On 7 June 2011 the Department of Basic Education briefed Parliament on the Early Childhood Development component of Action Plan 2014. Whilst Early Childhood Development is one of the key outputs for the Department’s Action Plan to 2014, it was stressed that the successful realisation of ECD objectives depend, not only on the Department of Basic Education but also the departments of Social Development, Health and Cooperative Governance.

Improving access quality Grade R

The Department of Basic Education’s primary area of responsibility in the realisation of Early Childhood Development in South Africa is the provision of universal Grade R. In this regard the Department’s plans are:

• To ensure that all children have access to Grade R. The department reported that currently 80% of schools offer Grade R.
• To improve the provision of quality learning and teaching materials to all of these classes.
• To improve the quality of ECD provided at Grade R level.
• The department advised that it and its partner departments need to have data on subsidised community-based sites providing Grade R to accurately assess the real level of access to Grade R.
• The department will be including Grade R in the infrastructure plans of new and upgraded schools.
• A monitoring system will be developed to assess progress against these objectives.

ECD for children aged 0-5

The Department pointed out that ECD also covered the ages 0-5, not just Grade R-aged children. The Department has, with UNICEF, developed a standard document, The National Early Learning and Development Standards (NELDS), which sets out the type of stimulation that should be given to children aged 0-6 months, 7 to 12 months, and so on. The Department also indicated what is expected of every centre that offers ECD pre-Grade R. In addition, the Department said that it has partnered with the Department of Social Development to establish the best mechanism of ensuring clear programmes were developed to ensure that every person who takes care of children aged 0-4 knows what they should do to ensure optimal early childhood development and stimulation. No further details were provided about this “best mechanism”, and we hope to be able to report further on this initiative in future editions.

Training of ECD practitioners

The training of ECD practitioners will be coordinated through the Expanded Public Works Programme. The departments of Education and Social Development will develop a joint monitoring tool monitor progress on the training front. A key objective within the department is to improve the qualifications of Grade R practitioners as per the new Higher Education Qualifications Framework, in collaboration with the Teacher Education Plan and the Department of Higher Education and Training.

The way forward

The Department noted that there was no overarching ECD policy in the Department of Basic Education and that it was now developing a national policy that will ensure better access to Grade R. The policy would cover the curriculum, the deployment of teachers, the conditions of service of teachers, as well as the norms and standards and funding for Grade R.