ECD ACTION AREAS
network & helpdesk
Our ECD network and helpdesk enables knowledge sharing and organisational support at scale. Our goal is to:
Facilitate municipal ECD network meetings to support flow of information between grassroots ECD services, government and stakeholders.
Provide a help desk to assist ECD centres with registration and compliance to improve child protection and access to government subsidies.
Data & Resource allocation
Government support to ECD centres ensure sustainability and child protection. To combat this we:
- Identify and profile unknown ECD services to develop strategic partnerships and lobby for support from government and stakeholders.
- Administer nutritional support to ECD centres that are not subsidised by the Department of Social Development (DSD) to improve child nutrition and health.
Training & Mentoring
We have identified the need for ongoing mentoring to help teachers with practical ECD implementation, therefore we:
- Facilitate ECD learning groups for teachers to support centre driven improvements towards holistic excellence.
- Monitor implementation of the Unlimited Child Programme to support use of resources and activities.
- Implement holistic onsite mentoring programme to improve child learning outcomes and school readiness.
infrastructure improvements
Our low cost ECD infrastructure model has been developed with scalability, functionality and learning in mind. Our goal is to:
- Construct safe ECD centres with adequate space to improve children’s learning environments.
- Construct safe classrooms to provide additional space at existing ECD centres.
- Install playgrounds to provide optional learning opportunities outdoors
Registration & policy
Work towards the registration of more ECD centres and consult on a wide variety of projects including:
- The Vangasali campaign to scale up ECD registration across the country in partnership with DSD and Nelson Mandela Foundation.
- The finalisation of the national ECD registration framework and national census in ECD.
- Policy insights to government to improve the implementation of equitable ECD policy and systems.
Youth development for ecd
Local unemployed youth have skills and capacity that are needed at ECD centres. Therefore we:
- Facilitate placement and bursaries for youth to work at ECD centres to strengthen the ECD work force long term.
- Utilise youth interns at ECD centres for data collection, administration and organisational development.
INCUBATION PROJECTS
In partnership with Impande Norway we provide infrastructure development and support to selected grassroot projects that work to improve the lives of vulnerable children and families.
WHAT WE DO:
- Governance support for Siyamthanda who provide a shelter for abused women and children.
- Incubation and mentoring of Isibani who provide legal and therapy services to survivors of gender based violence.
- Implementation of pilot Science Technology Art and Maths (STEAM) centre for students and construction of science labs.
- Facilitate access to information and resources for HCBC centres that provide nutritional and psycho-social support to vulnerable children.