Cape Town: The Community, Arts & Culture Development (CACD) Department has assisted 170 ECDs in its drive to improve safety and compliance in the ECD sector. Following this it has also trained more than 800 ECD staffers in disaster risk and mental health matters this year.
The CACD Department is promoting access to Early Childhood Development in 2025, through support and capacity building for ECDs, as the provision of resources and streamlining compliance processes to help centres towards registration with the Western Cape Department of Education.
Reportedly, the registered ECDs are able to access funding from the provincial government. In the first six months of the current financial year, the department assisted 170 ECDs via its ECD modernization tool with land use applications, and facilitating inspections of their premises to secure the necessary clearance certificates from the Fire & Rescue Service and Environmental Health.
These efforts collaboratively align with Cape Town’s goal of improving early childhood care outcomes and making regulatory processes easier for community-based centres.
Considering this, Member of the Mayoral Committee for Community Services and Health – Councillor Francine Higham said that there are numerous regulations in place for the ECD sector, but compliance is often a bridge too far for many.
Higham further stated that the Community, Arts & Culture Development Department works closely with ECDs to guide them towards compliance and ultimately registering with the Western Cape Government so that they can access critical funding.
According to Francine Higham the work is all about protecting the children, empowering staff and ensuring every centre that can meet essential standards. She urged parents to ask questions and take an active interest in their child’s care environment. She cleared on her part that they cannot compromise on child safety and so it does require all hands-on deck.
The City of Cape Town emphasized on capacitating ECD staff. Training interventions include NGO Governance, Finance Literacy and Child Protection. In the current financial year, nearly 800 staff members from 82 ECDs have participated in 21 training sessions on disaster prevention and mitigation, and mental health matters.
ECDs or members of the public wo want to know more about training interventions or have questions about ECD registration, can contact their nearest CACD office.