Issuu

ANNUAL REPORT

2 0 2 3

AXIUM EDUCATION 2023 ANNUAL

Axium Education NPC Zithulele Mqanduli 5080

Eastern Cape

South Africa

Email: info@axiumeducation org www.axiumeducation.org

O v e r t h e s p a c e o f t w o y e a r s

w e ’ v e m o r e t h a n d o u b l e d

o u r r e a c h a n d h a v e a d d e d

1 7 0 n e w s t a f f .

2 0 2 3 t e s t e d o u r a b i l i t y t o

g r o w w h i l e m a i n t a i n i n g

q u a l i t y … a n d t o a l a r g e

e x t e n t w e ’ v e p r o v e d t h a t

t h i s i s p o s s i b l e . . . "

Our mission is to raise student achievement in rural South African communities.

We choose to work at three different, but connected levels: student, school and system Our student-focused programmes have a direct and immediate impact on student learning, while our school and systems work is often longer term and involves working with and through others, but is equally important if we want to raise achievement levels for all rural learners

In 2023, our grade R-12 programs provide 6000+ rural students with a range of additional supports.

Early grade literacy & numeracy

Building strong language & maths foundations

Closing gaps and building skills in maths

Rural student

We use a Charter-like model called Public School Partnerships. Our goal is to develop high quality rural schools Schools receive additional coaching and support in exchange for higher expectations

Science, maths & English support

Career guidance & tertiary applications

We partner with like-minded organisations to advance our mission for rural students across the province and country by scaling innovation and unlocking systemic challenges.

Rural school Rural system How do

As an organisation we use these 7 questions to measure our success, with answers carefully supported by data - essentially our yardstick for whether we ’ re succeeding or not

Introduction

Dear Axium friends and supporters,

It gives me great pleasure to share with you our annual report for 2023 - a year packed with promise, with growth and also a year in which we navigated the tricky waters of transition.

We’ve been on a steep growth curve.

We plan to reach over 10 000 learners by 2025 through two high potential programmes:

Nobalisa (early literacy) and Public School Partnerships

Over a period of 18 months we ’ ve nearly doubled the number of learners we reach (to 6000) and added more than a hundred new staff members, mostly through government’s Social Employment Fund As shared previously, this is part of a multi-year growth plan that takes us to 2025, where we ’ re aiming to grow both “Bigger and Better” On pages 9-12 there are more details of what this has looked like in our Nobalisa Early Literacy Programme and in our Public School Partnerships work

If previous years have sometimes felt like we’d jumped off a cliff and were building the plane while learning how to fly it, growth in 2023 felt much more routine and measured.

It was about increasing the efficiency and speed of the “plane” - perhaps a reflection of our focus on the systems, processes and structures required to build a sustainable organisation. This growing maturity was also reflected in our staff. We introduced an “Emerging Leaders” programme to be more intentional about developing our staff for their next leadership role before it arrives, and if the 360 hours of training are anything to go by, our staff development work took a significant step up

We’re also seeing increasing validation in the form of results Our two PSP high schools are showing consistent growth in Grade 12 National Senior Certificate (NSC) pass and bachelor rates When our vision talks about “every rural child leaving school with purpose, agency and options”, NSC pass and particularly bachelor passes are a very tangible measure of these “options”, with research indicating the strong links that these have to employment, further education, or training

Nobalisa

PSP Programmes Growth Partner

Much earlier on in their school career, we ’ re developing a significant body of evidence around the work that Nobalisa do to effectively move foundation phase children out of the basic TARL levelsimportant precursors to reading for meaning, which is the real goal for our Grade 3s

Finally, 2023 was also a year of transition.

Michelle and I moved our family to Cape Town after 12 years in Zithulele. Michelle stepped down as COO. Sithembele, who shares on page 3, stepped into her role. There was definitely some turbulence (!), but overall we can look back with plenty of gratitude for the way in which gaps were filled, space was created for new structures and leaders, and most importantly, this transformative work carried on. As we head into 2024 we know that transition and change continues to be with us, but we have a strong leadership team in place - with both founders still very much involved, albeit in slightly different capacities - and plenty of reasons to feel positive about the future for rural children

Our sincere thanks to so many of you who visited, showed interest, partnered with us, supported us financially or in kind. Our mission is so much bigger than any of us - it's the collective that counts!

Craig Paxton Executive Director

From the COO’s desk

Greetings!

As the new Chief Operations Officer of Axium Education, I am honored to join an organization that has been making a significant impact in the rural Eastern Cape Province of South Africa for 14 years. What started as an initial science and maths focused team of two has grown to staff of 250 serving:

6265 children across grades R-12

across 2 districts in 32 schools & 97 teachers

I am thrilled to be part of this growing team and bring with me over 15 years of experience in the non-profit sector, with a particular passion for working with young people

My first year with Axium Education was a whirlwind of surprises, as I witnessed the organisation's rapid growth and bustling nature. While many NGOs struggle with funding and operations, I was amazed by Axium's sustainable growth and robust internal processes, particularly in HR and finance

One of the most rewarding aspects of my role has been addressing the need for visibility and in-person support at the Amajingqi site. Fulfilling my promise to bridge the support gap has been a rewarding challenge, and I've seen tangible progress in this area Additionally, navigating the complexities of finding and retaining staff in remote areas has been a learning experience.

The 2023 theme "Solidarity. Action. Results." truly came to life within Axium Education. The organisation's commitment to "walk the talk" and the emphasis on teamwork and cohesion have resulted in encouraging achievements, including strong partnerships and improved matric results. This collective effort and “Masambeni” have been the driving forces behind our success

Sithembele Zondeka Chief Operations Officer

Looking at our impact in numbers this year, we have calculated...

6 265 learners reached through our programmes, clubs & schools

179 399 kilometers travelled by our teams

3 672 additional hours of maths & numeracy

280 additional hours of science lessons

333 hours of additional English lessons

4 400 hours of targeted isiXhosa literacy lessons

30 500 sandwiches provided at after-school programmes

145 400 biscuits munched at after-school programmes

754 learners assisted with 1 799 tertiary applications

600 hours of professional development, training & coaching sessions with Axium staff

200 hours of training teachers, School Management Teams and School Governing Bodies

132 new staff members joined our team

33 454 online educational exercises completed by learners

1 766 team shoutouts* in our weekly Zoom and Whatsapp meetings

*an enthusiastic and affirmative mention or credit given to someone to acknowledge and appreciate their efforts

Core Values

We asked the team where they see our values in action...

I see Striving for Excellence in the way we use data to improve our work and to produce great reports that might help others in South Africa do so too

I see Striving for Excellence when policies are reviewed to incorporate new global practices, setting our organisation on a global stage

I see Striving for Excellence in how we, as an organisation, are training and developing our staff

We #neverstoplearning on a daily basis when we share our knowledge amongst ourselves and when the coaches work together in Striving for Excellence in schools supporting teachers in their lessons and giving real time feedback

I see Never Stop Learning in the Central Ed and Nobalisa teams as we learn from other organisations and advisors about research that could improve programme design and implementation

I see Never Stop Learning in the dedication of many staff to studying in their own time

I see the many teams displaying Understand First when they use the difficult conversations framework

I see Understand First when things are not going according to plan, to try to fix it without pointing fingers.

I see the Intersen team practicing Understand First when their work is disrupted by office requirements

UnderstandFirst

I see our teams practicing Do What We Say as we faithfully keep showing up for learners even when there are many disruptions due to exams

I see Ops Team demonstrating Do What We Say when they make sure that teams and programmes run smoothly and each team has everything they need to do their work

Program Managers exemplify Servant Leadership through constantly reflecting on how to be more helpful to the schools, teachers, and students we serve

I see Servant Leadership in action during trainings, when time is invested in coaching us, and helping us to grow both personally and professionally

Servant Leadership

I see the Ops Team demonstrating Servant Leadership when they patiently follow up and ensure that we all understand and follow our processes and procedures

I see Masambeni and Servant Leadership in the way that the Duster keeps on keeping on, that car is giving deeply of itself

I see the spirit of Masambeni at the central Ed team when we cover for each other during times of illness and we graciously take on each other’s responsibilities.

Receiving feedback is part of growth, and demonstrating a spirit of Masambeni I have seen the humility to learn as colleagues receive feedback with grace! #neverstoplearning

I see Masambeni when one team is having an event and we all make that event successful.

I see our Nobalisa Team being Motivated Motivators. They work as a team, are supportive of each other, lift each other up and encourage and empower one another.

MotivatedMotivators

Masambeni

I see Motivated Motivators when OPS team is supporting everyone and making sure that every program is supported fully.

I see Motivated Motivators in the way that our teams bring joy into the classroom in the form of games and songs

I see Motivated Motivators in the way that we give regular shout outs and celebrations

I see Pathways being Child Centered by creating a career counselling tracker to ensure each learner is being supported

Our coaching approach embraces techniques that encourage Child Centred learning ensuring all learners are engaged

I see Child Centered in action when our Nobalisa teams help our learners to improve their reading abilities despite the challenges and disruptions in our schools.

Childcentered

Public School Partnerships

PSPs embrace a collaborative approach to public school innovation by connecting government, private sector funders, non-profit operating partners and no-fee schools with the aim of pioneering strategies that will lead to children from low income communities receiving high quality education Here are some highlights from year 6 of this collaboration.

1IMPROVED CONFIDENCE IN MONITORING PROGRESS

The 2nd year of Collaboration Schools Assessments (CSAs) further provided a way of accurately measuring learner progress. The assessments are aligned with CAPS, and are comparable with other assessments such as Green Shoots, Early Grade Reading/Mathematics Assessments (EGRA/EGMA) & JumpTrack.

2 IMPROVED LEARNER PERFORMANCE

The Gr12 overall learner performance at Dumalisile CHS moved from 71.4% in 2022, to 81.2% in 2023. Dudumayo SSS improved from 67.7% in 2022 to 82.5% in 2023.

Another win on the Gr12 results is that within one year of working at Dudumayo, the Mathematics results improved from 29 5% in 2022 to 37% in 2023. The Physical Sciences results improved from 71.4% in 2022 to 82.6% in 2023.

3 INCREASED ACCOUNTABILITY

The ECA was able to positively hold schools accountable for their results, culture, and code of conduct. This development and improvement is a good move towards sustainable change within the communities that we serve Plans are underway to form a similar accountability body at our Zithulele site

4

HEALTHY GROWTH

One High School, Dudumayo SSS was added at the Zithulele site of the PSP.

The school was onboarded well, with the Senior Management Teams (SMTs) very positive

5 PROGRESS IN UNDERSTANDING SYSTEMIC CHALLENGES

We continued to gain understanding of the key challenges in the province that affect the running of our schools.

A key win in 2023 was understanding vacancies and how they are closed. Working with District on this challenge enabled all existing teacher and principal vacancies to be filled in 2023

6 PROFESSIONALISATION OF CURRICULUM COACHING

Plans were set in motion to review the coaching model in order to enable the SMTs to be Coaches and trainers at schools level. This move would further enable sustainability of the gains of PSP in schools

A MODEL FOR SUCCESSFUL SCHOOL CHANGE 7

The success of the PSP model has been noted by multiple stakeholders, including the Eastern Cape Department of Education (ECDoE). Quoting from an ECDoE official who said, “ we would like to see the Province Axiumised”, it is becoming clear that this dream is not far from getting realised Interest in the model now extends to Provinces outside the Western and Eastern Capes.

The year 2023 marks a pinnacle of confidence in the PSP model, rewarding the hope and dedication of our teams by showcasing the fruits of years of hard work This year was a turning point; we ' ve crossed the threshold of confidence and are dedicated to codifying our learning for the broader rural education community.

-Jacob Chirumanzi, Regional Manager

Nobalisa Literacy

An isiXhosa word that means “ one who tells stories”, which speaks to the roots of this programme ’ s desire to share a love for reading and stories with our youngest learners.

In our early grade literacy space, 2023 was an engine-room of growth We had piloted a new way of working in 2022, through our partnerships with the government’s Social Employment Fund (SEF) and other non-profits such as Nali’Bali and the Learning Trust The early success of these partnerships gave us the opportunity and confidence to launch into no fewer than 8 new schools during the course of 2023, adding 4 leaders and 149 team members to our staff complement. We are already on track to add an additional 12 schools to the programme in 2024, including a new partnership with our neighbouring nonprofit, Bulungula Incubator.

“The greatest achievement for Nobalisa in my view is seeing how the growth of the program not only impacts the learners but the facilitators as well, It has been fulfilling to see these young people from our rural areas moving from Junior Facilitators to Team Leaders and Site Mentors ” - Babalwa Matikinca, Growth and Logistics Manager

The year has seen us truly developing the concept of our dual beneficiary structure. Over the past two years we ’ ve added 140 community-based staff through the SEF, so this is becoming a major employment boost to communities where unemployment can be as high as 80% While the children remain at the centre of every intervention, we have also seen the power and importance of providing employment and skill-building opportunities to a significant number of postschool youth through the SEF initiative. This is reflected as we track where our staff go once they leave us: in the past year we have become a stepping stone for many young people on their way to tertiary education or full time employment This is a core part of our vision: providing pathways for success in many different ways

None of these pathways would be a reality, of course, without the central function of this highly successful team: teaching children to read, in small groups, using activities and resources targeted to their needs as precisely as possible! In 2023, we saw some encouraging signs of steady incremental improvements. While we are far from achieving our goal of 50% confident readers at the end of grade 3, there are indications that the COVID related learning losses are being recovered, albeit slowly. The programme appears to be particularly effective at moving learners from being unable to read towards a basic level of literacy.

“It was nice attending the LITASA conference where our team presented on the Nobalisa Program One slide in particular caught people’s attention - the TaRL Assessment Data that showed progression through the grades The audience was impressed to see the positive results of the program ” - Sekiwe Maqeba, Nobalisa Curriculum Coordinator

Addressing the deep challenges of early grade literacy in our context is a long game, but we are patient! With the team excelling on a national stage through conference presentations and multi-organisation communities of practice, while rooted in the local community (90%+ of our team live within walking distance of our schools), we are well positioned to invest in our children and schools in the long term.

Grade3EGRA AssessmentData,ZithuleleandAmaJingqischools

Programmes

Our programmes provide the children in our communities with local models of success, individual attention, additional resources for key subjects and opportunities to belong and extend - from the smallest grade R learners to our graduating class of aspiring university students

Masakhane

At Masakhane we support the transition to English as a medium of instruction at the beginning of grade 4, and nurture the skills that learners will need to thrive in a complex, multilingual schooling environment To this end, we focus on developing bilingual skills, agency and basic maths competencies, using holistic approaches aimed at building agency and buy-in amongst students and their caregivers

Masakhane means ‘let’s help build each other’. This name speaks to the programme ’ s focus on building robust, skillful learners who are able to thrive personally and academically in challenging environments

Yenzokuhle

In-school maths

Over the past few years we ’ ve seen significant improvements in some areas of implementation, and particularly with our grade 6 results, but the use of digital maths platforms has left us underwhelmed In 2023 we developed a pivot towards a TaRL maths implementation model, to tackle foundational skills with our middle grade learners in a more targeted way While we will still be using online platforms to support our more advanced learners, we are using an offline approach, aligned with the TaRL Africa materials, to accelerate learners’ grasp of the basics

With a growing team, a strong support network of consultants, trainers and thought partners both within Axium and from other organisations, we are excited to see where this takes us Preliminary assessment results suggest that the new programme is effective in moving learners rapidly through the foundational maths skills that they need

1561 learners 12 schools

The success of Masakhane’s Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) pilot in 2023 enabled us to transition to a much larger school-based programme to this model for launch in 2024, building cross-team synergies.

114 learners 2 schools

Gr 4-9

Yenzokuhle means ‘do it well’. This speaks to the programme ’ s focus on building skills in Mathematics and developing learners’ agency, motivation and determination to succeed

10-12

Ekukhuleni means ‘place of growth’. This name speaks to the programme ’ s focus on growing skills in core high school subjects and developing learners’ agency, motivation and determination to succeed.

Pathways

Career guidance and tertiary application support

During 2023 the Pathways team completed nearly 7000 applications for institutions and courses The South African college system remains an unsolved challenge However, we have made tremendous progress in strengthening our careers counselling systems so that more learners apply to relevant courses and end school with a strong, realistic vision for what comes next.

We bid a sad farewell to Zodwa Nho and Sive Mda, two of our alumni who have served faithfully in the programme for many years, as they took their next steps on their own career pathways and followed their dreams of working in cities and gaining a new kind of experience Azisiwe Somlenze has stepped up to lead the programme in their place She has already shown her passion for effective counselling and monitoring systems which will take the programme to the next level.

This programme creates pathways to success for already motivated and academically strong learners in their final three years of school This means honing their maths, physical sciences and English skills through 60 additional days of tuition at Ekukhuleni, providing exposure to other highly motivated learners from neighbouring schools, and encouraging diligent study habits through the facilitation of weekly study groups in which they pass their knowledge on to their peers.

In 2023, the team experimented with several different strategies to work alongside schools more effectively, including an adjustment of the lesson timing We also worked hard to support one of our high schools whose campus was washed away in an unusual seasonal storm Remarkably, our students still shone in their final exams, despite these disruptions

129 learners 6 schools

learners 17 schools Gr 9-12

The Pathways programme provides learners with access to the skills and knowledge they require to make informed decisions about their futures and next steps after school, whether that is university, college, internships or employment

Hear from our Alumni

Yonelwa Biko

When I was in grade 10, I was fortunate to be picked as an Axium Ekukhuleni learner. I matriculated successfully and went onto university but had a really tough experience I had challenges with transport, funding, accommodation and trying to hold down part-time work to support myself Due to personal issues and continued financial challenges I decided to de-register I always say I’m not a quitter but at some point, I realized that this journey was not going to be completed by me After deregistering I moved back home to Mqanduli to regroup and restructure. While back at home I paid Axium a visit and the team decided that with my skill set I could help assist with the Ekukhuleni Programme, supporting learners at study groups with English, mathematics and physical sciences. I enjoyed working at Ekukhuleni because I received great support from the team and also the fact that I was helping in a programme I once attended My experience at Ekukhuleni and the career counseling I got from Axium helped me realize that I have always enjoyed teaching. I applied for a Bachelor of Education in Maths and English at Unisa and got in! I also got a full-time job at Axium Education as a maths facilitator in the Masakhane Programme Working and studying has not been that bad, it has been very good in fact. I am enjoying my work because it is related to what I am studying. And the studies...? Let’s just say your girl might graduate with a Cum Laude!

I was born and raised in Qunu, a small village in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Growing up, I was raised by my grandparents. At an early age, I had to take care of the cattle and my three siblings before going to school Although it was challenging routine, I knew I had to do it to help my family. In 2015, I moved to Xwangu, Zithulele to finish high school Life in Xwangu was also challenging The school lacked permanent teachers which made it difficult for me to learn, and I struggled with maths and physics. While facing the shortage of teachers at school, along came Axium Education I was selected to join the programme and the improvement in my results was significant. I passed grade 12 in 2018 with a Bachelor's pass! I was accepted to study Accounting at WSU but had to drop out due to system issues This was a setback, but I didn't let it get me down. Instead, I worked with Axium's Senior Schools team while planning for 2020 This was also a blessing in disguise because I got to help other students as I was helped when I started with Axium. In 2020 I started my first year of Biotechnology at CPUT Moving to Cape Town was a big change for me however, this experience has taught me to adapt to new environments. My dream towards becoming a Certified Accountant is still something I am very much looking forward to as my

Vuyisani Fetumane

Finances

2023 Distribution of Expenses

2023 Income Streams

Perspectives from our Supporters

“We are grateful and fortunate to be in partnership with Axium. We are empowered through regular communication, shared skills, knowledge and aligned goals and values This partnership fosters relationships and encourages openness and accountability.” - Ms Mdaka

On the RCL camp that Axium ran, we learnt that when you are a leader you face many challenges and how to overcome them through many activities we did in the camp. Also the importance of teamwork that we have to be united in order to reach our goals -Gr 12 learner

“It is inspiring and heartwarming to see how the Axium team is tirelessly helping to support, encourage and guide learners so that the miles-long walk they do daily to get to and from school can actually set them on a meaningful path.” -Julie Kleyn

“Axium has supported our schools in a number of ways Our SMTs and SGBs continuously receive trainings, schools are led by capacitated principals, grade 12s are guided and assisted and Axium is bringing resources to our schools…tutors, admin clerks, infrastructure the list is endless ” -Mr Makhaphela

“Our collaboration with Axium Education is rooted in commitment to exploring workable solutions to the challenges facing rural education. Axium delivers programmes that are thoughtfully designed and consistently reflected upon This organisation-wide commitment to learning makes Axium a particularly valuable partner It really is a privilege to support their work.” - Jenni-Kate Warwick

"I really enjoyed how we were shown how to colour in. This is not something that most parents often do at home It was quite amusing to see the kids laughing at us doing such activities I would definitely encourage other parents to let their children join I believe that it gives our kids a great chance of doing well in school.” -Mam’ Nho

“Axium’s growth over the last three years has been phenomenal One of the striking success stories is the reduction of grade 3 children who cannot read a single word to below 10%. Well done Axium Team for the high quality contribution to education ”

-Pilate Moyo