Presentation to Ethekwini Research Symposium, 5-6 April 2016 Steven Masvaure, Shirin Motala and Stewart Ngandu Human Science Research Council (HSRC)

Why a focus on ECD (0-4 years) is

necessary? • ECD is concerned with child’s whole development;

• Included in International (SDG’s), National (NDP 2030) and Local Priorities (role of local govt);

• Good quality ECD focuses on addressing all aspects of a child’s development;

• Wealth of research evidence (global and international) on the long term impacts on social, physical and economic outcomes for adults from deficits in early childhood;

• What is known is that children in resource poor communities and from vulnerable contexts struggle to access quality ECD services;

• Interventions that seek to improve quality

The many rights of the CHILD in our constitution cannot be enjoyed by these

children.

Understanding Child Development

“The 1,000 days between a woman’s pregnancy and her child’s

2nd birthday offer a unique window of opportunity to shape healthier

and more prosperous futures. The right nutrition during this 1,000 day

window can have a profound impact on a child’s ability to grow, learn,

and rise out of poverty. It can also shape a society’s long-term health,

stability and prosperity” .

1000 Days Partnership: http://www.thousanddays.org/about/

ECD in the SDGs:

16 Goals and 107 SDGS:

MOST RELEVANT FOR EARLY

CHILDHOOD 1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere.

2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved

nutrition, …..

3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all

at all ages

4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education

and promote life-long learning opportunities for all

5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women

and girls.

6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of

water and sanitation for all…

ECD – National Priority

• ECD as a key government priority

• ECD recognized as a Strategic Priority of SA government – strengthening skills and human resource base;

• National Development Plan 2030 calls for universal access to a minimum of two years of early childhood development.

• ECD and Local government

• Local government is primary location where children are found – programmes can make an impact at this level

• Local government obligations in respect of ECD should be reflected in all municipal IDPs and specific sectoral policies and by-laws, which should in turn be reviewed and harmonized with the provision of the National ECD policy.

Study Methodology • Study Background: conducted for Save the Children, SA in

Wentworth (21 ECD Centres). [Similar Audit conducted in CoJ in 17 priority wards (381 ECD centres)]

• Overarching Aim: To provide evidence base on ECD Centre Quality for informing policy, programming and resource allocation decisions

• Specific Objectives: To provide quantitative data on all ECD sites, registered and unregistered; To provide a description of the factors that account for quality of the

ECD site and service delivered;

Assess the enabling conditions relating to ECD site compliance with the regulatory environment;

Assess the flow of funding to and from the ECD site;

Improve access of children to ECD sites in the CoJ;

Ensure provision of essential quality services for children 0-5 years.

Preschool Quality Indicators

Infrastructure

Environment

Ratios

Service

Integration

Teachers /

Practitioners

Active

individual

scaffolding

of learning

Management

Regular

Support &

Supervisio

n

ECD Centre

Quality

Audit Framework

# Dimension Assessment elements

1 Location geotagging for GIS purposes

2 Physical structure type of structure, equipment & furniture, utilities, etc.

3 Childrens profiles childrens socio-demographic data, incl. special needs

4 Practitioners

practitioners socio-demographic data, incl. workers in centre,

access to training, income levels, employment conditions,

childrens ratios, etc.

5 Food & nutritionnature of food provided, food menus, dietary diversity, food

sources, food preparation, etc.

6 Transportationforms & means of transport to ECD centres, transportation costs,

safety issues

7 Health & safetycompliance with bylaws & other legal requirements (health

screening, hygiene, safety practices, etc.)

8Regulatory & institutional

arrangements

ECD registration, NPO, local govt. environmental reg, Sec18a tax

exemption, record keeping systems, etc.

9 Quality service deliverycurriculum, daily program, parental involvement, age appropriate

devt prog, responsiveness to special neds, etc.

10 Financing ECDfees, cost recovery, donor/income source/eependiture patterns,

costing analysis

ECD Centre Document

Check-list 1. ECD centre registration certificate with the local municipality where the

facility is situated.

2. Registration certificate with DSD with NPO number & a proof of subsidy

3. Registration certificate with Department of Basic Education.

4. Police staff clearance.

5. Health Certificate (Medication Management Policy)

6. Environmental Management

7. Certificate of Fitness (approved buildings)

8. Certificate of Occupancy

9. Emergency Plan (with emergency routes)

10. Electrical Installation Certificate

11. Transport Certificate (If the School transport children).

Key Findings

Figure 1: Where does the ECD centre operate from?

Transportation to ECD Centre

Who provides transport

for the centre's children?

Do you check for

roadworthiness certificate

ECD Centre Registration Status

ECD centre assessment by

various departments

Institutions that assessed the centre in 2014 Number of centres % of total centres (21)

Department of Social Development 19 90.5

Department of Health 15 68.4

Local Government 1 4.5

Department of Education 5 22.7

NGO 7 33.3

Other 1 4.5

Health and Safety Compliance

Certificate of Acceptability Health permit certificate

Composite Index

• The SCSA 2014 Audit allowed for the construction of a

Quality Learning Environment Index (QLEI) which

covered 17 indicators. Through a fit-for-purpose

approach, the Quality Learning Index provides insights to

assess levels of regulatory compliance as required by

the provincial and local government of ECD centers.

• An Composite Index is a quantitative or a qualitative measure derived from a series of observed facts/indicators that can reveal relative positions in a given area (OECD, 2008)

• A composite Index is formed when individual indicators are compiled into a single index on the basis of an underlying model.

• The composite indicator should ideally measure multidimensional concepts which cannot be captured by a single indicator

Dimension and Variable

Names

Indicator Description Indicator

Scores

Sub-

Dimensi

on

Scores

NUTRITION

INDICATORS

2

Food provision Indicator 1: Q22.1 Does centre provide food 1

Daily menu Indicator 2: Q22.3 Daily menu displayed 1

HEALTH SERVICES 4

Immunization Indicator 3: Q19.1 Immunization records 1

Clinic Indicator 4: Q19.12 Frequency of clinic contact 3

CHILD

PROTECTION

6

Child protection Indicator 5: Q15.17 Presence of staff with/without CCC 3

Report abuse Indicator 6: Q19.4 Report abuse and neglect of children at

home

2

feedback Indicator 7: Q21.19 Feedback to parents in meetings 1

ECD

PRACTITIONER

6

Child care Indicator 8: Q5.1/(Q18.1 + Q18.9) Children per caregiver 2

Post qualification Indicator 9: Post schooling qualification index 4

PROGRAMME 2

Support Indicator 10: Q21.13 Adequate support materials 1

Diff prog Indicator 11: Q21.9 Differentiation of programme 1

GOVERNANCE 1

Man Com Indicator 12: Q3.33 ECD center - management committee 1

SAFETY 7

First Aid Indicator 13: Q19.15 EDC staff - received First Aid

training

3

Danger fix Indicator 14: Dangerous fixtures Index 2

Over index Indicator 15: SAVE Summative over-crowding index 2

SANITATION 3

Child toilet Indicator 16: Q5.1/Q4.31 Toilet per children 3

ASSESSMENT

Pro assess Indicator 17: Q11.1 Assessments by professional 1 1

Insights from Quality Learning Index

Assessment Freq. Per cent Cum.

High Quality 2 9.52 9.52

Moderate Quality 17 80.95 90.48

Low Quality 2 9.52 100

Total 21 100

IMPLICATIONS FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT

A key challenge for local government is in balancing

conflicting obligations of ensuring compliance and at

the same time promoting development;

The audit findings provide the evidence base for

assisting local government in determining the nature

and extent of support it can provide to enhance care

environment for children through remedial action it can

take;

Empirical basis for prioritization of support and

delivery of services and interventions to ECD centres

within a context of scarce resources;

Provides clear direction to various local and provincial

govt departments on nature of support required

towards achieving greater compliance and quality

HTTP://WWW.HSRC.AC.ZA/EN/SEARCH?SEARCH=EARLY+CHILDHO

OD+DEVELOPMENT+FORUMS&SECTION=RESEARCH-

OUTPUTS&X=12&Y=9

Contact Details: Steven Masvaure, Shirin Motala and Stewart

Ngandu #

smasvaure@hsrc.ac.za; smotala@hsrc.ac.za; ngandu@hsrc.ac.za