General
Camphill School Hermanus is both a day and a residential special needs school, currently catering for significantly more day pupils than boarders.
In line with the founding principles of the Camphill movement, the School maintains the ethos of loving respect for the dignity of the child and a desire to develop his/her unique potential. Over time, the curriculum has been adapted to accommodate local norms. Although it continues to be based on the principles of curative education, it now follows the South African Education Department’s curriculum for special needs children.
In addition to teaching basic competence in literacy, numeracy, language and life skills, at each child’s level, there is a strong emphasis on practical skills, like baking and gardening, as well as creative expression through hands-on activities like arts and crafts, story-telling, music and movement. The learners in the vocational phase participate in vocational and life skills workshops, in preparation for the world of work.
The School accommodates children from the ages of 5 to 19, progressing from kindergarten to the vocational phase. Classes are small and the children receive individual attention from well-qualified teachers aided by dedicated teaching assistants and young volunteers, mainly from Europe, who spend a year at the School. Information for institutions outside Germany. A team of part-time therapists (Read more), backed up by an educational psychologist and a social worker, collaborate closely with the Head of Therapy, Head of Residential Care and teaching staff, in a multidisciplinary approach to the optimum development of each child.
