Supporting Early-Career Teachers Where It Matters
Jakes Gerwel Fellowship in partnership with the Department of Basic Education to support new teacher induction.
South Africa’s education system has made notable gains at the end of the schooling cycle, but challenges in the early grades continue to compromise learner outcomes. Research and public data show that many children are not mastering foundational literacy and numeracy skills, with consequences that compound throughout their schooling journey.
In response, the Jakes Gerwel Fellowship (JGF), in partnership with the Department of Basic Education (DBE), has launched a new Wraparound Support Programme for early‑career primary school teachers. The programme is designed to support novice teachers as they complete the New Teacher Induction Programme (NTIP), while strengthening teaching practice in the Foundation and Intermediate Phases.
The programme was officially launched during orientation sessions held on Friday 6 and Saturday 7 February 2026 at the Birchwood Hotel and Conference Centre in Johannesburg, and on Thursday 12 February 2026 at the Porche Villa Hotel and Conference Centre in Thohoyandou, Limpopo. The sessions brought together officials from national and provincial education departments, and more than 400 teachers from both provinces who will be the first cohorts of participants. VVOB provided introductory demonstrations of the learning management system (LMS) that the NTIP coursework is built on. And the foundations of teacher professional development were firmly reiterated by SACE who spoke about the importance of living the Professional Teaching Standards in the classroom.
Why early-career teacher support matters
While much attention is often placed on matric outcomes, evidence increasingly points to the early years of schooling as the most critical phase for long-term learning success. Many newly qualified teachers are placed into early-grade classrooms without specialised preparation for age-appropriate teaching, weakening instructional quality at precisely the point where strong foundations are most needed.
JGF’s Wraparound Support Programme represents a strategic expansion of the organisation’s long-standing work with early-career teachers. It builds on JGF’s experience supporting teachers during pre-service and in-service training, recognising that the quality of support teachers receive in their first years of employment has lasting implications for confidence, classroom practice and retention.
As JGF CEO Banele Lukhele explains, strengthening early-grade teaching is not a shift in focus, but a natural extension of the organisation’s mission: to support teaching practice where it has the greatest impact on learner outcomes.
“This programme is designed to work alongside the Department’s induction processes,” says Lukhele, JGF. “By providing sustained support to early-career teachers, we aim to strengthen everyday classroom practice while supporting the successful completion of the New Teacher Induction Programme.”
A coaching-based, holistic approach
The programme follows a structured, coaching-based model that combines pedagogical enrichment, psychosocial support and professional development aligned to NTIP requirements. Rather than adding to teachers’ administrative load, it is designed as a supportive companion to existing government induction processes.
A defining feature of the programme is its emphasis on teacher coaching delivered in teachers’ home languages. JGF coaches are experienced educators who share the linguistic and contextual backgrounds of the teachers they support, allowing professional development to be grounded in everyday classroom realities.
This approach is particularly important in the early grades, where language plays a central role in literacy, numeracy and conceptual understanding. Supporting teachers in the language they teach in enables clearer explanations, stronger learner engagement and more effective identification of learning challenges.
Working in partnership with the system
The Wraparound Support Programme has been deliberately designed to complement, rather than duplicate, government initiatives. Ms Lala Maje, Director for Initial Teacher Education at the Department of Basic Education, welcomed the partnership, saying, “Here is a partner that wants to walk with our teachers. They can customise the support that comes to schools and circuits. Working with the province, JGF will be able to make this programme a success.”
Over time, the programme aims to contribute to improved classroom practice, greater confidence among early-career teachers, stronger engagement with professional standards, and ultimately improved teacher retention in the Foundation Phase.
Looking ahead
The programme will be implemented in phases across selected schools in Gauteng and Limpopo, with the intention of expanding to additional districts and provinces. It will generate practical insights to inform future programme development and broader system learning.
As national conversations increasingly shift from headline pass rates to the quality of learning beneath them, initiatives like this reflect a growing consensus: the future of South Africa’s education system is shaped in the first years of school—and by the teachers who guide learners through them.