12 Feb Finding public school placement for your special needs child

South Africa, like other countries provides public special education school.  These LSEN School (Learner Special Education Need School’s) are typically run at a slightly higher tuition fee to those that cater for normal developing children. Just like independent special schools in South Africa, the teacher working in these centres need to be equipped to handle special needs children.

The children, that LSEN schools in South Africa cater for range from children who have ADHD to those with Down syndrome or Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Children with special educational needs require a different learning environment and can often not cope with the pace of mainstream education. 

Where to find the contact details for public special-needs schools in South Africa?

You can click onto:   www.gov.za they have published a list of special needs public school in excel format.  They also have an easy-to-use search function for public and some independent schools are also listed in the “school-guide” link.

Should this not work then you can make contact with the Educational District office (https://www.education.gov.za/Informationfor/EducationDistricts.aspx) of the Department of Education. 

District offices are local hubs of PEDs and provide vital lines of communication between the provincial Department of Education and the actual Educational Institutions.  

Department of Basic Education Number:  0800 202 933

Switchboard:  012 357 3000

You can also contact:  callcentre@dbe.gov.za or info@dbe.gov.za