PESTALOZZI TRUST - Freedom to Provide Home and Private Education

Pestalozzi Trust - Protecting and promoting the right to home education in South Africa

What is the Pestalozzi Trust?

In the Pestalozzi Trust, a large number of South African homeschoolers and cottage schools work together to protect one another’s freedom to provide home and private education. This means that they can educate their children lawfully and without unjustified interference.

Our Goal

In 1998 the Trust was established by a group of Christians to protect the rights and freedoms of all families to educate their children at home according to their own religious and/or philosophical persuasions, pedagogical convictions and cultural traditions.

Ten years later, it became apparent that the need for the protection of the right to education is just as great among the learners, parents and teachers in schools, and especially cottage schools. Accordingly, the Trust decided to also accept private schools as members, whether they are registered with education departments or not.

Our task

Prevention of conflict
Conflict resolution
Defence

Who owns the Pestalozzi Trust?

The Pestalozzi Trust is a non-profit Trust governed by a Board of Trustees. It is funded from the fee that members pay and a small number of unsolicited donations. Funds may only be used to protect the freedom of education.

How does the Trust work?

Research - Reliable, research based information on home and small scale education is essential to defend the freedom of education in the community and in the courts.

Conflict management - The Trust’s emergency number is available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, for members with urgent problems. The office number is available for general enquiries from members and from the public.

Expanding influence - Ignorance of home and small scale education is its greatest enemy. For that reason it is a priority of the Trust to distribute reliable information about education.

Empowering members - The SA Constitution and common law places on parents the duty to protect the best interests of their children against unlawful interference, also by organs and officials of the state.

Experience shows, though, that parents can only protect the rights and freedoms of their children if they know what those rights and freedoms are, and when they are being threatened. For this reason the Trust provides its members with information relating to home and small school education, the legal relevant legal aspects, and the parents’ duties, rights and freedoms.

The Trust also advises members on appropriate responses when the education is threatened by state actions.

Our Trustees

Mr Bouwe van der Eems (Chairman and Treasurer), has an M.SC (Engineering) and runs www.sahomeschoolers.org. He home schooled all his children, and has been involved in the Trust for the past 15 years.

Mrs Karin van Oostrum (Manager) has been home schooling her own children for more than 25 years and has been managing the Pestalozzi Trust since its inception together with her late husband, Leendert van Oostrum. She advises many homeschoolers.

Mr Henri Slabbert is a retired school teacher with specialist qualifications in education management, and an experienced home schooler and home schooling leader.

Mr. Shaun Green is active in architecture and in the Association for Home Schooling, and his own children have received home education since birth.

Adv Andre Williams home schooled his own children, and has taken part in discussions with the authorities on home education policy.

Please visti the PESTALOZZI TRUST WEBSITE for more information.

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