Dr Indira Naidoo's Early Learning Academy

This was my personal experience at The Dr Indira Naidoo's Early Learning Academy in Phoenix.

This Statement serves to warn parents before enrolling your children at an institution without proper knowledge of how it is run, the calibre of teachers they employ or the type of curriculum they follow. Besides having a don't care attitude to incessant bullying, their standard of education was not what we were promised with no plans to improve. The Covid Pandemic was the ongoing excuse for the lack of proper testing and assessments even after all the children returned to school as normal. The terms mark was based on 1 paper written at the end of hhe term, no assignments, tests, speeches, debates or written compositions etc...were given and this is at grade 7 level, which is utterly disturbing. Grade 7 learners were told to bring their afrikaans opstel for the exams and copy it because the teacher is too lazy to care.

My child was enrolled at this institution in the 4th term of 2020 and at this point all the learners were using the Microsoft Teams application. She went into school only to write her exam.

As we headed into the New Year 2021, My child continued online whilst some of the children returned to school and once again we sent her in just to write exams, her teacher at this point was quite competent but their curriculum was lacking in many aspects, they had one teacher teaching all subjects which in my opinion is quite shocking for a private institution and a lot for one teacher to handle, hence the decline in the quality of work, they did not do continuous testing and homework was almost non existent, which is shocking not just for a private school but for any school. So at this point we knew that this school had deteriorated from its former academic reputation .

As the months and terms passed, we still only sent our child in to write exams , and every single time she was sent in she was bullied relentlessly, this was addressed but never resolved. The learners in this school were allowed to carry their phones to school, they formed a WhatsApp group where they added my child and continued to bully her online, she kept removing herself from the group and they continued to add her on, at one point a picture of her was taken in class without her permission and posted on this group where they made fun off her for reading a book, they spewed vulgarities that even I as an adult was ashamed to read (I have evidence of this)

These very same children that were involved in humiliating and incessantly bullying my child where made prefects, and some of which were given senior positions. A very heartfelt and "sincere" pledge was said by each of them during their induction ceremony but the bullying continued.

Coming to this term that just passed, the deputy head boy kept bullying my child this entire term, the teacher she was placed with this time was not competent at all, she was uninterested and also lacking in every aspect, she was more interested in telling the kids how little she earned and that she was looking for other employment , which is highly unprofessional to start with and she failed to send out revision or follow through with simple requests and her excuse was that she was preoccupied with an upcoming family wedding . I still have all her messages with regards to this issue and it is a joke that you choose a profession with no interest whatsoever.

We could see that our child was becoming withdrawn and we were not informed that she had a breakdown in school a few days before exams started, until a few days later when she broke down at home, I took a video of her where she was inconsolable, sent it to her principal and that is when we told them that we want the matter dealt with immediately and it was then addressed reluctantly and without remorse from the boy or his parent, if anything it was downplayed and not given the seriousness it deserved. They were more interested in the video not going viral.

He said he dislikes her because she is too polite and it irritated him, and his parent felt he was within his rights because he is a teenager and hormonal, which I found unacceptable. If I did not insist on his badge being removed at least temporarily as a form of discipline, the whole incident would have been swept under the rug .

My child was continuously taunted, told she is useless, unloved by her family and she was dared to jump off the school building and expressed that at that point as much as she is aware that is sensless, she felt like jumping because the bullying at this stage was relentless and we as parents would not have found out had she not broke down and told us everything. At this point we knew we knew she had to at least complete the exams and see the term through then we could take action from there.

If anyone knows My child, they know her academic potential and her grades dropped dismally in one term, and her teacher felt it is acceptable as well as school management. This was where we had to draw the line. They were sending her on a downward spiral emotionally and academically.

We took a hasty transfer but some children won't have that option and will have to stay and face the bullying and lack of a proper education . This cannot be left to continue. , so that the last 3 terms of primary school can be a good experience for her after the horrific ordeal she has been through.

This is a warning so that other parents do not have to experience this, bullying is a disease that some victims do not make it through and discipline in schools is very important , parents should not dictate to schools how to handle these events, examples need to be set, rules need to be set in place and enforced, not just for face value. I hope this matter is investigated as it is not fair that parents pay private school fees for pathetic teaching and conduct.

Dr Indira Naidoo's Early Learning Academy, Wow! What an incredible school for our little one's future today, tomorrow and moving forward 2021. Indira Naidoo is one of the most kindest and loving mother's that I have ever met. She is not just a parent but the principal of the academy. She will turn your life around with the miracles of education she performs for her students. Don't just take my word for it! ENROL NOW! And you too will have a brilliant opportunity of sharing this wealth in your review. There is so much to look forward too. The countdown has begun!