For over 40 years the Primary Science Programme (PSP) has been committed to quality education.
Our Vision
Excellent primary schooling for all South Africa’s children, where all educators are highly skilled, committed and confident, and are well prepared and resourced to teach.
Mission
Train, Support, Mentor, Coach, Resource
Our mission is to improve the quality of teaching and learning of the Sciences, Language, Mathematics and the Environment. We support teachers in their professional development through training, coaching/mentorship and resourcing. We advocate for the development of best practice models for primary school teaching.
PSP promotes
Quality primary school education
through the professional development of teachers and school management teams.
Maths, Science and Language
to build strong foundational learning and competence
Practical teaching and learning
to help teachers and learners understand complex concepts and relate these to the world around them.
The integration of language
across all subject areas to assist teachers to be proficient in their language of teaching and learning.
Environmental education
to encourage an understanding of the link between learning in the classroom and the sustainability of the environment.
History
1983-1989: PSP becomes a national organisation
The PSP was initiated in 1983 to address inadequacies in Science education in Black/township primary schools and set up as a project of the Urban Foundation in Cape Town. By 1989, it had expanded to its own centres in Durban, Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg and Bloemfontein.
Co-operation with the then national Department of Education and Training led to Science kits being provided to selected primary schools. The PSP adopted a consultative approach with teachers, still in place today, to identify and prioritise their training needs. PSP’s key methodology of integrating language was implemented in training workshops and teacher handbooks to support the curriculum developed and introduced.
1990-2009: PSP is re-established in Western Cape only
Registered as a non-profit trust in 1989 and based in Johannesburg, funding constraints forced the national organisation to close its doors in 1999. The Cape Town branch was re-established as the Western Cape Primary Science Programme Trust (PSP) which was selected to join a consortium of NGOs to work with the Western Cape Education Department to support the professional development of teachers in Maths, Science, Language and environmental education in semi-rural and urban schools.
2010-2019: PSP innovates project for mentorship of first-time teachers
A project to mentor first-time teachers was launched in 2010 in collaboration with the University of the Western Cape (UWC), the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) Districts and MEPP (Mathematics Education Primary Programme). The TeachSmart handbook, a first of its kind in South Africa, was developed as a resource for first-time teachers and school management teams. Foundation Phase Maths emerged as a key project focus. PSP continued to grow based on solid principles of quality education, collaboration, accountability and integrity.
2020-2024: PSP online courses reach all nine provinces
The Covid-19 pandemic propelled PSP into strategising new ways of implementing core project work. In addition to projects providing classroom support in the greater Cape Town area and semi-rural Overberg, a programme of short afternoon curriculum-aligned courses is now available to school management teams and teachers online across all nine provinces in South Africa. Strategic collaborations have enabled us to expand our national footprint and share our expertise with other African countries.