Varsity partners to improve ECD

The five-day workshop, held in collaboration with the SDB Area Based Management office and Save the Children SA, saw ECD practitioners from the Bluff, Clairwood, Isipingo, Isipingo Hills, Lotus Park, Dakota Beach and Merebank advance their skills.

The Unisa C2A programme has been in operation in the SDB since 2011 and has improved the ECD skills of over 18,000 people. This latest workshop included among other subjects, the developmental stages of the child, lesson plans, being creative, developmental play and safety.

“The SDB ABM is thrilled to partner with Unisa and Save the Children SA in this exciting initiative that brings highly sought-after training to SDB ECD facilities. We are grateful to them for this valuable programme that willd empower our ECD practitioners with skills and knowledge that will directly impact on the lives of our precious children,” said SDB ABM manager, Eurakha Singh.

“Community ECD workers can become the first line of defence in a country with unacceptably high rates of violence and abuse of children. It is critical that crèche owners and workers become aware and empowered in order to ensure that children’s rights are being upheld.

Our hope is that crèche workers can serve with greater understanding with regards to ECD norms and standards and the physical and cognitive development of children. At Unisa we are grateful to our academics such as Dr Jane Sethusha, an ECD expert who has faithfully served the Unisa C2A programme since 2012,” said head of the C2A, Dr Genevieve James.