More Information
Boarding
Unfortunately Pro Gratia does not have boarding facilities. Parents have privately formed lift-clubs for learners travelling from afar on a daily basis. Although most of our learners are from Nelspruit and surrounds, many learners travel from as far as Barberton, White River, Hazyview, Malelane, Graskop and Matsulu.
Transport
Transport services and options are available, ranging from public transport to private lift-clubs. Pick-up and drop-off points have been identified for parents’ convenience. Further information can be obtained during the registration process or from the school’s administration office.
Aftercare Facility
Information for the aftercare facility can be obtained from the schools’ administration office.
Extra Curricular Activities
All class groups have Physical Education lessons during school time. Arts, crafts and practical skills also form part of the weekly learning programme at our school.
Pro Gratia participates in athletic meetings and compete against other private schools.
Enrollment and Acceptance Process
Parents contact the school administration office to make an appointment for an intake interview. After the initial parent interview, the learner is invited to school for an Observation Week. Parents are requested to bring copies of any previous reports (e.g. educational, occupational therapy, speech therapy, Psychological) along to the initial parent interview.
During the Observation Week the learner is observed by the Educator, Educational Psychologist, and Occupational Therapist screening assessment is administered. The purpose of the assessment and observation process is to ascertain the learner’s current level of functioning on an academic, emotional, and social level. A feedback report is compiled summarizing the results, and recommendations are made for the purpose of appropriate class placement and for developing an individual learning plan for the learner.
The parents are invited for a feedback interview where the results and recommendations are discussed. The parents also then receive all the administrative information from the administration office. Thereafter parents are required to complete the application forms, and a learner may then enrol at Pro Gratia.
Types of Barriers to Learning
At Pro Gratia Learning Centre we accommodate a diverse variety of learners, experiencing emotional, mobility, and learning difficulties. The premises are wheelchair friendly. We cannot, at this stage, accommodate learners suffering from severe blind- and deafness, but we do accommodate learners whom are hard of hearing (hearing aids), as well as learners with poor sight. Below are a list of some of the diagnostic categories of learners we are able to accommodate:
- Mobility problems (e.g. Hemiplegia and Cerebral Palsy)
- Down’s Syndrome
- Diabetes and other severe medical conditions
- Autistic Spectrum Disorders
- Epilepsy
- Attention Deficit Disorder (with and without Hyperactivity)
- Learning Disorders such as Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia
- Intellectual delays (Mild and Severe)
- Speech and Language Disorders
- Sensory Processing Disorder
- Oppositional Defiance Disorder
- Turner Syndrome
- Treacher Collins Syndrome
- Behavioural Disorders
- Social Challenges
- Emotional Disorders such as Anxiety and Depression
- Foetal Alcohol Syndrome
Language Policy
Pro Gratia Learning Centre offers two options of Language of Learning (previously known as Home Language), namely English and Afrikaans. Many of our teaching staff are fluent in SiSwati, therefore learners whom are not yet fluent in English or Afrikaans have a means of communicating their needs.
We do not offer First Additional Language (previously known as “Second Language”) as a subject at our school, as our subjects are weighted and the curriculum trimmed.
Learning Environment
Pro Gratia provides a stimulating learning environment for learners from the age of 4 years. The focus is mainly on learners with a below-average, borderline and cognitively challenged intellectual capacity. There are three streams:
1. Autistic learners and learners with prominent language developmental delays.
2. Academic learners, whether they are main stream or LSEN learners.
3. Life skills learners suitable for protected labour, instead of the open market.
4. Skills Training – NQF level 1.
Pro Gratia attempts to place learners who have reached an academic ceiling but possess social and emotional attributes, in a working environment where they may follow an in-service-training.
Learners who are not suitable for the open market, but would be better suited to labour in a protected environment, are accommodated at Pro Gratia and work opportunities are created in house. Pro Gratia’s aim is to accommodate these learners into adulthood in a safe, structured environment.
