Supporting ECD Centres

We offer training, funding and compliance checks to ensure that an ECD centre can be registered and accredited with the Western Cape Government. We work closely with the Western Cape Government and other community organisations to develop a network of professional ECD centres. We also help ECD centres meet planning, health and fire safety standards; improve physical infrastructure like toilets and play spaces; and provide training to teachers.

Read about how the City's early childhood development initiatives are helping to build a caring city in our Investing in Early Childhood Development Booklet.

Register an ECD centre

If you would like to operate an ECD centre in Cape Town, you will need to register with City and with the provincial government. Find out how by following the City Connect link below

Training ECD staff

As part of our commitment to build quality ECD centres, we provide training for practitioners. We are currently spending R2.5 million on capacity-building and training.

Our aim is to help up to 200 ECD centres to be able to meet all of the criteria to register with the Western Cape Department of Social Development. An important part of helping ECD centres meet all of their requirements to register is to ensure the proper training of staff in child care, firstaid and outcome-based education. We focus on training ECD educators who may need further skills training but who are already involved in the ECD curriculum and providing an ECD service to the community. We encourage potential trainees to be part of their local ECD network as we advertise our training opportunities here.       

Supporting Centres of Excellence

As part of our commitment to the children and families of Cape Town, as well as ECD practitioners in the city, we have responded to the need for ECD centres that care for large groups of children, have additional features, and can offer training and support for ECD practitioners.

A Centre of Excellence is an ECD centre that:

• accommodates more than 150 children;
• provides support to smaller local ECD centres;
  
• provides a training facilityfor care-givers and ECD practitioners; and
• provides a vegetable garden to support the ECD centre.

Please see our ECD database for full details of all ECD centres supported or run by the City.

Document downloads

• 1. Early Childhood Development Strategy

     01/01/2007, Strategy - 314.7 KB

  2. Investing in Early Childhood Development Booklet

     01/01/2015, Booklet - 2.3 MB