South African Education Project (SAEP), also formerly known as the South African Education and Environment Project,  prepares children and youth at key stages of their development , through education, life skills and psycho-social support.

Reaching more than 2500 youth, children and education providers each year, we offer several education support programmes, all of which have developed in response to specific needs expressed by learners, teachers or principals from the disadvantaged community of Philippi, Cape Town.

Our work increases access to quality Early Childhood Education and care, prepares young people to reach and succeed in university and the workplace and provides opportunities for high school learners personal development, including arts education, computer training, hikes and excursions, mentoring and psycho- social support.

Early Childhood Development (ECD) programme assists under-developed and nascent crèches develop into self-sustainable quality ECD centres. These ECD centres provide best-practice early learning programmes that are managed by principals and implemented by practitioners, with parents’ participation and intervention.

Bridging Year (BY) prepares students from under-performing schools to manage the demands of tertiary education and successfully complete their courses. Students participate in intensive academic literacy workshops, information and communication technology skills development, job-shadowing and community service placements, career advice and counselling, as well as life skills and personal development workshops.

Tertiary Support (TS) Programme supports tertiary students from impoverished areas who are at risk of not being able to complete their studies. Services provided include life skills workshops, psycho-social and material support, and linking students to mentors and study financing opportunities.

Hope Scholars Programme provides intensive academic tutoring and personal development sessions to motivated grade 8 and 9 high school learners. In the more than 15 years that SAEP has worked with Philippi high school learners, we have found that learners in grades 10-12 consistently lack basic numeracy and literacy skills and knowledge of the sciences. SAEP’s interventions now focus on addressing these gaps before they reach the more intensive final years of high school.