The tables were turned last week, as teachers and owners of day care centres, crèches and pre-schools were the ones behind the desks.
The teachers were trained on how to run entities that will develop a child’s cognitive growth, at the annual two-day Early Childhood Development (ECD) Indaba, hosted by the metro at the Springs Civic Centre, last Thursday and Friday.
On the first day of the indaba, MMC for health and social development Clr Makhosazana Mabaso addressed over 600 ECD practitioners who attended the event to learn more about the norms and standards of ECD centres.
The existence of unregistered ECD centres was one of the challenges the MMC raised during her address.
“It is evident that the metro is serious about young children’s development, as approximately 2 000 ECD practitioners have undergone training funded by the municipality and we want to train more,” said Mabaso.
“However, if a facility is not registered, we cannot train you and this also prevents the municipality from assisting you to transform and ensure accessibility of your business to attract funding and support from external partners.”
In continuing with making strides in investing in the development of children, the metro has budgeted R2.5-million that will be used for a period of three years (2015 – 2017) towards training more ECD practitioners.
The information that was shared through a panel discussion by speakers from various departments in Ekurhuleni emphasised the importance of registration of facilities and compliance to by-laws to ensure facilities operate in a safe environment that provides adequate developmental needs for children.
In closing, the MMC urged ECD practitioners to open their doors to metro personnel who visit the facilities, as they all have the common goal of putting the children’s development first.
Mabaso also encouraged the practitioners to visit the exhibition stalls, to view developmental books and toys that can be used in their facilities.
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