Early Childhood Development Delivery – one year later Presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Education 13 May 2003 Marie-Louise Samuels Director: Early Childhood Development

Overview of Presentation INTRODUCTION KEY ELEMENTS OF WHITE PAPER 5 FIRST PHASE IN IMPLEMENTING WP5 Conditional Grant progress Policy, Curriculum, Systems and Coordination of the sector TARGETS SET FOR NEXT PHASE Expansion of Grade R in schools Integrated service delivery for pre Grade R AREAS THAT NEED ATTENTION Collaboration Capacity to deliver SUMMARY

Introduction Project summary 100% of funds transferred to provinces 90% of target reached for payment of subsidies 84% of tenders have been awarded 50% of equipment delivered to three provinces Monitoring and Support system developed and tested Advocacy and Information Plan developed Rigorous management of the process at national and provincial level

Key elements of White Paper 5 Grade R – phased in until 2010 Poverty targeted Provision for birth-4 year olds Curriculum for children Practitioner development and career pathing Norms and standards for all providers Special programmes for young learners HIV/AIDS and other communicable diseases Poor Rural Special educational needs

First Phase in implementation Conditional Grant National programme R195 million over 3 years 2003/2004 – final year Target 4,500 sites with 135, 000 learners Components of the grant Funding to sites Training of practitioners Supply of basic equipment Monitoring and support system Advocacy and information Funding has been allocated using the Equitable Shares Formulae. Grant has been allocated for a three year period and there is no indication that this will be extended. It took us at least a year to develop the necessary systems to transfer funds to sites, to award all the necessary tenders at provincial and national level. We are now in our final year of implementation. The grant was awarded in order to kick-start the process on the understanding that the provinces would budget for expansion after the three years.

Funding to Sites Compliance with DoRA Framework document – conditions Approval of business plan Transfer payment to provinces Reporting monthly, quarterly, annually Spending trends for last two years Challenges Management systems at provincial and site level to account for funding DIVISION OF REVENUE ACT In order to comply with the regulations stipulated in the Division of Revenue Act the following steps need to be taken: Each province needs to develop a detailed business plan using the national framework document as a guide. There are conditions that apply to the use of the funding e.g. it can only be used for the purpose as stipulated in the framework document. Once the business plans have been approved by the Director-General; provincial allocations are transferred to the provinces. If a province has not complied, the Department needs to inform Treasury of the possibility of withholding of the funds and the province has a month to rectify the problem and resubmit a signed business plan or indications of how they will solve the problem as indicated. TRANSFER OF PAYMENTS The situation this year is that we transferred payment to the following provinces: Free State Gauteng Limpopo Mpumalanga Northern Cape North West Western Cape Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal needed to make changes to their budgets in order to allow for the transfer of payments. KZN is requesting an additional R500, 000.00 for implementation which we currently are not able to do. This has been forwarded to the CFO for advise. SPENDING TRENDS: Delays in the awarding of tenders caused a further delay in implementation in all the provinces. The tenders are managed and awarded by the Department of Education. There is a significant difference between expenditure for Year One and Year Two due to the fact that subsidies were paid to sites as well as the appointment of Provincial coordinators to manage implementation at provincial level. As five of the six tenders have been awarded this will contribute to ensuring that the programme meets its set objectives. CHALLENGES: Lack of Management systems at provincial and site level to account for funding Anecdotal evidence suggests that there are no systems in place We are developing the monitoring and support system to ensure that there is a method of gathering information and evidence as well as the impact of the provision at site level at least 4 times a year. Reports will be accurate

Training Outline of the tender Progress to date Scale of the training Registered level 4 qualification Accreditation of training institutions Scale of the training Way forward

Basic Kits of Educational Equipment 3 tenders awarded List of equipment provided Delivery of equipment to sites Challenges

Monitoring and Support System Tender awarded - Khulisa Management Services Purpose of the tender Outline of the plan Progress Challenges

Advocacy and Information Campaign Tender awarded – Vuleka productions Purpose of the tender Outline of the plan Progress to date Challenges

Policy, Curriculum, Systems, Coordination Norms and Standards for funding Grade R Curriculum Rollout of the Revised National Curriculum Statement (Grade R as part of Foundation Phase) Takalani Sesame

Policy, Curriculum, Systems, Coordination Audit of all Grade R classes Inclusion in EMIS collection of statistics on 10th day Coordination Coordinating Committee for ECD

Targets set for next phase Implementation plans for expansion of Grade R Strategic plans for next 3 years reflecting expansion of Grade R at schools Maintenance of delivery to Grade R classes at community based sites Ensuring funding is secured in provinces for expansion Secure funds for expansion plans Integrated service delivery plan for children birth to 4 years Collaborative strategy developed to ensure integrated service delivery for children birth to 4 years.

Areas that need attention Additional year to consolidate gains made Capacity at National,Provincial and District levels Compliance of DoRA Secure funding for the expansion of the programme On-going collaboration with state departments Collaboration with Non-Governmental organisations

Summary On-track in relation to targets set for Grade R in community based sites On-track in relation to targets set for Grade R in schools Dedication and Commitment of personnel at all levels