ESST was founded in 1986 and formally established in 1989.

We were registered as a Trust with the Master of the South African High Court in 1989. Thereafter, we were also registered as a non-profit organization with the Department of Social Development in 2002. It all started with a language cum thinking skills primary school programme, the English Proficiency Programme(which later became the Learning Adventure). It grew out of ESST’s work with teachers in the afternoons.  The teachers were seeking ways in which the classroom could be changed into a place of learning (instead of teaching).  Together, we decided to develop material which would  be child-centred; and so, the English Proficiency Programme (EPP) was born. 

Higher primary school children (standards 4 to 5) received bi-monthly My Own English Magazine and lower primary school children (standards 1 to 3) received My Own English Story Book. 

The learning material was highly interactive, covered all the learning areas, and pupils were encouraged to learn together and enjoy learning.  ESST has over the years expanded into many fields, rendering a wide variety of specialised services, ranging from voter education to census awareness, to poverty alleviation (through entrepreneurship development), primary health care (including HIV and AIDS and TB), human rights (women’s and children’s rights in particular), youth development, service rights, service delivery and moral regeneration.