Elsen
Special Education in Port Elizabeth

Our teachers and therapists are all passionate about working with children with learning challenges.
Our main objective is to accommodate unique learning styles through differentiated instruction and the use of IEPs to guide and support our learners to function independently and become productive citizens.
We are a small school with a caring and supportive staff.
We are also “Provisionally accredited by the Umalusi Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training (.

Elsen Academy is an independent school registered with the education department and as a non-profit organisation catering for the needs of children in Port Elizabeth with learning challenges. Our main objective is to accommodate unique learning styles through differentiated instruction and the use of LSPs (Learner Support Programmes) to guide and support our learners to function independently and become productive citizens. We follow the national curriculum (CAPS) and make use of a variety of remedial strategies and programmes to support and assist the learners in the classroom. Presently, we get referrals from teachers and professionals in the community, i.e. doctors, psychologists, and other therapists, and children are accepted on the basis of the individual needs of that learner. We are a small school (maximum of 14 learners in a class) with a caring and supportive staff. We are also fortunate to have a full-time counselling psychologist, who oversees all the assessments and therapies. Our staff is passionate about working with children with learning challenges. They are very willing to participate in all activities in and around the school. Children are also benefiting from supportive interventions such as speech, remedial, occupational, and play therapy. These therapies form part of their school programme and therapists work closely with the class teachers to integrate what the child learns in therapy with the class teaching. Senior learners can attend study groups after school for Maths, English and Afrikaans. Case conferences with the team and parents are held twice a year. Goals are then set for each learner and their LSPs are drafted.