Siyabulela Deliverables Campaign - Training of 900 Pre-school Teachers

The training of 900 pre-school teachers throughout the province will lead to significant improvement in the quality of early childhood development (ECD), and boost the Western Cape Education Department's (WCED) Literacy and Numeracy Strategy.

On 11 August 2006, Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool launched the Provincial Government's Learnership programme in Cape Town, which is part of the Siyabulela Deliverables campaign initiated by the Premier.

The Learnership programme will contribute significantly to the national government's Expanded Public Works Programme, by building capacity and opportunities for employment in the ECD sector. The WCED and the provincial Department of Social Development are managing the programme jointly.

Said Education MEC Cameron Dugmore: "The WCED and Social Development currently deliver ECD at public primary schools for children in Grade R and at day-care centres and crèches, commonly called community sites.

"We have embarked on an integrated strategy to support ECD, with our sister departments in Social Development, Health and Safety and Security. As part of this joint strategy to support ECD, a key component includes accredited education and training for practitioners and care-givers involved in ECD.

"The national government's White Paper Five aims to ensure access to Grade R facilities for all five-year-old children in South Africa by 2010. The provincial government's Human Capital Development Strategy (HCDS) pays particular attention to ECD, and incorporates the aims of the joint provincial strategy for this sector.

"The HCDS seeks to ensure that all five-year-old children in the Western Cape have full access to high quality learning programmes. In 2005, 50 000 children attended Grade R. The WCED plans to cater for 80,000 Grade R learners by 2014.

"The ECD sector is constantly expanding in the Western Cape to meet these deadlines. The WCED made funding available to subsidise an additional 6,000 learners in Grade R classes during the current financial year.

"The department provides a subsidy to pre-schools according to a sliding scale which ensures that the poorest sites receive between R6 and R7 per Grade R learner per day, while better equipped sites receive R3 per child to a maximum of 30 children per class.

"The Department of Social Development is in the process of selecting candidates for training at day-care centres and crèches. The WCED is identifying candidates who teach Grade R learners at pre-primary schools.

"The candidates will commence their training in September 2006. Service providers will provide the training, funded by the WCED. The in-service training programme will extend over a period of 18 months and will include theoretical and experiential components.

"The Learnership programme will provide accredited training in terms at levels determined by the National Qualifications Framework (NQF), as follows:

• 200 people will be trained at Level 1
• 500 people will be trained at Level 4
• 200 people will be trained at Level 5

"Practitioners who complete the Learnership successfully will acquire the knowledge and skills they need to introduce young children effectively to literacy and numeracy at an early stage. This is particularly important in communities where parents are unable to read and write and where children do not have access to educational toys and books or other texts.

"The National Curriculum Statement (NCS) outlines the outcomes that Grade R learners should achieve before they start formal schooling in Grade 1.

"The challenge facing the WCED is to ensure that pre-school teachers have the knowledge and skills they need to ensure that learners achieve these outcomes at ECD sites that offer Grade R. The ECD site must be able to ensure every child's cognitive, emotional, physical and social development.

"The Learnership programme will contribute significantly to building the foundation we need for every child, especially in our poorest communities, to grow our human capital and to provide a brighter future for all citizens of the Western Cape."

For enquiries:

Gert Witbooi
Media Liaison Officer
Office of the MEC for Education
Western Cape
Tel: 021 467 2523
Fax: 021 425 5689
Visit our website: http://wced.wcape.gov.za