Page 41 - Waterfall_Issue 6_2022

T he transition of Early Childhood

Development (ECD) from the
Department of Social Development
to the Department of Basic
Education is now in full swing, and will
change how the academic development
of young children is approached in
South Africa. The transition will become
effective from 2023, and among the
changes that will be 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.
COMPULSORY For pre-schoolers, there are five

key areas of development:
EARLY • gross motor skills, for example
crawling, jumping or running;
• fine motor skills, such as
writing and drawing;
CHILDHOOD • speech and language;
• cognitive and intellectual, such as
counting or identifying shapes;
EDUCATION • social and emotional skills, such as playing

and interacting with other children.

What parents need to know “The early years are exceptionally
important, but learning should as far
as possible be play-based. Bombarding

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