CECD hosts ECD conference, “Quality ECD in South Africa: A Call to Action!”

The Centre for Early Childhood Development hosted our annual ECD conference, 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮: 𝗔 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 from 𝟮𝟳 – 𝟮𝟵 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯 at the 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝘄𝗻, 𝗖𝗿𝗮𝘄𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗖𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘂𝘀.

This conference was held in partnership with the South African Research Association for Early Childhood Education (SARAECE) and the College of Cape Town – Inspiring Minds.

For any information you want to find out about the conference, visit www.qualityecdconference.co.za or contact us on conference@cecd.org.za.

CECD’s Director, Professor Eric Atmore, named one of the World’s Top 100 Most Influential Academics in Government

Professor Eric Atmore, Director of the Centre for Early Childhood Development and Extraordinary Associate Professor in the Department of Education Policy Studies at the University of Stellenbosch, has been named one of the Top 100 Most Influential Academics in Government, across the globe.

The list, put out by Apolitical, recognises academics whose work and research on policy helps to make governments more effective. READ MORE here.

Celebrating Madiba as a Children’s Champion

CECD, together with the Cape Town Museum of Childhood, developed their second book celebrating the legacy of late President Nelson Mandela. The book was officially launched at the College of Cape Town, Crawford campus, on 01 August, CECD’s 28th birthday.

The book, Madiba: Our Children’s Champion, was compiled by the CECD team of Bridget Kahts, Claire Pearce and Professor Eric Atmore and comprises a selection of President Mandela’s speeches about children while honouring some of today’s children’s champions.

This book also showcases inspirational and heart-warming pieces written by individuals whose lives have had a positive impact on children, including Springbok rugby captain Siya Kolisi, internationally-recognised author Sindiwe Magona, the Western Cape Commissioner for Children Christina Nomdo, and author storyteller Dr Gcina Mhlophe among others. The Madiba speeches are brought to life through photographs captured around Cape Town by Newton James Stanford, as well as artworks created by children of varying ages.

There is a limited print run and if you would like to receive a free copy of Madiba: Our Children’s Champion, email Ms Pearce on cpearce@cecd.org.za or phone CECD on 021 683 2420. Alternatively, view the e-publication here.

CECD launches new publication – ‘Thought Leaders on Early Childhood Development in South Africa’

We have just launched our new publication entitled, ‘Thought Leaders on Early Childhood Development in South Africa’.  This timely collection of thought-provoking essays, compiled and edited by a South African early childhood development team, led by our Director, Professor Eric Atmore, explores the concerns, opinions, and calls-for-action of thought leaders in the ECD sector in South Africa.

This book has been produced at a time when South Africa is at a crossroads. With the foundation of early education, care and nutrition at risk, the future of young children in this country is in the balance. Well-planned and decisive action is urgently required by government, the NPO sector, ECD programme providers, training organisations, donors, communities, and families – the future of South Africa’s economy demands it.

You can read the full publication here:  https://cecd.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/thought-leaders-on-ecd-in-sa-e-book.pdf

If you would like a hard copy of this publication, at no cost to you, please call Boniswa on 0216832420 and provider her with you name, name of organisation (if applicable) and your address.

Our Director, Professor Eric Atmore’s PhD Thesis!

“An Interpretive Analysis of the Early Childhood Development Policy Trajectory in Post-apartheid South Africa” – Our Director, Professor Eric Atmore’s PhD Thesis.

This year, our Director, Prof Eric Atmore, made news headlines (here, here, and here) when he graduated with his PhD from Stellenbosch University. His dissertation was entitled, “An Interpretive Analysis of the Early Childhood Development Policy Trajectory in Post-apartheid South Africa” and provides new insights into how the ECD policy trajectory shaped the evolution of ECD in post-apartheid South Africa during a period of unprecedented social, political, economic and education transformation.

To view an electronic copy of the full dissertation, click here.

Meet Nontembiso – CECD’s dedicated Family Outreach worker

The Family Outreach Programme is a successful programme developed by the Centre for Early Childhood Development (CECD) which focuses on empowering families and improving childcare in the home environment – which is recognised as the primary place of learning for young children, with parents being the first teachers. 70% of children in South Africa are not in any form of ECD provision. Nontembiso identifies and recruits families who need her support by going door-to-door in the Barcelona community. Nontembiso provides parents with a package of services including weekly home-visits, parent education workshops on important childcare topics, and much-needed food parcels. She also supports parents to set up informal playgroups for young children in the community. The aim is to provide children with the head-start they need to succeed in formal schooling and later in life.

Nontembiso is passionate about making a change in the community, starting with Barcelona’s most vulnerable residents. She is hard-working, compassionate, big-hearted, and provides love, education and care to all the children and caregivers with whom she works… READ MORE.

Celebrating Madiba’s Life and Legacy

In celebration of what would have been Nelson Mandela’s 100th Birthday, the Centre for Early Childhood Development (CECD), together with the Cape Town Museum of Childhood, developed a Madiba and Children Book, which was officially launched on Mandela Day 2018.

The Madiba and Children Book includes a unique collection of photographs and stories from people who met Madiba as a child. These honest stories capture the essence of Madiba’s character: a caring, patient man who loved people and was extremely fond of children. In addition to these inspiring stories, the book presents artworks from almost 100 children from various schools across the Western Cape. A wonderful collection of photographs of Madiba interacting with children, from the well-acclaimed photographer, Benny Gool, is also presented in the book. Nelson Mandela was a champion for children and had a huge impact on the lives of millions of children around the country. With this book we honour Madiba’s legacy and his love for children.

On 18 July 2018, on what would have been Madiba’s 100th birthday, the Madiba and Children Book was launched with an event of over 200 people, including the children from the participating schools, the individuals whose stories are told in the book and other important guests. Transport for the majority of the children and parents, was sponsored by Cape Town Shuttle Services. The event had live music and entertainment, speeches and messgaes from young children, and a panel discussion where a selection of individuals from the book shared their childhood memories about Madiba.

The Madiba and Children Book was developed by Bridget Kahts and Professor Eric Atmore from the Centre for Early Childhood Development. If you would like a copy of this book, please email bkahts@cecd.org.za or phone 021 6832420. Alternatively, view the e-publication here.

Research on Quality ECD Centres now available

This research study explores the views of stakeholders in the early childhood development (ECD) sector on the essential components that contribute towards the making of quality ECD centres. ECD is vitally important in the South African context; however access and quality of ECD services is a significant challenge. While accessibility to ECD services is progressively being realised for young children; the quality of these services remains a challenge. This study was carried out with a sample of fifteen principals of effective ECD centres in the Western Cape, South Africa… READ MORE.

To read the full research article, click here:
Research conducted by Bridget Kahts, for the degree of Master of Social Sciences in Social Development, University of Cape Town, under the supervision of Eric Atmore.

New Research Report on ECD Released

‘Effective Early Childhood Development Programme Options Meeting the Needs of Young South African Children’

– By Lauren-Jayne van Niekerk, Michaela Ashley-Cooper and Eric Atmore

A new research report with the support of the Programme to Support Pro-Poor Policy Development (PSPPD), was released in March 2017. This research report details twelve best-practice ECD programmes currently being implemented throughout South Africa, including both centre-based and non-centre-based ECD programmes. This research study was conducted with the aim to describe and analyse ECD programme options, which work towards increasing access to ECD programmes and improving the quality of ECD for young children in South Africa. Each case provides a detailed description of the programme; the number of beneficiaries reached; a cost breakdown; as well as how best to implement the programme.

This research supports ECD service providers and government departments to implement the National Integrated ECD Policy approved by Cabinet on 09 December 2015, providing children with greater access to quality ECD programmes thereby reducing inequality and poverty. It ensures that the correct information is available for decision-making, that systems are improved, and that high numbers of children are effectively reached through a range of quality ECD programme options. This research is of benefit to children, families and communities because government, the ECD non-profit sector and communities now have guidance providing much-needed, quality ECD programmes. By providing South African policymakers with guidelines based on empirical evidence, the quality of ECD programmes can be enhanced, and those children presently excluded can be reached.

To download an electronic copy of the report, click here: Research Report PDF to download.

To view the report as a e-publication, click here: Research Report e-publication.

An opinion editorial on the research was published in The Mercury Newspaper on 13 April 2017. The article can be read here: ‘Starting Them Young’

The Story of Sinethemba Educare

This story is the first in a series of inspiring case studies of some of the wonderful ECD principals and centres that CECD has worked with over the years.

Grace Duko runs an ECD centre in Wallacedene, Kraaifontein in the Western Cape. The story of her work in ECD with her centre, Sinethemba Educare, shows what determination, passion and a love of children can achieve.

Grace first opened her doors in January 1998. Grace started off by looking after 6 to 10 children in a room in her house. Over time she realised that she thoroughly enjoyed working with children and watching them grow.

The Centre for Early Childhood Development is honoured to work with women like Grace, in order to ensure the best education for our country’s youngest citizens… READ MORE.

The State of CSI in South Africa – A Summary

A joint effort is needed to put an end to deprivation

Despite the global recognition of the importance of upholding children’s rights, millions of children in South Africa still suffer from poverty, homelessness, abuse, neglect, preventable diseases, and unequal access to education. In order for our country to flourish, it is these basic human rights that need protecting.

In this article, we explore key areas affecting the lives of young children. Some areas show positive progress, with others showing less successful results.

The above information was taken from ‘A joint effort is needed to put an end to deprivation’ by Lauren van Niekerk and Michaela Ashley-Cooper; you can access a full copy of this here.

Early Childhood Education: The Difference Between Policy and Reality

“In making ECD a reality for our children, several challenges emerge which need to be overcome if we are to ensure that young children have their constitutional, social, educational and economic rights met. The main challenges are: political will, systemic challenges and implementation challenges….

In order to achieve the NDP outcomes, a number of immediate actions are required. These include the following: the mobilisation of political will; the crafting of ECD legislation; a substantial increase in funding; increase in provision rates and ECD programme quality; establishment of minimum training qualifications for ECD teachers; respect for ECD and Grade R teachers; increase in the competencies of government ECD officials; co-operation with the non-profit sector; a realistic and effective ECD implementation plan and costing; and a national, integrated monitoring and evaluation system.

South Africa has made some progress in meeting the rights and needs of young children, but so much more needs to be done. Twenty three years after the historic democratic elections, we still fail our youngest children and their families in many respects. Millions of young children continue to be denied access to quality ECD programmes and services. Given the immense social, educational and economic benefits of quality ECD opportunities it is imperative that every child has such an opportunity. This is an opportunity that could determine not only the destiny of a child, but also that of a nation.”

The above information was taken from the article “Early Childhood Education: The Difference Between Policy and Reality” by Eric Atmore, Michaela Ashley-Cooper, and Lauren van Niekerk, you can access a full copy of this article here.

Challenges facing the early childhood development sector in South Africa

The majority of young children in South Africa are negatively impacted by a range of social and economic inequalities.

Apartheid and the resultant socio-economic inequalities have created a childhood of adversity for most black South African children in the country, including inadequate access to health care, education, social services and quality nutrition. This has undermined the development of our children.

There has been progress in South Africa since 1994, both quantitatively and qualitatively: there have been improvements in Grade R and ECD provision over the past eighteen years; the number of children in Grade R has trebled since 2001 and quality has improved; government expenditure on Grade R has increased three-fold since 2008/09; the number of ECD centres registered with the national department of Social Development has increased to 19,500 and there are currently approximately 836,000 children in a registered ECD centres, of which 488,000 (58%) received the ECD subsidy.

Notwithstanding the progress made in ECD provision since 1994, children in South Africa still face significant challenges; with major gaps in infrastructure, teacher training, nutrition, ECD programming, institutional capacity and funding. It is fair to say that much work is still needed, if we want to improve the quality of children’s lives in South Africa and say with confidence that the needs of our youngest children are truly being met.

The above information was taken from Challenges facing the early childhood development sector in South Africa by Michaela Ashley-Cooper, Eric Atmore and Lauren van Niekerk, you can access a full copy of this here.