Education
With regard to the WCED’s decision to close down the Ottery Youth Care Centre:
(1) Why was the Ottery Youth Care Centre closed;
(2) what decision was taken with regard to the staff at the Ottery Youth Care Centre;
(3) whether the staff members at the Ottery Youth Care Centre have received their salaries since June 2021; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
(4) (a) what activities have been taking place at the Ottery Youth Care Centre from June 2021 to date and (b) what activities specifically have been taking place in the technical section of the Ottery Youth Care Centre;
(5) what are the future plans for the Ottery Youth Care Centre, including what will happen in 2023;
(6) what is the number of learners who are currently enrolled at the school during this academic year?
[1] In 2010, a shift occurred in the Child Justice legislation regarding placement of learners in conflict with the law and those in need of care and protection. Within two years of the amended Children’s Act [2010], all functions which the Department of Basic Education [DBE] were responsible for in terms of placement of learners in conflict with the law and those in need of care and protection, became the responsibility of the Department of Social Development [DSD].
Youth Care Centres established/maintained by the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) as of April 2010 were the following:
- Ottery Youth Care Centre
- Wellington Youth Care Centre
- Eureka Youth Care Centre (in Rawsonville)
- Die Bult Youth Care Centre (in George)
In 2012, the Western Cape Department of Social Development [DSD] informed the WCED that it had sufficient space for Child and Youth Care Centre learners at its existing centres and that it did not need any of the Youth Care Centres which had been maintained by the WCED. The agreement between the provincial departments of Social Development and Education in the Western Cape was thus that all new referrals by the courts would be to Social Development-managed centres and that no further referrals would be made to the WCED Youth Care Centres as from January 2013. With this decision taken, the WCED began planning to repurpose the Youth Care Centres once the court orders of the current learners expired.
On 17 December 2012, the Justice Alliance of South Africa [JASA] appealed to the High Court for an urgent interdict to stop the closure or planned repurposing of the WCED Youth Care Centres. They described the WCED centres as homely and child friendly as opposed to the DSD centres which included high security features intended for children displaying criminal or high-risk behaviour.
The DSD’s response was that children in need of care or protection were not accommodated together with children who had been sentenced or who were awaiting trial, even if they were in the same facility. However, the DSD had developed a shortage of space for unsentenced children in need of care or protection.
The WCED re-purposed three of the four centres over the next few years.
The School Governing Body and School Management Team of Ottery Youth Care Centre had consistently expressed their desire to continue to render services to unsentenced children in need of care or protection referred by the Court in terms of the Children’s Act.
Although the Western Cape Department of Social Development [DSD) had sufficient space for children in conflict with the law or who committed a crime, the department did not have sufficient space for children with behaviour problems in need of care and support.
As from October 2014, the DSD gave Ottery conditional registration as a Child and Youth Care Centre for learners in need of care and protection referred by the courts in terms of the Children’s Act [learners who have not committed a crime but found to be in need of care and protection].
DSD increased their capacity, and the conditional registration of Ottery was ended on 30 June 2021.
[2] The WCED had two categories of staff at the school. The employees were either educators or public servants and either permanent or on contract. Those contract workers eligible, were converted to permanent status. A matching and placing process has taken place in accordance with the operational needs of the WCED and the qualifications of the employees alike. The WCED established a Positive Behaviour Resource Centre in January 2022 and many of the staff had been placed there as well as at WCED schools.
[3] Yes.
[4] [a] The process of matching and placing the staff into alternative programmes started from 4 August 2021, with an upskilling and training programme to introduce and orientate the staff to the possible programmes that would potentially be available to accommodate the staff in 2022 at the Positive Behaviour Resource Centre and other schools.
A temporary high school – Gateway – for learners who had been unplaced, is operating on the premises of the Ottery Youth Care Centre.
[b] The technical workshop is not currently being used.
[5] An inter-departmental task team coordinated by the WCED Planning Branch has been established to develop plans for 2023 and beyond.
[6] There are no learners enrolled at the Ottery Youth Care Centre. All learners referred by the courts are now placed at DSD centres.
