Scholastic programme Children at Durbanville Children’s Home come from very difficult circumstances and some have had to forgo adequate education. Interrupted or even no school attendance and a lack of stimulation have created a gap in these children's scholastic progress, manifesting itself in learning disabilities and a lack of motivation. Consequently, some children experience scholastic deficits and need to attend schools, educational centres and programmes that will address these disadvantages. School psychologists and other professionals are involved in determining these children’s special educational needs by means of questionnaires, meetings and consultations. The children attend 26 different schools to cater for their specific needs; these include mainstream, pre-primary, special needs, and farm schools as well as special skills schools. Teachers compile and assess individual development plans and have regular meetings to ensure effective communication between staff at schools and at the home.

Many children at Durbanville Children’s Home attend support classes at their schools. A total of 36 volunteers also assist children with extra evening classes and the home hopes to extend this programme. Children are also encouraged to participate in extra-mural activities at their schools. 

Life skills programme

Each Durbanville Children’s Home unit holds weekly meetings during which childcare workers and children discuss matters they deem important. Daily structured routines also guide the development of children and teach them important life skills.

Furthermore, weekly meetings are held with the project coordinator, volunteers and the social workers assigned to the home unit to plan activities, games, camps and outings. Social, physical, intellectual and spiritual developments are stimulated by a wide variety of activities, groups and projects and training opportunities. The home’s code of conduct is regularly communicated enabling staff to establish acceptable behaviour in home units.

Participation in both sport and cultural activities are greatly encouraged in order to promote mastery and balance development. Volunteers offer sport and cultural programmes, such as karate, drumming, drama, music, wrestling, soccer, gym and horse riding. Durbanville Children’s Home has an annual family day during which children present programmes to invited parents and volunteers. A concert is also held at the end of each year and children are encouraged to showcase their talents there as well as at other events at the home.

An annual internal sports day is held and the home also participates in the annual regional sports day (The Future Champions Sports Day) in which 15 children’s homes participate.

Each child’s spiritual needs are noted during admission and, in cooperation with parents, the home strives to give children the opportunity to participate in the spiritual activities of their choice. Due to the cultural diversity at Durbanville Children’s Home, children are encouraged to honour their individual spiritual beliefs and participate in spiritual activities such as praise and worship as well as evangelistic activities.

Therapy programme

Professional staff members at Durbanville Children’s Home form a multi-therapy team along with therapists and professional volunteers. They assess and address each child’s emotional needs and the constant teamwork between all role-players establishes a consistent routine. Children receive therapy, counselling and support in order to deal with the trauma of disintegrated and dysfunctional family relationships.

Social workers, together with a multi-disciplinary team, draw up an Individual Development Plan for each child. In this plan, a child’s development, strengths, interests and talents are addressed and then focused on. A strength-based model is applied to ensure that the potential of every child is identified. The child’s progress is monitored by means of regular staff meetings and cases are discussed in team context; development plans are also reviewed during these meetings.

Durbanville Children’s Home has two specialised therapy programmes in order to streamline the process and ensure that each child receives individual attention:

1. The ART (Assessments Reunification Therapeutic) unit was established to ensure that comprehensive assessment, reunification opportunity and therapy are available to all children at Durbanville Children’s Home.

Assessment: The first step of this programme is a meeting between the ART programme coordinator and the social worker which referred the specific child to the home. At this junction it is important to assess whether a referral to a children’s home is the best option for the child and whether other options should also be considered. If the child is taken into the home, the programme coordinator liaises closely with the external social worker and, if possible, with the child’s family. This is done to assess whether the placement is suitable. The appropriate therapy programmes for the child is also identified during this time.

The average duration placement at Durbanville Children’s Home is two years. However, there are children who spend their entire childhood at the home. If a child exhibits unexpected, deviant behaviour during their stay at the home, they are again referred to the ART programme for assessment by the home’s social workers and the identification of appropriate therapeutic intervention. This also applies to children who try to leave the home without going through the relevant process.

Reunification: The ART unit is also involved when children are reunited with their parents or caregivers. Parents or caregivers are visited at home by the child and a family care-worker in order to prepare them for reuniting. Care workers also continue to visit the home for six months after the family has been reunited and provide guidance when necessary. The objective is to completely reunite those children who have a good chance at recovery with their parents, relatives or foster parents. In other cases, the aim is to partially reunite children with intensive family support systems and partnerships. To this end, Durbanville Children’s Home has a full-time community worker who serves as a contact between families, an external social worker and the home.

Therapeutic: Social workers at Durbanville Children’s Home refer children in need of intensive therapy intervention to the ART unit. Students currently completing a Masters Degree in Social Work at the Huguenot College facilitate therapy session for children between the ages of five and ten and the programme coordinator facilitates psychotherapy intervention for older children. The programme coordinator also facilitates therapy discussion groups.

2. The CHILLI (Care House for Individual Life Lesson Interventions) unit was created as a safe and specially separate unit at Durbanville Children’s Home. The unit is used for therapeutic intervention with children who present challenging behaviour or cannot adjust to life at Durbanville Children’s Home. Before the unit was created, the only available course of action was to refer these children to youth care institutions with stricter security. The CHILLI unit provides a more homely solution for these children. The ART programme refers children to the CHILLI unit and individually tailored growth plans, with specific goals, are developed for each child.

One unique aspect of the unit is the keeping of animals on the premises. Children at the CHILLI unit are responsible for looking after the animals because it has a calming effect on problematic behaviour. It also improves a child’s receptiveness to other forms of therapeutic intervention. Positive reinforcement underlies all therapeutic interventions at the CHILLI unit. A set routine of schooling, art classes, crafts, cooking, religious programmes, therapy sessions, educational group sessions, exercise, gardening and animal therapy is adhered to.

Healthcare programme

A registered nurse at Durbanville Children’s Home advises on all meal plans and special diets at the home. Children are given three balanced meals per day as well as a lunch pack for school. Special diets are also compiled for children suffering from, for example, tuberculosis, malnutrition or foetal alcohol syndrome. (The home currently has 25 children suffering from foetal alcohol syndrome.)

The home also provides food parcels during the holiday period as some children spend holidays with their families where they experience extreme poverty.

Children at the home have to attend government clinics when they are ill. Unfortunately these clinics cannot provide the home with adequate medication and therefore painkillers, cough syrup, flue medication and similar items have to be stocked at the home.

Children fall ill on a daily basis and in such cases, the home’s nurse accompanies them to either a day hospital or clinic for minor complaints or the local hospital for more serious complaints. The nurse also escorts children with chronic illnesses to regular clinic appointments and manages their medication.

Durbanville Children’s Home also administers deworming, substance abuse tests, specialised dentistry, orthodontic treatment and psychiatric-, psycho- and occupational therapy. The home has also taken care of a child who suffered severe burn wounds and needed special medical care.

Send an e-mail to bestuur@durbanvillekinderhuis.org.za for more information on any of these programmes.