1. Learner participation in school enrichment programmes, including academic and sport programmes, and after school activities has been highlighted as a key thrust in the provincial Game Changer programme.

2. Engaging learners in such programmes/activities, particularly in vulnerable communities, through the dedication of educators, principals, and strategic partners increases learners’ chances of leading successful lives.

3. The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) is required to report on the number of learners participating in school enrichment programmes and after school activities to the Department of Basic Education and a number of stakeholders.

4. Schools offer a wide variety of school enrichment programmes/activities and the WCED has been unable to provide accurate data on which learners are participating in which programmes/activities and how frequently.

5. In order to improve on and meet its target for increasing the number of learners participating in programmes/activities, the WCED is asking schools to register learners for the programmes/activities that schools currently offer on CEMIS. Programmes/activities are organised into the following categories:

  1. Sport
  2. Arts and culture
  3. Clubs and societies
  4. Civic education and citizenship
  5. Academic
6. Once learners are registered, the function should allow the school, the WCED or stakeholders to track learner attendance, progress, performance and the impact of programmes/activities.

7. The function on CEMIS will also allow the school to:

  1. assign and allocate educators responsible for managing the programme/activity; and
  2. capture and track learner attendance manually or online.
8. The WCED intends to support schools in managing the process by making trained interns available to assist with data capturing and tracking learner attendance at identified schools.

9. Learner attendance at programmes/activities can be recorded manually and captured on CEMIS afterwards or be done online immediately where there is access to the internet. More details on the capturing of learner attendance will be communicated to officials and schools shortly.

10. To use the function on CEMIS go to:

  1. "Administration" tab;
  2. "School Enrichment programmes"; and
  3. "Capture Screens".
11. Principals are requested to make the contents of this circular available to all stakeholders.


SIGNED: A LEWIS
ACTING HEAD: EDUCATION
DATE: 2018:03:20