SAEP’s Early Childhood

Development Programme (SAEP-ECD)

Brief History of SAEP-ECD

SAEP’s support of Philippi crèches began in 2003 when Luyanda Bolisi, one of the high school learners with whom the organization was working, asked SAEP to assist his mother’s crèche. Nolithemba Bolisi, the founder of Noncedo Educare Centre, was caring for 95 children in a small corrugated wood and iron shack that lacked running water, sanitation, electricity, heat and insulation. She often paid out of her own pocket to supply meals for the children. Ms. Bolisi was unable to provide her staff a living wage or her beneficiaries a Grade R education. Her own resources stretched, and unable to meet requirements to qualify for a state subsidy, she felt powerless to improve her services. Soon after SAEP began working with Ms. Bolisi, she introduced SAEP to nine other creche principals, all members of the Safety Unity Crèche Forum, a group formed by the ten of them to share challenges and create solutions. These nine other principals, similarly under-resourced, joined Mrs. Bolisi in seeking support from SAEP. This was the beginning of SAEP’s ECD Programme, which from the outset responded to specific needs articulated by the crèche principals.

Today Noncedo is registered with the Department of Social Development and has two beautiful brick classrooms, a container classroom, kitchen, toilet block, jungle gym, vegetable garden and well-trained staff providing quality care, meals, and pre-school education. All of the other original centres are now registered with the Department of Social Services. Many have new buildings or other significanly improved facilities. All have benefited in numerous ways from the mentoring and support from SAEP, including staff training, bookeeping and auditing support, and new equipment and educational materials.

Programme Objectives

First, SAEP aims to help the ECD centres provide for the children’s basic needs through infrastructure improvement so that there is adequate space, proper sanitation and protection from the natural elements, in addition to the provision of nutritious daily meals. Donations of toys, educational equipment and materials are also sought and delivered to the centres.

Second, through direct assistance with the registration process, SAEP aims to help the centre staff and committees obtain NPO status and registration with the Departments of Social Development and Education. Registration enables the centres’ long-term growth and development, allows them to receive government subsidies, and makes it possible for them to pay their staff a living wage. Overall, it helps the operation to achieve financial sustainability.

Third, SAEP helps the ECD centres move from being purely day-care facilities to being providers of quality pre-school preparation that meets Grade R requirements. This is done through the placement of volunteers and ECD students at the centres to assist and mentor the staff, and the encouragement of external training for staff through qualified and accredited ECD resource organisations.

Finally, SAEP aims to empower crèche principals, staff, and committees as the key to the continued well-being of their individual centres, and, more broadly, to contribute to the overall movement to provide quality and universal early childhood care and education in township communities. The organization is currently researching means by which SAEP can further develop the Safety Unity Crèche Forum as a support and advocacy structure within the Philippi ECD community.

Programme Activities and Time Frames

The plan and timeline for each centre varies depending on its needs and current progress. The following gives a guide:

Year One:

  • Partnership on a trial-basis is forged between crèche principal and committee, and SAEP
  • Partnership formalised after needs assessment, accountability and equal commitment is demonstrated
  • Funds are raised and resources are acquired for facility improvement and/or rebuilding
  • Building renovations are started and donations delivered to address most basic needs

Years Two-Four:

  • NPO status and government registration as an educare centre are acquired
  • Crèche principals and staff are trained in HIV/AIDS, first aid, financial management, and fundraising
  • Principals and staff are trained in early childhood education and the provision of quality Grade R education
  • Building renovations continued or buildings completely rebuilt
  • Management Committee members are trained to equip them to manage centres effectively and sustainably

Throughout:

  • Placement of volunteers and ECD graduate students to assist, support and mentor, including in helping principals and staff care for children with special needs
  • Collection and delivery of donated goods for the centres (e.g. food, cots, clothing, mattresses, nappies, puzzles, books and educational toys)

Alumni status is gained by a partner ECD centre once all of the objectives are met and the organisation is financially self-sustaining. The project currently works with 16 crèches, four on a trial basis, at different developmental phases.

Target Group and Beneficiaries

The target group are young children from 0-6 years of age who reside in the Philippi township, as well as the adult women who desire to provide these children a safe and healthy establishment for their early childhood education.

Beneficiaries include the more than 1300 children who attend SAEP’s partner ECD facilities, as well as the 68 principals and staff members from Philippi who founded and run the crèches/ECD centres.

Community Partners

SAEP-ECD works in direct partnership with the Safety Unity Crèche Forum, described above, to the mutual benefit of both organisations. As SAEP takes on new crèches, such as the seven with which it recently began working, the organisation encourages them to join the Forum so that they can benefit from the network and additional support provided therein. Consequently, every crèche with which SAEP works is currently a member of the Forum.

SAEP-ECD staff meets with the Forum monthly and organises an annual planning meeting to set mutual priorities and goals for the year. The Forum also acts as a central point for many of SAEP-ECD’s interactions with the crèches, such as donation distribution and training sessions.

SAEP–ECD endeavours to work closely with other ECD organisations providing services in the field to ensure that there is no overlap or duplication of services. Staff are referred to organisations such as ELRU, CECD, Ithemba Labantwana and Community Chest for training.

Outputs for Partner Crèche

  1. New or improved facility that meets state requirements
  2. Daily breakfast of e-pap and nutritious lunch for all children
  3. Adequate stock of teaching supplies, toys, and other materials (e.g. blankets, mattresses, books, etc.)
  4. Registration with the Departments of Social Services and Education, and state subsidies
  5. Official NPO registration
  6. Staff and principals trained in first aid, HIV/AIDS, financial management and fundraising
  7. Staff and principals able to provide quality grade R education
  8. Committee members trained in all aspects of ECD centre management so that centres become sustainable and self reliant.

Outcomes for Community

1. Increased access to early childhood education in impoverished CapeFlats communities

2. Increased safety and health of young township children

3. Higher academic outcomes in township communities

4. Increased number of empowered and self-supporting township women (ECD centre staff and principals, and management committee members)

Programme Impact Assessment

SAEP created a formal impact measurement tool for the ECD programme in mid-2008 (based on criteria drawn up in 2003) that were used to evaluate progress to date, and will be used to measure the success of the project on an annual basis in future. This tool monitors a matrix of indicators of progress for each partner crèche/ECD centre. Progress is measured via interviews with each crèche principal and on-site visits. A full assessment of progress each year is written by an independent evaluator, typically a qualified volunteer.

Evidence of Impact

In five years, SAEP’s Early Childhood Development Programme has improved the quality of care and physical environments of 16 ECD centres (7 of which were only taken on this year). Four ECD centres (Qhamani, Zamukhanyo, Noluthando and Noncedo) have been completely rebuilt; they can now provide proper classrooms and sanitation facilities. Side-by-side with principals and staff, SAEP has erected 6 new fences and 10 jungle gyms, repaired and replaced numerous roofs, repainted 13 classrooms, and raised money for many new toys, blankets, and other supplies. SAEP also supplies e-pap, a nutrient-rich porridge, daily to the children in all partner crèches. SAEP has provided training to 16 ECD centres in HIV/AIDS, first aid, financial management and governing body training. All of SAEP’s original partner crèches are now fully registered ECD centres and are receiving the state per-child subsidy.

SAEP has also worked to advocate on behalf of the ECD centres and the communities in which they work. In 2005, with the support of SAEP, Qhamani Educare Centre principal, Nokhaya Manxiwa-Nqeza, spoke before a South African Parliamentary Committee on the importance of early childhood education and the bureaucratic negligence that was chronically denying access to services to children in the townships. She also appeared on national television news detailing the difficulties the crèches in her community face, which subsequently resulted in the speeding up of their registration and subsidisation. In addition, Ms. Manxiwa-Nqeza was selected as a finalist “South African Woman of Worth” when SAEP nominated her as an outstanding woman in her community.

Finally, SAEP has recruited hundreds of volunteers locally and from around the world (including the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, the USA, Malta, and France) to dedicate time to teaching and playing with the children, working with principals and staff, repairing old and building new buildings, addressing health problems, and helping children with special needs.