Waiting for a school place?

South Africa has very few schools built for children who learn differently, and the good ones have waiting lists that run into years. If you are on one, you know the feeling. A place is coming, at some point. Every month feels lost.

It does not have to be.

The wait is preparation

A school place is not the intervention. It is where the intervention continues. What a child brings on the first day decides a lot: can they sit for ten minutes, follow a one-step instruction, ask for a break, cope with a change, manage the toilet, tolerate other children.

Every one of those is a skill. Every one can be taught at home.

Pick five skills for day one

1. A way to ask. For help, for a break, for the toilet.
2. Sitting for a short block. Five minutes, then eight, then twelve.
3. Following a routine. Arrival, bag, mat, snack, home.
4. Coping with change. Warnings, countdowns, a fixed phrase.
5. Being near other children. Playing alongside first, then taking turns.

Write them down as goals you can measure. Give them a month each. That is the plan the waiting list never gave you.

A waiting list is what the system gives you. A plan is what you give your child.

Keep the school in the loop

A child who is working on readiness, with progress to show, is easier to place and easier to settle. Offer the school a short summary every term. Most will want it.

Look after the parent

Waiting is exhausting. So is being your child's only teacher. Support that gives you a plan, a partner and a break is not a luxury.