GOOD START TRUST REPORT

October 2025

SUMMARY

1. This year has seen some natural organisational changes that come with growth and our response
to changing circumstances, while keeping focused on our aim: to support the education of needy
primary school children in the Cape Town area.
2. We are delighted that Raphael Thomas has joined us as a 5th Trustee. He is a great asset to our team.
3. We are also delighted that Emma Haworth (Altius Financial Services) has joined us to oversee our
financial record keeping, and to handle our VAT refund submissions.
4. We are deeply grateful for all donated funding which comes to us from within South Africa and from
abroad, enabling us to continue to operate fully. Stewardship has proved to be a very useful payment
portal for UK tax paying donors. We have developed an accountable system that works, and, should
funding allow, we are open to extend our services to a third school. We continue to honour donors’
wishes with respect to the restricted use of their kind and generous donations.
5. Donations of Goods are welcomed, and we have received from a wide variety of generous individulas,
churches, schools, businesses.
6. We are continuing to expand our own fundraising activities, engaging more actively with different
communities and spreading awareness of the serious need there is, to work towards leveling the
educational playing field in South Africa.
7. Our Child Protection/Safeguarding Police has been updated, and all those associated with Breakfast
Club at St Mary’s Primary and with Smart Club were trained by Amy Haworth (Trustee) and signed the agreement.
8. VAT Registration has enabled us to apply successfully for VAT refunds from SARS.
9. Our accounts continue to be audited by L Rubin and Company, for which we are deeply grateful. Paul
Morris, Mariette Vos and Sakeenah Schroeder deserve our special thanks. See Addendum A for our
audited Annual Financial Statement for the year ending 29 February 2024.
10.We are grateful for legal advice given to us by Michael Bagraim (Labour Lawyer) and Leslie Swart
(Wealth Succession) , regarding our Trust Deed as well as Labour Law touching agreements.

A. FINANCES

Breakfast Club Budget, 2025 (Addendum B 1)

• We present two The Breakfast Club Budgets in Addendum B: one for feeding 200 children from St
Mary’s Primary School and one for feeding 300 children at another school as well. We are thus
looking to establishing an additional Breakfast Club at another equally needy school in the Cape
Town area during 2025, should funding allow.
• As the schools have settled back further into normal operations after the 2 years of Covid related
interruptions, we are seeing more children eating more, very likely the result of current pressures on
family finances. We also know that the cost of e’Pap and fruit per child per day is at the moment just
less than R2.70, which is very reasonable. The budget allows for expected price rises.
• Donations of milk and fruit in particular have allowed our budgets to go further.
• We will need to increase our staff stipends in order to recognise the rising cost of living experienced
month by month.

Fundraising for Breakfast Club
Initially, in December 2023, selling Christmas stocking filler handknitted bags and chocolates in the UK
brought in over R20k to help fill a gap in Good Hope funding. In 2024, St Mary’s has required focused
attention to funding. Selling hand knitted Easter bunnies containing chocolate eggs both in Cape Town
and the UK brought in R27k. Then R15.5k came in from a sponsored Triathlon organised by DragonFly
at the Sports Science Centre in Newlands, Cape Town. Springfield Convent School, St Andrew’s
Church in Newlands, St Mary’s Cathedral, a pre-primary school in Pinelands and other supporters
boosted our Easter Bunny sales. We now have a veritable army of knitters and crafters helping on an
ongoing basis! Two St Andrew’s Church parishioners, and two other volunteers (one from Breakfast
Club) were responsible for bringing in sponsorship for the Triathlon. We thank all these supporters
enormously.

Smart Club Budget, 2024 (Addendum B2)
• The Smart Club Budget for 2023 is based on a 40 week school year, omitting school assessment
weeks when therapists are not able to work with the children. Smart Club continues to work at both
St Mary’s Primary and Good Hope Seminary Junior School, and we seek to extend our services to a
third school should funding allow us to.
• Hearing tests and the provision of Ritalin/Methylphenidate are not reflected in the Budget, as the
former continue to be accessed free of charge at local clinics, and the latter is provided free of
charge from the School Doctor and Nurse at the local District Six Day Clinic. We advise those
needing eye tests to go to Specsavers who provide free testing and reduced framing costs for under
12 year olds.
• We intend to increase the hourly rate at which we pay our therapists in January 2025. We very
much appreciate that they provide their services at a discount, as we are a registered charity. We
thank them and specialist doctors who assess learners for accommodating the Smart Club in this
way. A retired educator who provides reading enrichment to small Gr 4 and 5 groups at St Mary’s
Primary insists on working pro bono. We realise how fortunate we and the children are to benefit
from her support.
• We are actively seeking a registered Occupational Therapist to join us in term 1, 2025.
• It is anticipated that during 2025 around 160 children (120 in groups, and 40 individually or in pairs)
will benefit from group and individual therapies, as well as up to 10 by assessments by an
Educational Psychologist, Paediatric Neurologist and Psychiatrist.

Administration Budget (Addendum C)
• Administration costs associated with our Audit, SAGE registration and fees paid to Altius Financial
Services have been covered this year by the interest accrued from funding in our Money Market
account.
• Any costs associated with our website ( i.e. xNeelo as our ISP, and Pixel Perfect as our website
designer) have been covered by a donor.

Financial Record Keeping:
We are grateful to Paula Cohen for her work keeping financial records for Good Start Trust over years,
using the SAGE Online accounting tool. Paula left us on 29 February 2024, as other priorities called on
her time. Emma Haworth of Altius Financial Services seamlessly took over the reins. Her SARS
registration has made it easy for her to claim VAT refunds. Thank you, Emma!

Section 18A Certificates:
SARS regulations around the issuing of 18A Certificates/Receipts for Cash
and/or Goods donations have changed, and we have accommodated that change.

Annual Audit:
On 29 February 2024, Sakeenah Shroeder of L Rubin and Co came to oversee Breakfast Club stock takes
and petty cash counts at both schools. The audit of our finances has now been completed. We thank
Paul Morris and Mariette Vos for this invaluable service to The Good Start Trust. The Annual Financial
Statements for the year ending 29 February 2024 can be viewed in Addendum A.

B. ORGANISATION

THE BREAKFAST CLUB

How many children do we feed?
Both Breakfast Clubs have seen continued healthy eating, with numbers varying in a way we have come to expect and understand. Extreme weather conditions and post exam end of term times both affect the number of children at school. At St Mary’s we have catered for an average of 170 children per day; at Good Hope we have catered for an average of 320 per day. On average both schools feed about 60% of their school populations. In total, thus, we have budgeted in 2024 for continuing to feed an average of 500 children per day between the two schools.
Staff matters
At both schools, helpers work a maximum of 2.5 hours per morning, with some coming in at 6.45 to switch on urns and kettles and to set up for food preparation, while some arrive at 8am to help with washing up. Some helpers stay throughout. There is a core of paid helpers at each school supported by volunteers. We continue to pay UIF for some helpers who wish us to do so. Staffing has adjusted to changing circumstances: absence or resignation due to Ill health, relocation and travel has required us to restructure our staff organisation.
Goods Donations:
Donations of food, particularly of milk, are welcomed by both Breakfast Clubs. The Angel Network has for at least a year supplied Good Hope with all required milk. St Mary’s Cathedral congregation provided over a term’s supply of milk to Breakfast Club at St Mary’s as their Lenten offering. Parents also donate milk from time to time. Sizeable milk and fruit donations have been very welcome from a local Spar as well as Remote Exploration Services, whose late November 2023 donation supplied us through Term 1, 2024. Springfield Convent School has donated exercise books, pencils, packs of vitamins and other goods for use by the school children at St Mary’s. Knitted scarves were sold to raise funds. Jan Van Riebeeck’s Huppeland littlies donated sandwiches for school lunches on Mandela Day.
Visitors:
Visitors are always welcome at both our Breakfast Clubs. We are very grateful for the encouraging visits we have had from supporters as far away as the Netherlands, Switzerland, the USA and the UK, as well as from within South Africa.
Safeguarding Policy:
We have rewritten our Child Protection/Safeguarding Policy to fall in line with WCED and Pupil Protection regulations. We are very pleased that our revised policy safeguards the children as well as the staff associated with us. All at Smart Club and at St Mary’s Breakfast Club signed agreement with the policy.

A New Development regarding Breakfast Club at Good Hope Seminary Junior School (GHSJS):
This year has seen a change in organisation regarding Breakfast Club at Good Hope Seminary Junior School, the school where we first set up our Trust in 2016. Patsy Bagraim and Aletta Ashmore started that initiative in February 2016, with the full support of the then principal, Adrienne Millner. Patsy’s heart has always been focussed on just that operation, and early this year she expressed the strong desire for Breakfast Club at GHSJS to go solo, responsible for itself under the able authority of herself and two other trustees. She was assured that she would find sufficient funding. It seemed a natural development for them and we were confident that they would be able to both fund and run the operation very successfully, continuing to support the learning of those children through provision of nutritious breakfasts. (Smart Club activities at GHSJS remain under Good Start Trust). In mid-May 2024 the Good Hope Feeding Trust was registered and authorised by the Master of the High Court. This new Trust has thus taken over legal authority for Breakfast Club at GHSJS, although full co-operation of course exists between the two Breakfast Clubs. By the end of the financial year, 28 February 2025, all cash funding in the Good Start Trust bank account, dedicated by donors for use by Breakfast Club at GHSJS, will have been used up to pay for operations there as Good Start Trust may only donate to another PBO registered charity. All cash donated now is to be paid into the GSFT bank account, and not to Good Start Trust. The new Trust will take over signed agreements with all helpers, whether paid or voluntary, with payment coming from the GHFT’s own account, once the cash dedicated to Good Hope Breakfast Club in the GST account has all been paid out. When Good Hope Feeding Trust is granted PBO status, all equipment owned by Good Start Trust will be signed over at the same time. We are deeply grateful to Leslie Swart of Wealth Succession for guiding us on sound legal ground through this transition period, and to our auditors, Paul Wilson and Mariette Vos, for their advice on the transfer of assets.

Establishing Breakfast and Smart Clubs at yet another school?
First, let us assure you that although Breakfast Club at Good Hope is now under the authority of a new Trust, Smart Club at that school remains in the care of Good Start Trust.

Secondly, an exciting corollary of Breakfast Club at Good Hope having become independent, is that Good Start Trust is now looking for funding to allow us to move operations to a third school. The aim of Good Start Trust’s Deed states that we seek to support the education of any needy child, though the provision of nutritious food, and by supporting access to learning support for those who experience specific learning difficulties. We have been approached informally by another needy school on the peninsula, and are investigating how we might find funding to serve the education of those young children too.

THE SMART CLUB

All of those working for Smart Club have Police Clearance.


Amy Haworth (Trustee) continues as Learning Support Educator employed by the Western Cape Education Department at both schools. All referrals regarding learners who need specific support are handled through Amy and the Schools Based Support Teams (SBSTs). This provides stability and consistency to the referral system.

Speech Therapy continues to be a key area of support:
Tracey Nell (Reg: ST 0007625) has adapted her approach to meet the literacy needs that we see post Covid:

  • ‘Let’s Talk’ groups are run for Gr R and Gr 1 at both schools, including up to 7 per group. These children were not able to communicate in English at the beginning of the year, having attended no pre-school prior to coming to Jan 2024. Tracy has focussed on vocabulary and simple sentence structure, and 23 children are helped in this way. Educators have expressed gratitude in the improvement in communication with these children.

  • One-to-one Speech Therapy sessions with some older children continue, with 2 now able to stop as they are able to cope in class. One 8 year old boy’s move to a specialist school for autistic children was celebrated. He had benefitted enormously from Tracey’s help, being enabled to communicate simply outside of echolalia, and to read simple words with understanding. Her counselling enabled his family to understand how to support this gentle boy. Tracey continues to work with 8 individual children at the two schools.

  • Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL): Tracey works with 5 Gr 6 and Gr 7 boys at Good Hope and 2 girls at St Mary’s whose difficulties stem from not having English as a home language for many years.

  • Six monthly reports inform parents and educators of progress made by the children with whom Tracey works, as well as her targets for future work.

Brain Gym, Gross and Fine Motor Co-ordination Group Sessions:
Helmien Jonker has continued to work weekly with the 2 Gr R classes at GHSJS, as well as Gr R and 1 at St Mary’s. Improved core strength, ability to focus in class, and better handwriting skills have all been noted as a result of her work with these children. In Gr 1 at St Mary’s she works with small groups in the classroom on specific handwriting skills.

Reading Enrichment:
Maureen Mc Crea, a retired educator, has extended her work with Gr 4 and 5 at St Mary’s. Last year’s trial encouraged her to continue working on vocabulary extension and skills to increase reading for understanding. She works pro bono. The learners and educators are grateful for the increased ability to access learning that these learners are showing.

Educational Psychologist’s Assessments:
We have referred 3 learners to date this year to Anel Annandale whom she has assessed, and for whom she has provided extremely insightful and useful reports and recommendations for supporting these children’s education.

Paediatric Psychiatry Assessments:
Dr Zanda Jaquire’s diagnostic assessments have been very helpful in giving us guidance in our support of learners who have hyperactivity or attention deficit related difficulties.

Provision of Ritalin/Methylphenidate free of charge through District Six Day Clinic:
Sr Busisiwe Tandatu continues to organise the free supply of Methyphenidate for 5 learners who have been prescribed this medication.

Parental Consent, Feedback:
Parents are asked to attend a feedback session where they are explained the results of the assessments. We do not proceed with any assessment or treatment if we do not have the parents’ or guardians’ full written consent.

Amy Haworth (Trustee) continues as Learning Support Educator employed by the Western Cape Education Department at both schools. All referrals regarding learners who need specific support, are handled through Amy and the Schools Based Support Teams (SBST’s). This provides stability and consistency to the referral system.

Two year deficit in literacy: A worrying consequence of the years that Covid affected education, is that children from poorer homes could not access learning on line due to both lack of technology and access to wifi at home. The result has been the publicised fact that many primary age South African children lag TWO YEARS behind in literacy, especially in reading. There are some educational strategies in place nationally to address this need, but Smart Club is focused on supporting in this area

Literacy Support Pilot: In June, Maureen McCrea, a retired educator, came forward to volunteer provision for literacy support. She now works weekly at St Mary’s School with small groups of Gr 4 and 5 learners who are at risk of having to repeat the year, largely due to poor reading skills. She has worked closely with the educators and Amy to make these support sessions relevant to work in the classroom. We hope to extend much needed Literacy Support in 2024.

Occupational Therapy: Kris-Ann Hey (Reg: OT0082589) worked with 10 learners at the two schools, over two mornings week. Unfortunately, she left Smart Club at the end of May. These learners had benefitted greatly from her skills, many over two years. Those who still needed support, were seen in small groups from June onwards by Helmien Jonker who brought her wide experience to supporting their literacy and numeracy skills. We will continue to seek the services of a qualified and registered Occupational Therapist for 2024.

Speech Therapy: Tracey Nell (Reg: ST 0007625) has worked with 11 learners for 1 day a week at both schools. Her continuing work under the umbrella of Speech Therapy has also included the following: supporting a quite severely autistic boy who now can read as well as speak, having been enabled to move slowly out of the verbal isolation he experienced 2 years ago; working with learners whose first language is Swahili, isiXhosa, or isiZulu; teaching phonics and sentence structure to Grade 1 and 2 learners whose literacy failed to develop during Covid years. We are very fortunate to have such a skilled and adaptable woman to work with these children.

Brain Gym, Gross and Fine Motor Co-ordination Group Sessions: Helmien Jonker has continued to work weekly with the 2 Gr R classes at GHSJS, as well as Gr R and 1 at St Mary’s. Core strength, ability to focus in class, and improved writing skills have all been noted as a result of her work with these children.

Educational Psychologist’s Assessments: We have referred 4 learners to date this year to Anel Annandale whom she has assessed, and for whom she has provided extremely insightful and useful reports and recommendations for supporting these children’s education.

Paediatic Psychiatry Assessments: Dr Zanda Jaquire’s diagnostic assessments have been very helpful in giving us guidance in our support of learners who have hyperactivity or attention difficulties. This year, taking medication after assessment and diagnosis of Attention Deficit (with or without Hyperactivity) of a Grade 1 and a Grade 2 learner has been seen to make a marked difference. Parents have been very grateful.e has provided extremely insightful and useful reports and recommendations for supporting these children’s education.

Provision of Ritalin/Methylphenidate free of charge through District Six Day Clinic: We are deeply grateful to Sr Busisiwe Tandatu, the Schools Nurse at District Six Day Clinic, for her oversight over provision and delivery of free Ritalin or Methylphenidate (prescribed by Dr Jaquire) to both schools for a total of 6 learners, whose learning benefits enormously from this medication. Educators report on increased ability to learn in class, improved handwriting, lower error incidence, and ofneasier peer and teacher-learner relationships as a result of the controlled use of the medication, prescribed by a responsible and qualified doctor.

Parental Consent, Feedback: Parents are asked to attend a feedback session where they are explained the results of the assessments. We do not proceed with any assessment or treatment if we do not have the parents’ or guardians’ full written consent.

C. MEDIA AND PUBLICITY                                  www.goodstart.co.za                        FB:@goodstarttrust

Website maintenance: Pixel Perfect rebuilt and updated our website by August 2023, at the cost of R12,650.00. This was paid for by a generous private donor. We are pleased with the fresh new ‘look’ of the website. The maintenance of the website will cost R550 every second month, and this is also paid by donation.

Facebook: Facebook continues to be our immediate source of passing on Breakfast and Smart Club news and fundraising events to our supporters.

Parental Permission for Photographs: We adhere to our policy of only photographing children’s faces provided we have signed permission to do so from parents/guardians. The lists of children who may have photographs taken, are securely kept and consulted whenever we do wish to take photographs.

D. FUNDING FOR 2022

We have a policy of ethical transparency regarding the use of all funding. We also always honour donors’ specific dedicated purposes for their donations. Running costs are kept to an absolute minimum. Trustees may not be paid for their services. All funds donated are put to extremely good use, for the essential benefit of young children’s education and futures. These children are the future of South Africa.

Neither our Breakfast nor our Smart Club can continue without ongoing funding, provided by our generous donors. We are also embarking on fundraising projects of our own initiative, and seek support in the organisation of these initiatives. It is essential for us that funding comes in steadily, in order for our planning to be functional, and for our work with vulnerable and needy children’s education to continue. So, Thank You All, and may your kind donations continue in the future, for us to progress with this vital work.

With your support, we look forward to a busy and successful 2025.

On behalf of the Trustees,

THE GOOD START TRUST

Date: 15 October 2025

TRUSTEES, The Good Start Trust

Aletta Ashmore
Amy Haworth
Adrienne Millner
Esmerelda Phillips

ADDENDA:

  • Addendum A
    Annual Financial Statements for the Financial Year ending 28 February 2023, L Rubin and Company Inc.
  • Addendum B1
    Proposed Budget, 2025: 
    - Breakfast Clubs at St Mary’s Primary School.
    - Breakfast Club at another Primary School.
  • Addendum B2
    Proposed Budget 2025:
    - Smart Club at St Mary’s Primary  School and Good Hope Seminary Junior School
  • Addendum C
    Proposed Admin Budget 2025
  • Addendum D
    S A Standard Bank:     Banking details for donations
    Stewardship: payment portal for UK donors