Barbara Dale-Jones reflects on the work of the ECD CoP in 2013.

1. BRIDGE’s National ECD Community
of Practice:
A summary of action and impact
29 October 2013

2. NDP on some key ECD Challenges
• Training for practitioners (recommendation:
“invest in training early childhood development
practitioners, upgrade their qualifications and
develop clear career paths”)
• Strengthening of delivery (recommendation :
“encourage innovation in the way ECD services
are delivered”)
• Ensuring that departments responsible for
different aspects of early childhood development
work together (recommendation: “address the
coordination weaknesses between the different
sectors and departments responsible for ECD
services in order to strengthen collaboration”)

3. This CoP’s outcomes
• Develop common purpose, peer support and
trust
• Maximise resources and reduce duplication
• Share working practice and innovations
(horizontal integration)
• Link policy and practice (vertical integration)
• Impact on the whole system

4. This CoP’s objectives
• Work with the Departments of Education, Social
Development and Health
• Align with and support the goals of the National
Development Plan, and support the work of the
National Education Collaboration Framework
• Work with selected Provincial Governments so as
to encourage collaboration
• Focus on specific areas, such as the Training of
ECD Practitioners
• Share and disseminate working practice
• Find ways to scale working practice

5. Impact?
• We formed this community of practice in
February 2013. What have we achieved in
2013? What impact have we had?

6. Community of practice membership
• Currently 227 members on the database
• From eight provinces
• Range of stakeholder groupings: civil society
organisations (incl. NGOs, NPOs, etc.), funders
and business, universities, research
organisations, training organisations, government
(national, provincial and the President’s
Office), public entities (NDA), faith-based
organisations
• Wide range of bodies represented: e.g. ECD
Congress, provincial groupings and
forums, BRIDGE’s Western Cape ECD community
of practice, etc.

7. The meetings of 2013
7 February 2013 (GIBS)
• Agreement to form an inclusive CoP
• Agreement to support NDP: “We want to be a collective
voice of people from various backgrounds, working to
help government implement the NDP in the area of ECD”
• Agreement: concept paper to be drafted
• Agreement: government to be approached to join
18 March 2013 (Deutsche Bank)
• Agreement that this should be a national group
• Agreed to form under BRIDGE
• Initial database generated of ECD stakeholders

8. The meetings of 2013 cont.
7 May 2013 (READ)
Presentations by:
• Vanessa Mentor, Director of GDE’s ECD Institute – work of the
ECDI
• Bertha Magoge (TREE) – ECD in KZN
• Brainstorm re ‘Thought-Leaders’ in ECD, and key areas of ECD
on which the CoP should be focusing
16 July 2013 (GIBS)
Presentations by:
• Ronel Burger (from the focus group: ECD practitioner training)
• Sherri Le Mottee of Illifa Labantwana – re their work
• Michele Kay – ITEC – ECD in Eastern Cape
• Camilla Swart – ECD in Western Cape
• How will we work? What will we do? Sustainability?

9. The meetings of 2013 cont.
27 August 2013 (GIBS)
Presentations by:
• Vanessa Mentor, Director of GDE’s ECD Institute –
Universalisation of Grade R, etc.
• Thabi Molete, Director of Programmes at the
Matthew Goniwe School of Leadership and
Governance (MGSLG) – the provision of ECD training
in Gauteng
• Saide’s Sheila Drew – the ECD fundamentals
• Implications for CoP, commenting on key
documents, broadening the scoping process, etc.
29 October 2013 (GIBS)
• What have we done in 2013, where are we going?

10. Actions carried out
Re policy documents, members made a combined
response to/comments on:
• Draft Terms of Reference for an Inter-Sectoral Forum
for ECD (to the Department of Social
Development, September 2013)
• Draft Curriculum for Ages 0-4 (September 2013)
• Universal Access to Grade R document (September
2013)
Re fundamentals, members:
• participate in the QCTO’s scoping of ECD
qualifications, and
• belong to the fundamentals reference group that Saide
is co-ordinating.

11. Knowledge management, publications
and conferences
• BRIDGE communication platforms:
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Website (www.bridge.org.za)
Online network
Facebook
Twitter
Media partnerships
Trialogue: CSI Handbook
ECDLC Newsflash: Issue 23, April 2013
EMASA conference: August 2013
Ntataise conference

12. Fundraising and stakeholder
engagement
• Seed funding: Deutsche Bank (R50,000)
• Member contributions (R3,500 and in-kind)
• Discussions held with Apex Hi
(TSI), FirstRand, Hollard Foundation
(KYB), Sasol, Liberty, Porticus, Ilifa
Labantwana, DG Murray Trust, Elma
Philanthropies, VW, PetroSA, Claude Neon
Foundation
• Proposals submitted to Apex Hi
(TSI), Liberty, Ilima (Old Mutual), NECT

13. Fundraising and stakeholder
engagement cont.
• Stakeholder engagement: (with a view to promoting stakeholder
co-operation)
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Government departments (technical committee proposed)
Marie-Louise Samuels (DBE)
Margot Davids (DSD)
President’s Office
National Planning Commission
Inter-sectoral forum for ECD, DSD
Inter-Departmental ECD Committee
NECT
NDA
Thabi Molete (Matthew Goniwe School of Leadership and
Governance)
Vanessa Mentor (GDE’s ECD Institute)
SA Research Association for Early Childhood Education
EC ECD Forum
SA ECD Congress