![Using Lego in Thobeka's classroom]()
Using Lego in Thobeka's classroom
Thank you very much for your support for ORT SA CAPE's programmes through CHW's page on GlobalGiving! We are so grateful for your kindness. This has been helping children in Cape Town, and the surrounding areas, to receive a better quality education in the classroom.
Below is an update from Bev, at ORT SA CAPE.
(In South Africa, the term "learner" is commonly used for schoolchildren or pupils.)
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Together, we can build a future full of HOPE, OPPORTUNITY, and EDUCATION for all.
This quarter has brought exciting new milestones. Our ECD Hubs of Educational Excellence programme, launched in December, is now underway in two provinces. This two-year, capacity-building initiative will support 20 ECD (Early Childhood Development) centres to become compliant, well-managed, and better equipped to deliver quality early learning.
We are thrilled to announce that ORT SA CAPE has been awarded the Trevor Noah Khulani Nathi Innovation Fund for the expansion of The DORY Code, a programme that will reach over 1 000 teachers over the next three years. We have finalised the agreement to begin construction of a new ECD exhibit at the Cape Town Science Centre, a partnership we are very proud of.
Our visibility and thought leadership continue to grow. We will be presenting and participating in panel discussions at the Six Bricks Sondela Conference, the EduPulse Women in Leadership Conference, and the Litasa Literacy Conference.
It is a season of growth, and we are grateful to our team, partners, and funders who make this work possible.
With sponsorship from Children's Helpers Worldwide, ORT SA CAPE offered the LEGO Play Box introductory course during the period. The sessions were held on the 6th, 14th March and 12th June and a total of 127 educators attended the sessions.
The three-hour course forms part of ORT's Learning through Play teacher training programme, designed to promote purposeful play as an effective approach to teaching in preschool classrooms. This approach involves multi-layered fun activities that create rich learning opportunities across different domains of children's development.
After the training, each ECD centre that was represented received a LEGO Charity Play Box. Each Play Box is valued at R8 000 [around £365]. The LEGO resources are sponsored by the LEGO Foundation, working in partnership with Care for Education and ORT SA CAPE.
Impact Story - value of training
Thobeka is an early childhood development practitioner who works at Phandulwazi Educare Centre in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. She is 54 years old and she has four years' teaching experience. In March 2026, she and her principal attended the LEGO Play Box training workshop together. Thobeka works with toddlers in the 2-3 age group and there are 25 learners in her class. The language of learning and teaching at the centre is Xhosa and all learners in Thobeka's class speak Xhosa as their home language.
What changed?
Since attending the LEGO Play Box training in March 2026, Thobeka has made noticeable changes to her teaching practice. She now uses the Play Box resources regularly, incorporating LEGO elements into various lessons. Specific activities from the training have become part of her regular routine. Learners handle LEGO elements to learn counting, identify and match colours, and she teaches concepts in Xhosa and English simultaneously, using the activities to support language development in two languages. Her class also builds towers individually, in pairs, and in groups, and she uses LEGO in a balancing activity as well. Thobeka has also introduced a brief check-in with LEGO Six Bricks at the start of each day to see how learners are feeling.
How is this different to how they were before?
Before the training, Thobeka felt uncertain about what resources to use in her teaching. She describes feeling "puzzled" as to where to turn when she needed teaching aids. The LEGO Play Box has changed that. She now knows she has a versatile set of resources within a single box and can draw on the different elements to support a range of learning activities. This has given her greater confidence in her own teaching ability and her sense that she has what she needs to do her job well.
A particular positive change Thobeka has observed is in two learners who were previously very shy and reluctant to participate. Since LEGO activities were introduced, both have become more talkative and willing to share their views. She notes that she hopes this openness will carry over into other activities as well.
How has the programme supported this change?
Thobeka (pictured below) participated in the LEGO Play Box training in March 2026. The training equipped her with both the resources and the practical know-how to use it in her classroom. The shift she describes, for example, from using her fingers to demonstrate counting to using concrete LEGO elements, reflects the direct application of what she learned. The programme has also supported the confidence of the children in her care. Thobeka observes that her learners are more engaged and reluctant to put the resource away, which she sees as a sign of increased enthusiasm for learning.
Learning through play is a powerful approach to early childhood education, helping children develop critical cognitive, social, emotional, and physical skills in a natural and engaging way. Through purposeful play, children build creativity, problem-solving abilities, communication skills, and confidence, laying the foundation for lifelong learning and success. Investing in learning through play programmes is an effective way to improve educational outcomes, support holistic child development, and create inclusive learning environments where every child has the opportunity to thrive.
Upcoming activities.
We are excited to share that ORT SA CAPE will be hosting a one day Elevate & Connect ECD Conference on 31 July in Cape Town.
The conference will bring together ECD principals, leaders, practitioners, funders, and sector stakeholders, with a focus on strengthening leadership, accountability, innovation, and meaningful collaboration across the ECD landscape. We aim to create a space for bold thinking, practical insight, and thoughtful advocacy for quality early learning in South Africa.
At ORT SA CAPE, we are passionate about harnessing the transformative power of education to create opportunities and change lives. We are grateful to CHW for its ongoing support of our educational programmes, helping us extend our impact, empower more individuals, and strengthen communities through education.
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We are delighted to share with you that GlobalGiving will be running its July Bonus Day again this year! This will begin at 3pm (UK time, or 4pm in South Africa) on Wednesday 15 July and will last for 24 hours. During this time, donations of £75 and above will be partially matched by GlobalGiving.
If you would like to give a smaller amount, this would still be very welcome, as any help towards the children's education will make such a difference.
If you would be able to share our project page during the campaign, that would be wonderful too.
Thank you so much for being part of this project! Your help is life-changing because a good education gives a child so many more opportunities for the future.
![Thobeka]()
Thobeka
![Children using Lego in Thobeka's classroom]()
Children using Lego in Thobeka's classroom
![Children using Lego in Thobeka's classroom]()
Children using Lego in Thobeka's classroom
![Phandulwazi Educare Centre]()
Phandulwazi Educare Centre
![LEGO Play Box introductory course at ORT SA CAPE]()
LEGO Play Box introductory course at ORT SA CAPE
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