65% of SA kids to start school at a considerable disadvantage

65% of South African children between the age of four and five are failing to thrive by the age of five.

This is according to statistics that were released at the launch of the Thrive by Five Index launch on Friday.

These children are not meeting the expected early learning and/or physical growth standards for their age and will therefore start Grade R at a considerable disadvantage, with possible long-term implications for their education.

The Thrive by Five Index was initiated by First National Bank and Innovation Edge, in collaboration with the Department of Basic Education, supported by the United States Agency for International Development and ECD Measure.

The Index assessed over 5000 children aged 4 – 5 years, enrolled in various types of Early Learning Programmes around the country.

READ: DBE to have hands full dealing with chaotic Early Childhood Development sector

Children were assessed in three areas known to be predictive of a child’s performance in school: Early learning, physical growth, and emotional functioning.

Learning tasks assessed fall into five groups: Gross motor skills, fine motor skills, early literacy, early mathematics and executive functioning (children’s ability to solve problems and pay attention).

Launch attendees were shocked at the statistics – a rather gloomy reality that poses a huge challenge not only for educational entities but also for society.

The ugly truth about SA’s early childhood development

The Index reports that 55% of children attending early learning programmes are not able to do the learning tasks expected of children their age, with 28% of children falling far behind the expected standard.

One in four children (25.1%) showed signs of long-term malnutrition, which presents itself as stunted physical growth.

The Index also found that 27.5% of children did not meet the standard when it came to age-appropriate social relations with peers and adults, while 33.4% were found to not be emotionally ready for school.

Children from poor households were proven to be disadvantaged before formal school starts with the Index indicating that while there are instances of considerable variation in performance within income groups, on average children from poorer households are falling behind their better-off peers as a result of the challenges they face in their earliest years.

Children thrive by five when they experience a nurturing and safe environment from birth and have access to quality healthcare and nutrition, as well as opportunities for learning – both in the home and in early learning programmes.

The full report can be viewed on the Thrive by Five website.

What do the Thrive by Five Index leaders say?

According to Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga, “The Thrive by Five Index has truly thrown into sharp focus the importance of the work of ECD in moulding and shaping the nation’s future leaders, moreover, the index will enable the DBE to track progress in providing integrated services that lead to improved child outcomes over the next ten years.”

Committed to making a difference, FNB CEO, Jacques Celliers highlighted that, “FNB is proud to have collaborated with the private and public sectors to launch the Thrive by Five Index, which aims to promote positive impact in the early childhood development ecosystem, which we continue to support and invest in.

The value of this Index is that it allows us as a collective to provide optimal support to our children as they progress from grassroots to greatness. Thrive by Five’s actionable insights will influence targeted interventions that will result in quantitative and qualitative outcomes. As a result, it is incumbent on all stakeholders to ensure measurable progress in the coming years.

Sonja Giese, former Executive Director of Innovation Edge and Project Lead for the Thrive by Five Index said: “South Africa will not realise its development goals of eliminating income poverty and reducing inequality, without addressing the significant challenges that young children face in their earliest years. We have to tackle the injustice of unequal opportunities in early childhood.”

The Index was developed and executed in collaboration with the Department of Basic Education (DBE). The DBE has assumed responsibility for the support and regulation of early learning programmes (ELPs) on 1 April 2022 – a role previously held by the Department of Social Development.

The Thrive by Five Index partnership has called for urgent collective action to decrease the performance gap between young children in the richest and poorest households at the point of entry into school; and to increase the percentage of young children in the country who thrive by five, setting more children up for success.