A special welcome: Mitchells Plain academy opens division for disabled students
NEW DAWN: Launch of the Atvance Academy Special Needs Campus in Mitchells Plain
Forty learners with special needs made history on Thursday as the first students to attend the opening of the Atvance Academy Special Needs Campus in Mitchells Plain.
The school opened its Special Needs division for people with disabilities at Portlands Indoor Centre, offering Seta-accredited courses.
Facilitator of the Special Needs department Roxanne Daniels is excited about upskilling the new students, each with learning, hearing and visual disabilities.
Roxanne says: “The course that is being offered is called New Venture, which entails guiding our students to start and run their own businesses.
“Each student that is registered at the special needs campus will receive a R2000 travelling allowance.”
Mainstream facilitator of Atvance Academy, Robertha le Roux, says: “Our aim as Atvance Academy is to upskill all youth in our community and it’s amazing that we are now launching in the month where we have disability awareness in our country.
“When we launched the mainstream campuses last year, we had parents enquiring about their kids that have learning disabilities but have skills that they received at Mitchells Plain School of Skills.
“We love the fact that we now can assist more youth as there is a big need in our communities.”
Robertha says the students’ learning disabilities include MMD - mild/moderate intellectual disability, bipolar, ADHD and severe depression.
“Students will attend class once a week for a year, our courses are Saqa (South African Qualifications Authority) and Seta (Sector Education and Training Authority) accredited.
“Our courses will teach our students how to start their own businesses as most of these students are skilled hairdressers, upholsterers, plumbers and hospitality students.”
Mujahied Davids, 18, of Colorado Park says he is excited to join.
“I have health issues and it affected my class attendance at mainstream school, I kept failing,” he says.
“But then I went to another school of skills and now when I complete that, I want to educate myself further to go into hospitality or business.”
Roxanne says: “We have students that vary from different special needs, such as learning, developmental, mental and emotional barriers.
“We are the first campus in Mitchells Plain that has a special needs campus for the youth at the age of 18 and 27.
“This is an opportunity for learners with special needs to study further and obtain a certificate and graduate from the programme, and it’s a one-year course.”