Page 17 - IFV_Issue 6_2022

Today’s Child

he transition of Early Childhood
COMPULSORY EARLY TDepartment of Social Development
Development (ECD) from the

CHILDHOOD to the Department of Basic Education is
now in full swing, and will change how
the academic development of young
EDUCATION children is approached in South Africa.

The transition will become effective from
2023, and among the changes that will be
What parents need to know introduced by the move, is the obligation
on parents to send their children to school
from Grade 00, as opposed to school
attendance only being compulsory from
Grade 1, which has been the case until now.
Parents now need to consider where
they will send their young child from
next year, and they will have to do their
homework carefully to ensure the school
they choose approaches ECD from a child-
led learning perspective. This will ensure
that the child starts their academic journey
appropriately for their age, that they build
strong foundations, and that they have
positive associations with going to school.
“Schools have different programmes
and approaches, and parents may be
seduced by the idea of sending their
child to a strictly academically-focused
ECD institution which will turn their little
one into a mini Einstein before they even
head to big school. However, these good
intentions are likely to fall flat, as this is
not the correct age-appropriate approach,”
says Lynda Eagle, Academic Advisor at
ADvTECH Schools.
For pre-schoolers, there are five key
areas of development:
• gross motor skills, for example crawling,
jumping or running;
• fine motor skills, such as writing and
drawing;
• speech and language;
• cognitive and intellectual, such as
counting or identifying shapes;
• social and emotional skills, such as
playing and interacting with other
children.
“The early years are exceptionally
important, but learning should as far
as possible be play-based. Bombarding
young children with a curriculum more
suitable to older students is entirely
counter-productive,” Eagle says.

The Villager • Issue 6 2022 • 15