The Western Cape Department of Social Development (DSD) welcomes more than 72 000 children who will this year attend one of the 2101 registered Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres across the province.
A solid ECD foundation is every parent’s guarantee of future success for their children, in Matric and beyond.
We continue to urge parents to take responsibility and enroll their children up to school-going age at a registered ECD centre, and for After School Care services.
We require ECD facilities to be registered as this allows for the department to provide funding and inspections, to ensure compliance on health & safety aspects, as well as the quality of ECD curriculum.
DSD has invested substantially into the ECD sector, with well over R314-million having been allocated this financial year, with the target of reaching 81 000 children.
The department funds 2101 registered ECD centres, and is working to bring the estimated 1700 unregistered facilities into compliance. The breakdown of ECD facilities in the province is as follows;
As part of our efforts to improve the quality of ECD services, the department has identified ECD centres that will form part of a special programme for English language and cognitive development. The programme is targeted at 100 sites where school readiness is poor.
The initiative also establishes support systems for parents, to better equip them to reinforce what their child is learning at a registered ECD. Parents play a crucial role in the development of a child.
The public can locate their closest ECD centre, or check on the registration of their ECD centre, by visiting any DSD local office or by contacting the DSD hotline on 0800 220 250.
Media Enquiries:
Sihle Ngobese
Tel: 021 483 9217
Cell: 076 083 6543
E-mail: Sihle.Ngobese@westerncape.gov.za
