Quality of services in community ECD facilities in South Africa: Policy implications from a facility survey George Laryea-Adjei, UNICEF

Dramatic growth in enrolment with the introduction of subsidies Source: Statistics South Africa, General Household Survey, Percentage of children 0-4 years that attended ECD facility

Questions 1.Are ECD subsidies converted into services for children? 2.How much improvement to ECD do subsidies bring? 3.Do benefits extend beyond basic care of children, i.e. do subsidies help to prepare children better for learning in schools?

Methods a)Survey of some 700 facilities on level and use of funds and service quality: 318 registered community based ECD facilities (mostly for 0-4) 300 public schools offering Grade R (mostly for children 5-6),, 90 non-registered community based ECD facilities (mostly for 0-4).

Funding: combination of Subsidy and School Fees keep centres running

Staffing: support staff and volunteers make up 57% of staff at ECD centres ECD teachers/pr actitioners Administrativ e & support staff VolunteersHours worked by voluntee rs per week Province Province Province Total8 139 (43.3%) (40.0%) (16.6%) (21 484)

How funds are spent by centres: Low spending on food and LTSM

Management quality: bookkeeping issues

Service quality Children in community based facilities are particularly vulnerable to malnutrition if they come from poor households and if facilities did not provide good nutrition Considerable challenges in the provision of safe water in 25% of facilities; in provision of safe sanitation in 40% of facilities Condition of building and safety are challenges for several facilities Registration of a facility is a major indicator of improved quality About 33% of registered ECD centres and 65% of unregistered centres have poor learning material

Service quality Overall quality of services appears to be moderate. Several ECD facilities have limited space and poor infrastructure, they receive inadequate community support. Strong correlation between the quality of learning material and programme quality: better LTSM co- occurs with better ECD programmes. Poverty and management quality are the underlying factors that influence both programme quality and the quality of resources available to children.

Learning material quality

Programme quality index

Main water source at schools/facilities: considerable challenges

Main toilet type at schools/facilities: considerable challenges

Safety

Condition of building

Infrastructure quality About 27% of school based classes, 20% of registered community based and 7% of unregistered community based facilities had more than 40 children per classroom

Conclusions As access to ECD is improved, programme quality should receive urgent attention – especially in those facilities where the poorest children are likely to receive services. There is a relationship between being registered or not and the quality of the programme in community facilities. The unregistered: either strictly enforce controls excluding them or provide guidance Increased funding must go with removing systemic bottlenecks As in the case of Grade R, need system-wide reform that strengthens the state’s role in regulation, funding, monitoring

Policy implications Service quality requirements are big and they require a shift in government’s engagement Current funding arrangement is leading to too little investment in learning material, nutrition and infrastructure; separate funding lines are required for these essential services State’s regulatory and funding roles are too limited in the context of national ECD objectives Need to shift the discourse to the major reforms that will lead to universal access and substantially improved quality, beyond fixing the mechanics of NPO funding Need to learn from system-wide reforms like social security and the NHI