With the recent inclusion of an Autism wing, the Lentegeur School for Learners with Special Educational Needs (LSEN) continues to service around 250 learners with special needs.
Based on the grounds of Lentegeur Hospital, the school caters to learners from five to 18 with varying cognitive and learning disabilities. As a result, they will soon also include training on basic lifeskills such as potty training.
Acting school principal Charmaine Koopman says: “The learners that we cater for at the school, the majority of them have learning barriers, but we also recently have just started an ASD (autism) department for learners with autism at our school. Soon we will also be taking in learners that cannot learn, but we need to teach them certain skills, you know, like feeding or potty training, so that they can also become as independent as possible,” she says.
The extra classrooms were completed by the provincial education department last year and the school is in the process of recruiting teachers with specific training in teaching children with autism.
The school caters to learners from Mitchell’s Plain, Philippi and surrounds and are bused in. There are also learners from the outskirts.
With these being impoverished areas, school fees are not always paid leaving the school in a state of financial need.
“The majority of our learners are making use of our feeding scheme system, which means that we provide them daily with breakfast and lunch,” says Koopman.
Lentegeur LSEN was one of two schools to recently benefit from a donation of school stationery.
With staff of Coca-Cola Peninsula Beverages (CCPB) in Athlone running point on a fundraising initiative, they managed to raise more than R14 000 to support two primary schools in need. The fundraising efforts were doubled through the CCPB CSI Community Budget, bringing the total donation to more than R28 000.
Donation
The CCPB South Team based in Athlone is passionate about giving back and run similar initiatives annually, says Priscilla Urquhart, Head of Public Affairs, Communication and Sustainability at CCPB. The CCPB South Team identified Lentegeur LSEN and a second school, Kewtown Primary School, as beneficiaries who received school bags.
The handover took place on Thursday 27 February at the Retail Academy at the CCPB offices in Athlone.
The funds were used to purchase books, pens, crayons, paper and plastic, rulers, scissors and more.
“The two schools were chosen based on employee nominations,” said Urquhart. “Lentegeur LSEN School was nominated by an employee whose children are enrolled there, recognising the school’s dedication to creating an inclusive learning environment.
“We believe in the power of education to transform lives. By supporting these schools, we hope to make a meaningful difference in the lives of young learners, providing them with the tools they need to build a brighter future.”
