What to look for in an Early Childhood Development centre
The City of Cape Town's Social Development and Early Childhood Development Directorate would like to appeal to parents and caregivers to do their homework in their search for an Early Childhood Development (ECD) centre for their children, as thousands of children are reliant on educare facilities or day-care mothers every year.
"Unfortunately, too many people still view ECD as little more than a babysitting service. They simply do not understand the importance of constructive learning and personal development required by young children. There is a massive scrum to get children into good primary and high schools, but cognitive development starts long before Grade 1. So why are we not putting the same effort into a good pre-school education?" asks City's Mayoral committee member for Social Development and Early Childhood Development, Councillor Suzette Little.
Checklist
The Directorate urges parents and caregivers to check that their choice of the ECD centre meets the necessary requirements. They should have:
- lease/rental agreement
- relevant zoning certificate
- approved building plans
- health clearance certificate
- emergency evacuation plan
- ECD centre registration certificate
- business plan and basic conditions of employment for staff
- copies of qualifications and identity documents of staff responsible for the ECD programme
- ECD daily programme
- child nutrition and wellness programme
- person trained in first-aid and a first-aid kit on site
"I understand that many ECDs face obstacles in their quest to become registered facilities. We work closely with the Western Cape Government, which is responsible for registering facilities. The City's role is to help address the health, fire and planning requirements for ECDs. We also provide training to ECD staff and operators on a number of aspects and we provide safety equipment and learning materials. We host regular registration drives in partnership with the Western Cape Government, but I want to challenge ECD operators to help create enabling environments for the children in their care. Ultimately, that is what matters but it requires everyone to do their part,' concludes Little.
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