We rebuild a more inclusive regulatory environment that enables the women-led care economy to flourish.
The Department of Basic Education’s ECD Census 2021 found that 45% of all Early Learning Programmes (ELPs) in South Africa are not registered with government, meaning they cannot benefit from state financial and operational support and oversight.
The majority of ELPs are unregistered because they are unable to meet onerous norms and standards. Norms and standards are onerous because they are set and enforced by different government departments and levels of government – this creates a complex regulatory environment.
We need simpler and fairer regulations that recognise the value of informal ELP provision and enable women who are starting up or running ELPs to register with government and access subsidies as well as quality oversight interventions. An enabling environment with simplified norms and standards will encourage more women to become ELP providers and thereby increase the supply of ELPs.
Our 7 strategic focus areas are the conditions needed for the early childhood ecosystem to function at scale.
