Our student teachers are all working in informal children’s centres, pre-schools or creches. They often have little formal education... very few have matric certificates, and none tertiary training.

Teachers in our programme train for three years (40 sessions a year) and there are also some workshops and seminars to attend.

Training is conducted as close to where the students live as possible – in the case of our Gauteng pilot study, in a local primary school classroom.

Assessments are carried out every 6 months, with the assessment of teachers' practical work in their playrooms making up 40% of their mark.

Training includes:

• Reading (learning to learn through reading is a crucial part of gaining an education)
• Discussion
• Role playing teaching situations
• Learning weekly educational games and activities
• Understanding weekly themes and preparing for lessons

Theme programme

Each week, teachers receive a theme box and theme posters to use in their centres. In their third year they are taught to come up with their own themes.

The theme programme is carefully designed to provide children with all the skills they need to gain (life skills as well as skills needed to enter Grade 1), so following it produces results that the students quickly see in the children they care for, for example, motor and mental skills, greater confidence and general cheerfulness.

Teachers receive Flying Children manuals, one for each year, as well as a theme programme of 40 themes to see the teacher through the school year.

From their second year onwards, teachers are also encouraged to keep a portfolio of information they have collected on education and social issues, for example, newspaper clippings. These are then discussed in writing.

Teachers also have weekly readings with question/answer sessions, and compile resource lists, in order to develop their ability to read with careful attention and in a more critical way. They are also guided to institute a parent training and support programme for the children they care for.

In their third year, the teachers are taught in such a way as to deepen their knowledge of pre-school education, but also to encourage and support their ability to run their centres efficiently, and to cope with administration and maintenance on their own. In other words – to become independent.

Our trainers are all equipped to use the programme themselves, and pass it on. In addition, they must write the exams the teachers write to ensure that they fully understand the training. Their progress as trainers is assessed every 6 months.