Programmes
Our national offices are in Johannesburg and we have six regional offices that serve schools the Free State, Limpopo/Mpumalanga, the Northern Cape, North West, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. We also work in Lesotho.
We work in partnership with the Catholic Schools Offices in KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape (Port Elizabeth), Western Cape and Gauteng.
We deliver the following programmes in schools:
Catholic Ethos and Identity
Central to the Catholic identity of our schools is Religious Education. The CIE Religious Education Department serves the network nationwide by developing policy, curriculums and other resources.
Safety, Health and Well-being
Child safeguarding
The safety of children is of paramount importance in Catholic schools.
Building Peaceful Catholic Schools programme
The Building Peaceful Catholic Schools programme was developed in order to move the discipline culture from retributive to restorative. One of our programmes is Peer Mediation, which is an integral part of the Building Peaceful Schools Programme. Learners at Catholic schools are trained in Communication, Peacebuilding and Conflict Management. The objective is that they are able to manage low level conflict and assist their peers to resolve problems before major conflict takes place. A teacher forms their support and they are assisted to know when to ask for help with a problem. The young people in this video share their experience as peer mediators.
Health screening and deworming
These interventions are undertaken to improve the health and well-being of learners in under-resourced Catholic schools in urban and peri-urban areas.
Education access project
Learners in Catholic schools in the most marginalised areas of the country are assisted with school uniforms, meals and fees, to ensure that they can continue going to school.
Governance and Leadership Development
The CIE assists Catholic schools to become centres of excellence where relationships foster justice and peace among the school community. Leadership support is personal and ongoing, in order to support principals in their task of leading the schools.
Teaching and Learning Support
The CIE provides training of Foundation Phase and Intersen Phase teachers in literacy and numeracy in order to improve the learning experience of learners in Catholic schools.
Advocacy and Policy Development
The CIE continues to articulate its vision for education to all relevant stakeholders and has significant partnerships with other organisations so as to improve schooling for all in South Africa. The CIE has a three-tier approach to managing policy at national, provincial and local level.
Catholic Education Network Cohesion
The CIE acts as secretariat to the Catholic Board of Education and takes an active role in ensuring the existence of provincial principals’ forums.