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A simple message at the right moment can stay with a child for years.
Children from all walks of life face challenges every day. Some struggle with self-doubt. Some face difficult circumstances. Others simply need a reminder that they are capable, valued and not alone.
Signs of Positivity places encouraging messages in schools to help children
navigate life's everyday challenges.
Where we have made an impact:
1600 encouraging messages
supporting approximately
12 800 learners across
16 South African schools.
About Us
Children are constantly learning how to see themselves, others and the world around them.
While schools play a vital role in education, many children also need additional encouragement, reassurance and positive reminders to help them navigate everyday challenges.
Signs of Positivity is a South African initiative that, through the support of sponsors, donors and partner schools, places encouraging messages in schools to provide a positive voice for learners in an environment where they spend a significant part of their day.
By helping children develop confidence, resilience, kindness and hope, we aim to strengthen the school communities they are part of today while contributing to a more positive South Africa tomorrow.
Installation of the sign: 'Everything begins with an idea'
What We Do
Our messages are designed to encourage children through life's everyday challenges.
They remind learners that:
• mistakes are opportunities to learn
• difficult things can be overcome
• courage often exists before confidence
• kindness matters
• effort matters
• they are stronger than they think
Displayed throughout school environments, these messages become familiar reminders that children can return to again and again.
Impact:
Be the Reason Someone Smiles Today
"This is my favourite sign because this is high school and we're really thugging it out, so I think it's really important to be a positive light in someone's life just to give them a hug (my personal favourite), or sharing your lunch or just smiling at someone. It's really important especially in these times to to just make someone smile".
Student - Parktown High School for Girls
Unnamed for Privacy Purposes
Permission for photo usage granted by parent/guardian
Small moments matter because they often become turning points:
• How a child interprets a mistake.
• How they respond to frustration.
• How they treat someone else.
• How they treat themselves.
These moments shape patterns - and over time, those patterns shape individuals, and ultimately, society.
The way individuals learn to think and respond early in life can influence how they make decisions later on - including how they take responsibility and lead others.
Shaping these patterns early, we aim to contribute to the development of individuals who act with integrity and make thoughtful, responsible choices.
By supporting children in this way, we aim to encourage more thoughtful, calm, and empathetic responses that can ripple outward into classrooms, schools, and communities.
Why It Matters
Six principles that guide the Signs of Positivity approach
At the heart of every school community is a triangle of support formed by learners, teachers, and parents or guardians.
Each plays an important role in shaping a child's experience, and each influences the others in meaningful ways.
Signs of Positivity exists to encourage children while recognising the important role that educators, parents, guardians and communities play in helping young people learn, grow and thrive.
Through positive messages displayed throughout schools, we aim to contribute to environments that encourage constructive thought, positive interaction and a greater sense of possibility.
Impact:
Love Yourself
"This is my favourite sign because you should
always love yourself"
Student - Parkview Junior School
Unnamed for Privacy Purposes
Permission for photo usage granted by parent/guardian
Where We Are Now
Signs of Positivity has been implemented in 16 schools in Gauteng, South Africa, providing more than 1600 consistent beacons of hope daily to approximately 12 800 children.
What’s been most encouraging is that months later, children still remember specific messages - and more importantly, use them.
Our Partners
Our partners recognise that encouraging a child today can create positive effects that extend far beyond the individual.
Through the support of our partners, including independent schools that have self-funded their signage sets, we have been able to install Signs of Positivity in 16 schools, where encouraging messages are seen and experienced every day.
Over time, these messages can influence how young people see themselves, interact with others, and approach life's challenges, creating a ripple effect that reaches families, schools, and communities.
We are grateful to every organisation, individual, and school that has partnered with us. Their support continues to help extend this work into more schools and communities while contributing to a stronger future for South Africa.
Impact:
It Always Seems Impossible
Until It's Done
"When I saw this sign, I just felt the motivation to keep pushing and keep going, and no matter what gets in my way, I will still be able to get it done, no matter what."
Student - Parktown High School for Girls
Unnamed for Privacy Purposes
Permission for photo usage granted by parent/guardian
How We Work
Our core approach is environment-based. The messages are always there - quietly present - supporting children in the moments that matter most.
In future when resources become available, these messages can be strengthened through workshops and facilitated sessions, which deepen understanding and reinforce the messages already present in the environment.
Image: Students at Maxeke Secondary School, Evaton, Johannesburg South
Courtesy of Sedibeng Ster (Caxton Newspaper)
Voices of Students
In some cases, schools also contribute to the messages themselves.
Students are encouraged to reflect on their own experiences and share ideas, which are then carefully shaped into clear, thoughtful prompts and integrated into the environment.
At St Teresa’s, in 2021, Grade 8 students contributed their own messages, which were developed into a set of signs and installed within the school.
This approach encourages a sense of ownership and ensures that the messages remain relevant and meaningful within each school context.
It also reflects a simple belief - that some of the most meaningful insights can come from students themselves, when given the space to think and contribute.
Image: Student at St Teresa's School, Rosebank, Johannesburg North
Courtesy of Killarney Rosebank Gazette (Caxton Newspaper)
Impact:
You Are Stronger Than You Think
"I have a crippling fear of needles, but when I needed to get my vaccine I kept repeating this message to myself while getting the shot and it made me feel much better."
Student - Parktown High School for Girls
Unnamed for Privacy Purposes
Permission for photo usage granted by parent/guardian
Looking Ahead
Over the past five years, Signs of Positivity has evolved through experience, observation and ongoing learning.
As we look ahead, we hope to continue expanding our reach to more schools while exploring new ways to reinforce positive messages beyond the classroom.
We also hope to build relationships with educators, psychologists, social workers and other like-minded partners who share our commitment to helping young people learn, grow and thrive.
Sponsor a School
A full Signs of Positivity installation includes 10 outdoor signs and 90 indoor signs installed throughout the school.
The package includes donor acknowledgement plaques under each outdoor sign and one in each classroom.
The signs are designed to become part of the daily environment experienced by learners, educators and visitors, providing ongoing encouragement for years to come.
Your sponsorship helps bring this experience to schools that may not otherwise have access to it.
To learn more about sponsoring a school or supporting the initiative, please get in touch.
100 signs to scale