South Communities Focus Schools Project - Training Session 6 (Letter)

Training Session 6 - Letter

At the heart of meaningful educational change is a willingness to grow — and this recent training programme was a powerful example of that commitment in action. The participating schools specifically requested this professional development opportunity, demonstrating a genuine desire to deepen their teaching practice rather than simply attending because of a directive from the Education Department.

We are incredibly proud of the teachers and field workers who completed this phase of the training. Their enthusiasm, engagement, and dedication throughout the sessions reflected a strong commitment to improving learning outcomes for young children.

The group has now officially graduated from the training phase and will begin the implementation phase at their schools and centres. Through consistent practice, reflection, and mediation work throughout the year, participants will work toward becoming certified Basic Concepts mediators by the end of the year.

Training Details-

• Number of teachers: 14

• Number of officials: 1 present

• Venue: Marine Primary School

• Time: 14H00 - 16h30

• Date: 7 May 2026

100% of participants rated the helpfulness of the content of the training session as 'excellent,' reflecting the strong impact and value of the session.

Main takeaways - 

• Teachers explored how letters can be taught through the Basic Concepts approach and the Concept Teaching Model.

• Participants learned the importance of teaching uppercase and lowercase letters together.

• The training highlighted the difference between letter names and letter sounds, and the importance of teaching them together.

• Teachers practised helping children “listen to the secret code” of letters to support early literacy development.

• Sessions focused on building letters concretely before expecting children to write them on paper.

• Educators deepened their understanding of how letters connect to words and meaning.

• The holistic approach to literacy teaching was emphasised throughout the training.

• Teachers explored how vocabulary, colour, size, position, shape, and number concepts strengthen cognitive development and literacy learning.

• Practical demonstrations showed how to move effectively from letter recognition to word-building.

• Teachers reflected on the importance of sequencing lessons correctly and ensuring children have mastered foundational concepts before progressing.

Teacher Feedback

Feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive, with many teachers describing the training as engaging, practical, motivating, and impactful.

Teachers appreciated:

• The practical mediator demonstrations with learners.

• Seeing how simple concepts can build children’s confidence and communication skills.

• The hands-on group work and interactive learning environment.

• Watching children connect letters to familiar objects and words with excitement and joy.

• Learning concrete strategies they could immediately implement in their classrooms.

One teacher shared that they had “never been to such a motivating training” and felt excited to begin implementing the programme at their ECD centre, while another highlighted how valuable it was to witness live demonstrations of mediation techniques in practice.

We celebrate this important milestone with all the teachers who completed the training and look forward to supporting them during the next phase of implementation and growth.