Curro Holdings statement on actions following social media post

CAPE TOWN (April 3, 2024) – Curro Holdings is taking swift action following the unfortunate social media post on Monday which depicted children interpreted to be in inappropriately stereotypical roles.

At the time we immediately apologised for the post which was removed. We announced that we would investigate to fully understand the circumstances and to take steps to ensure the regrettable incident is not repeated in future.

Our investigations have so far established that the images of the children were part of an excursion by learners at a Curro school in the Western Cape. They originated from a visit to an activity centre in which the children all had an opportunity to play alternate roles each, including that of a cashier, a veterinarian and a banker. The images were used with consent from their parents in terms of our existing policies and the relevant school community did not take offence at the posting on its community page.

The mother of the child depicted as a cashier has confirmed to Curro that her child was not stereotyped in any way during the session and had an opportunity to play all the roles. The mother said her daughter’s teacher had also shared pictures with her where she could see the fun her daughter was having. Her daughter had specifically enjoyed the role of cashier. The mother is unhappy that the public interpretation of the picture of her daughter is out of this context and being used divisively.

However, the selection of images in the social media post did not accurately portray the extent of the educational experience and joyful play by all the children participating. This led to public criticism and created a public perception which is not in line with Curro’s commitment to diversity and non-racism and to our promise that every child matters.

As we continue to address this matter internally, we have put in place the following steps:

We immediately suspended the campaign and associated social media activities which gave rise to this incident.

We are again reviewing all social media practises, policies and guidelines from the ground up.

We have engaged external and independent experts to conduct the review and hold workshops and training sessions for our social media team.

We are intensifying our formal on-boarding for staff to ensure a deep understanding of our values and policies and effective adherence thereto.

We are conducting an awareness and sensitivity campaign about social media for senior and mid-level leadership at our schools.

Curro remains committed to creating school environments which are welcoming and nurturing to our learners and takes seriously any shortcoming or failures in succeeding in this mission.

Statement issued by Melanie Fortuin-Durr, Portfolio Manager: Special Projects, Curro Holdings, 4 April 2024