build confidence, make informed decisions and access opportunities . The future of work starts long before young people enter the workplace and ASPs are helping build that bridge.

Check out the photos below and relive the moment with us!

How does collaboration work in practice within your After School Programme?

Our latest learning brief from the Eastern Cape ASAP Community of Practice (CoP) explores what meaningful collaboration really looks like within the after-school sector. Together with partners, we unpacked the challenges that often prevent partnerships from moving beyond good intentions, even when strong relationships and a shared purpose already exist.

What emerges is a pattern we see too often.
-Partnerships built on goodwill
-but without enough clarity.
-Roles are assumed rather than defined.
-Accountability becomes blurred.

Power sits quietly in the background, shaping decisions in ways that are rarely named. And without deliberate conversations at the start, even well-meaning collaborations lose direction over time.

This brief is a practical tool for every After School Programme ready to move from good intentions to real, structured collaboration. The insights are grounded, the questions are useful, and the value is immediate. Grab it, read it, and bring it into your next conversation.

Read the full brief here: https://buff.ly/BLBu8vZ

𝟭𝟳,𝟱𝟬𝟬+ 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱.

This number reflects the scale of work opportunities created within the after-school sector through the Social Employment Fund. Many previously unemployed young people are stepping into roles that support learning in communities across the country. More than 13,000 have already moved on into work, further study, or building something of their own.

But numbers don’t show you what that looks like at 2pm, when school ends.

At Great Commission United (GCU), it looks like this:

Children waiting for help with reading.
A soccer field full of energy that needs direction.
A classroom where homework actually gets done.

And young people running it all.

Ziyaat Spandenberg, 25, was one of those children. Now he’s back, but not as a participant.

In the morning, he works behind the scenes, tracking attendance and making sure systems run properly. In the afternoon, he’s on the ground, coaching, supporting and showing up for children who need consistency.

When a young person moves from needing support to becoming it, that’s what meaningful work looks like.

That shift matters. Happy Workers’ Day!
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This week, learning showed up in action!

In Gauteng, our Programme Officer, Nomfundo Xangu, supported a peer learning session between our grantee partners, hosted by Sakhimfundo Youth Programme in Alexandra. Tutors from Impactors tutoring classes in Mpumalanga stepped into a new environment to observe, reflect and share practice on classroom management, learner engagement and strengthening everyday teaching.

“I’ve learnt that the work isn’t just about funding or programme oversight, it’s also about creating spaces like these, where organisations can learn from each other, challenge each other, and grow together in a way that feels practical and relevant,” Nomfundo said.

Meanwhile at Kwabhekilanga Secondary School in Alexandra, our Projects Director, Yolisa Shugu, spent time with OLICO Maths Education during their online and in-person Maths sessions.

Learners were building step-by-step understanding with steady support from tutors.

“I could tell you the room was full, even with rain hanging in the air. Or that nearly 50 learners were completely locked in, not a single one drifting. Or that the young facilitator held the space with a mix of confidence, clarity and genuine passion that the learners clearly responded to,” Yolisa reflected.

When after-school practitioners are given space to learn from each other, reflect on their practice and strengthen how they show up, it shifts what happens in the room with learners. The kind of steady, responsive support seen in after-school programmes is built through that ongoing investment in people.

8 in 10 learners in South Africa cannot read for meaning by Grade 3.
15% cannot read a single word.
Only about 3 in 10 are reading at grade level.

By the time learners reach Grade 4, they are expected to “read to learn”. But for many, the foundations of reading are still not there.

This is not a Grade 4 challenge. It is a Foundation Phase reality that shapes every subject, every opportunity and every future pathway.

This is where After School Programmes (ASPs) play a critical role.

They create consistent, supportive spaces where children can practise reading without pressure. Spaces for repetition, guided support and time with books in ways that build confidence, not fear. Over time this is how a culture of reading begins to take root.

The theme for World Book Day 2026 — “Go All In” — reminds us that reading grows when it connects to children’s passions: sport, gaming, music, storytelling and everyday interests.

When reading feels familiar, it becomes something they return to, not something they avoid.

If we want to shift reading outcomes, we cannot only talk about access to books. We need to build environments where reading is consistently lived, practised and supported across every space where children grow.

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