Real Reform for ECD is a movement advocating for holistic, well-funded, inclusive and quality early childhood development services for all children. Our focus is to ensure an enabling legal, policy and regulatory environment for the provision and expansion of ECD services.
Learn about the Right to Nutrition Campaign →Ahead of 2024 elections, the ECD sector is calling on all political parties to recognise the significance of ECD in shaping our nation's future. A party for the children is a party for the future. Sign onto this manifesto TODAY to advocate for our country’s TOMORROW!
Endorse now (organisations) Sign on now (individuals)Our vision is to have an enabling legal, policy and regulatory environment for the provision and expansion of ECD services to see all children in South Africa thriving and we believe that an enabling legal framework is one essential component of how to achieve this.
We develop our own solutions to the legal and regulatory challenges we face, we intend to use the tactical power of the law in our struggle to achieve our vision, we hope to be one of the leading grassroots voices on the legal and regulatory issues facing early childhood development programmes.
We want to be a movement of knowledgeable and empowered ECD practitioners, parents, caregivers and community members. We have identified NECDA, SmartStart and Bridge as key alliance organisations - powerful partners for realising our vision.
On Saturday 6 March 2021, the Portfolio Committee on Social Development issued a statement announcing their decision to reject the proposed amendments that relate to ECD in the Children’s Amendment Bill that is currently before Parliament. The Real Reform for ECD Campaign marks this as a victory. Read the full statement.
1600
submissions made
7
provinces represented
200
organisations signed on
5
key reforms advocated
Photo credit: Ilifa Labantwana
Adequate nutrition is not just a need: It is a child’s right. Without proper nutrition, children are likely to be too short for their age (stunted). They are also more likely to do less well in school and to be less productive, earn less, and suffer more from diseases like diabetes and heart disease as adults.
The government provides a R17 per child per day subsidy to registered early learning programmes, of which R6.80 is intended for nutrition. But it reaches too few and is too little.
In late 2022, RR4ECD began to explore a campaign on the right to nutrition. We put together three research task teams to explore the right to nutrition, what adequate nutrition is and how the Department of Basic Education (DBE) could implement an ECD nutrition programme. This extensive research has informed the campaign’s approach and calls to action.
Download our synthesis reportWe urge the DBE to provide nutrition support to all eligible children attending an early learning programme, regardless of whether the programme is registered or not. We must not neglect the most vulnerable children, especially those at unregistered programmes, who stand the most to gain from nutrition support.
We are urging the DBE to:
The Department of Basic Education should implement these reforms, while also simplifying the registration process and supporting early learning programmes to get registered.
We explore the legal basis of children's right to basic nutrition and the state's duties in respect of the right.
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We explain what constitutes adequate nutrition from the standpoint of health, and how this is provided at early learning programmes.
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We recommend ways of expanding and improving nutrition support to eligible children at early learning programmes.
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Download these resources and share widely!
The campaign explained
Poster 1 (English)
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Poster 2 (English)
Poster 1 (Xhosa)
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Poster 2 (Xhosa)
Poster 1 (Sotho)
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Poster 2 (Sotho)
Poster 1 (Afrikaans)
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Poster 2 (Afrikaans)
Our nutrition reforms
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Xhosa poster
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Sotho poster
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Afrikaans poster
The evidence
English poster
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Xhosa poster
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Sotho poster
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Afrikaans poster
Campaign logo
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Other versions
People's Manifesto for ECD
Download (PDF)
The Children’s Amendment Bill (B18-2020) proposed amendments in relation to a wide range of issues impacting on children, including amendments regarding partial care and ECD. The Bill did not address the Five Reforms needed for strengthening the ECD sector. It had the potential to create additional burdens and challenges for ECD providers. Challenges with the Bill included:
The most relevant law, regulations and policy documents can be accessed here:
Between the months of March and April, local municipalities are busy preparing their Integrated Development Plan (IDP). This is a plan that will outline the development areas that local municipalities will focus on for the next five years. The aim of this campaign is to have ECD included as a core focus area.
Many of our challenges with ECD programme registration lie at the local government level : there are impossible land-use requirements (zoning), excessive costs for building plans, high fees as well as onerous health and safety requirements. Local governments are also not enabling the expansion of ECD programmes. They are not supporting ECD programmes with infrastructure upgrades nor are they supporting with new ECD builds (as required by the ECD policy) and ECD does not feature in local government planning or budgets.
We are calling on all organisations, ECD practitioners, teachers, parents and caregivers to contact their local municipality and to call on councillors to:
We are a broad-based alliance made up of dedicated elected representatives who form the Steering Committee to lead Real Reform’s work, supported by over 200 organisations .
Representatives: Nhlanhla Dzwingwa (Sisonke Orange Farms ECD Forums), Ruby Motaung (Training and Resources in Early Education and National Early Childhood Development Alliance), Sheniece Linderboom (Legal Resources Centre), Pam Picken (Do More Foundation), Rebecca Hickman (SmartStart), Tess Peacock (Equality Collective), Lashiwe Mparadzi (Farani Pre-School), Kayin Scholtz (Ilifa Labantwana), Eric Mahlo (Save the Children) and, Thandeka Rantsi (Bridge).
...and many other organisations working hard to make quality ECD a reality in South Africa! Is your organisation working in ECD and do you agree with the necessity of the Five Reforms? Please sign up! Every new organisation strengthens our voice in the parliamentary process.
View all signatories → Join us now →Don't forget to subscribe for updates about the campaign.