General Questions
What does the registration process with Brainline entail?
- Go to mybrainline.com and enrol for the product that suits your child’s needs.
- Go to mybrainline.com and enrol for the product that suits your child’s needs.
- Copy of the parent & student ID/birth certificate
- Proof of income (payslip/bank statement) (should you wish to pay via monthly instalments)
- Previous academic year’s reports (compulsory for Grade 10 – 12)
- Your enrolment is first approved.
- You will then get access brainONLINE (www.brainonline.com), our online learning platform, and the Brainline eReader (downloaded from mybrainline.com if purchased). For the remainder of 2020, you may choose to buy ebooks when you enrol, which are made available on the Brainline eReader. Snapplify will be our preferred digital supplier in 2021. However, it is important to note that ebooks will not be printable from that platform.
- If your child is of compulsory school-going age (7–15), the next step is to register with the Department of Basic Education for homeschooling.
- (Follow this link to begin the process: https://www.education.gov.za/Programmes/HomeEducation.aspx)
Will my child be able to go to university or transfer to a regular school with a Brainline report?
- Brainline reports are readily accepted at schools, as we are fully CAPS compliant, which means that appropriate assessment has been applied and that our reports are valid and reliable. Brainline is registered with the IEB as a service provider for delivery of the NSC (National Senior Certificate) qualification as monitored and recognised by the IEB.
Because of this, qualifying candidates can submit their NSC certificates to any tertiary institution both in South African and abroad with confidence. It is advised that you consult with the tertiary education of your choice regarding entrance requirements.
What is the difference between all the examination bodies, DBE, SACAI and IEB, and who is Umalusi? How does Brainline fit in here?
- There are currently three ‘examination boards’ in South Africa: a) DBE (Department of Basic Education) – For the purposes of this discussion, we consider the provinces as one examination board (as the National pass rate is calculated by adding all the pass rates for the provinces together); b) SACAI (South African Comprehensive Assessment Institute) – An independent examinations body; c) IEB (Independent Examinations Board) – This is the examination board with which Brainline is registered and that recognises Brainline as a valid education provider.
All examination boards in South Africa as well as all independent schools are quality assured and accredited by Umalusi (Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training).
What is the difference between CAPS (Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement) and IEB?
- Most independent schools and all public schools in South Africa follow the CAPS curriculum. It is important to note that CAPS is not a “curriculum” but is actually the way that assessment is managed. This means that traditional schools follow the assessment guidelines as stipulated by the Department of Basic Education (Grades 1-9): https://www.education.gov.za/Portals/0/CD/GET/doc/overview.pdf?ver=2006-11-21-100143-000, and the Subject Based Assessment Guidelines as stipulated by the Department of Further Education and Training (Grades 10-12): https://www.thutong.doe.gov.za/Home/Curriculum/tabid/257/Default.aspx
All schools (who align themselves with the South African curriculum) follow the curriculum guidelines as published in the Revised National Curriculum Statement.
On consideration of how the IEB (the examination board with whom Brainline is aligned) interprets the CAPS way of assessment, the main difference would be emphasis on critical thinking, application of knowledge and insight as opposed to rote learning. It is our opinion that it is in the best interest of the learner not to have his/her memory tested, but rather whether he/she has acquired the skill set to apply the knowledge learnt. For this reason, we fully support our alignment with this outcome.
In addition, the IEB integrates elements into the Revised National Curriculum Statement in an effort to align the curriculum to tertiary requirements in various subjects such as Physical Science. The CAPS way of assessment is also supplemented for the same reason by additional examination papers such as a practical paper for Life Science (Paper 3).
What is the difference between COMPREHENSIVE and EXPRESS?
- The EXPRESS product excludes live classes and does not have a set timeline, as it provides the tasks, tests and examinations for Cycle 1–3 (complete), which may be completed and marked by yourself at your own pace. You may enrol for the final examination (marked by Brainline) at the end of the year at an additional fee. The latter is recommended if you wish to obtain an academic report for presentation to an educational institution.
The COMPREHENSIVE product includes live classes and has a set time schedule that must be adhered to. All tasks, tests and examinations are marked and moderated by Brainline.
Where do we get the textbooks and at what cost?
- Brainline’s preferred supplier of digital textbooks is Snapplify: https://brainline.snapplify.com/overview. Upon enrolment with Brainline, each student is provided with their own Microsoft account details with which to sign in with Snapplify. Textbooks purchased here are automatically loaded to the Snapplify reader, which can be installed from https://getsnapplify.com/.
It is important to note that ebooks will not be printable from that platform.Hardcopy textbooks may be ordered from CredoBooks: https://www.credobooks.co.za/commerce/shop_institution. Please keep in mind that timelines for deliveries are affected by lockdown regulations as well as supplier stock. Deliveries may take three to six weeks. For the remainder of 2020, you can opt to buy ebooks when you enrol at www.mybrainline.com that are made available on the Brainline eReader.
What does Brainline provide?
- Brainline is a home education curriculum provider for Grade R–12. There are a range of products to choose from, depending on the needs of the home educating family. Complete a quiz to find the product that suits your needs here. Brainline is proud of its cohort of qualified teachers who present live virtual classes which are recorded for future reference. This means that learners are able to access discussions on study material whenever and from wherever they want. Valid and compliant assessment is so important to Brainline as a company that it is managed by an independent division.
Does Brainline have tutor centres?
- Current legislation in South Africa (as specified in the South African Schools Act of 1989) does not recognise cottage schools, micro-schools or tutor centres as legal entities. In fact, the Department of Basic Education actively discourages parents from using such services in its policies (unpublished). For this reason, Brainline has taken the decision not to list tutor centres, micro-schools or cottage schools, as that would expose such centres to legal prosecution. This policy does not, however, by any means discredit or deny the valuable contribution that such educational entities may be able to provide to the home education industry.