Lesedi Educare Association

1. Lesedi Educare Association AN INTEGRATED APPROACH . . . ECD CENTRES AS NODES OF CARE, SUPPORT AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH The well-being of young children is our core concern 2012.03

2. ECD Centres are well-placedto provide valuable nodesof Care, Support andCommunity Outreach

3. LESEDI’s INTEGRATED ECD CARE PACKAGE FOCUSES ON: • THE QUALITY OF ECD PROVISION in ECD Centres • THE QUALITY OF CHILDHOOD at Home, in the Family, and in the Broader Community • SUPPORT through Lesedi’s Mobile Toy-library / ‘Come-&-Play’ buses

4. This document examines: ECD Centres as nodes of Care, Support & Community Outreach within the context of Lesedi’s Integrated ECD Care Package, and the support role played by Lesedi’s Community Development & Family Support Programme.

6. Objectives • To support parents & families to manage their lives more effectively • To promote the rights of young children in communities • To encourage communities to take collective responsibility for the well-being of young children • To enable Community Development Practitioners (CDP’s) to work with Parents, Care-givers and Families • To capacitate representative Community Support Structures to support and monitor the CDP’s in their interaction with their communities, ensuring the smooth running of the programme, as well community ownership and sustainability, with ECD Centres becoming strong nodes of Care, Support and Community Outreach.

7. THE PROGRAMME / MODEL: STEP-BY-STEP Based on Lesedi’s own experience • INITIAL COMMUNITY CONSULTATION This is crucial in order to: • Establish what the most pressing needs are in the community, especially for young children and their families; • Establish what initiatives might already exist which are helping to address these needs; • Explain the programme and how it could support ECD Centres to become nodes of care, support and community outreach; • Establish whether there might be a need for such a programme in the community; • It is important to include Supervisors from nearby ECD centres in this initial consultation as well as other key role-players.

8. CONSULTATION WITH ECD CENTRE SUPERVISORS • It is important that further in depth consultation with ECD Centre Supervisors takes place; • Do the ECD Centres see themselves as possible “agents for change” in their communities, especially for young children and families at risk? • Do they feel that there is a need for such a programme? • Do ECD Centres actually want to be involved in such a programme and do they see themselves as possible valuable nodes of care, support and community outreach? • It is important to discuss the programme and its implications very carefully with the ECD Centre Supervisors. Discuss the role of the ECD Centre very clearly and discuss community ownership. Discuss the advantages and the challenges.

9. ELECTION / SELECTION OF COMMUNITY SUPPORT STRUCTURES: • If community outcome is positive, and the ECD Centre and Supervisor see themselves as possible agents for change in their communities, the next step is to identify 3 reliable persons who will serve on a Community Support Structure (CSS) with the ECD Centre Supervisor. • This could be done eg. by electing 3 members at a meeting of ECD Centre parents where the programme is explained to the parents. • It is important to define and understand the role of the CSS from the beginning. They play an import support and monitoring role and also play a key role in on-going community ownership and sustainability.

10. APPOINTMENT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PRACTITIONER: • Once the CSS is in place, the ECD Centre and the CSS should appoint a suitable person as the ECD Centre’s Community Development Practitioner (CDP); • It is important to explain to the CDP exactly what will be expected of her, what the position is with her remuneration, and how she will be trained and supported. • It is important that right from the start, the CDP understands her lines of accountability. She is directly accountable to the ECD Centre Supervisor and the CSS.

11. KNOWING AND UNDERSTANDING THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY After being appointed, the CDP needs to: • Familiarise herself thoroughly with the community she will be working with, in the vicinity of the ECD Centre to which she is attached; • Understand the most pressing needs facing young children and families; • Get to know the valuable resources within her community eg. Ward Councilor, CDW, home-based carers, local hospices, local clinics, SAPS, key Gov. Departments as well as any other valuable local service provider.

12. COMMUNITY INTERVENTIONS AND INITIATIVES • Once the CDP thoroughly understands the profile of her community, she needs to begin working with her community on finding “community solutions to community needs”. • Supported by her ECD Centre, Supervisor, CSS and ECD Practitioners, the CDP needs to work with her community on addressing the most crucial needs impacting on the lives of children and their families, both within the ECD Centre environment as well as in the broader community. Continued on next page . . .

13. COMMUNITY INTERVENTIONS AND INITIATIVES (Cont’d) For Example: • Are there many young children who are without access to any kind of ECD programme? • Is there a lot of unemployment in the community? • What are the consequences of this unemployment? • With the many issues and challenges facing families and caregivers, is there a need for support groups? • Are there many children who need to be taken care of and who might need a safe place to go after their school day has ended? • Are there especially vulnerable families in the community who need to be visited regularly? • What kind of house visits are needed and how often? • Is there a need for parent / community information and awareness sessions? • What kind of sessions might be most beneficial?

14. All community interventions should be initiated in full consultation with the community, and in response to the most pressing needs identified by the community. With the Community . . . By the Community . . . For the Community . . .

15. DAILY MEETINGS WITH THE ECD CENTRE SUPERVISOR, ECD PRACTITIONER AND THE CDP: These are necessary in order to: • Discuss the CDP’s programme for the day; • Allow the CDP to give feedback on her interaction with the community, and on successes and challenges; • To provide statistical evidence to the ECD Supervisor on how many people the CDP is reaching through the various interventions, what interventions are in place, how many children and families are being assisted through house visits, playgroups etc. Simple minutes should be kept as well as simple journal write-ups of case studies.

16. ACCOUNTABILITY AND TEAMWORK: • It is important for the CDP to know and understand that she is primarily accountable to the ECD Centre and to the ECD Centre Supervisor. • The ECD Centre Supervisor needs to understand the key role which she plays and the key role which the ECD Centre plays both as a support system for the CDP, as well as a supervisory and monitoring role. • The ECD Centre Supervisor, the CDP, the ECD Practitioner and the Community Support Structure need to work together as a team to ensure the smooth running of the programme, as well as on-going community ownership and sustainability. • It is the community through the ECD Centre, who are the owners of the programme.

17. LESEDI’S ROLE: • Lesedi is merely the facilitator of a process through its Community Development and Family Support Programme; • Lesedi provides training for ECD Practitioners and Community Development Practitioners leading to national qualifications; • Lesedi provides community capacity building for Community Support Structures and community interventions.

18. WHY IS THE MODEL INNOVATIVE? • ECD Centres provide valuable nodes of care, support and community outreach; • ECD Centres are a valuable community resource and already provide community infrastructure; • Trained Community Development Practitioners, ECD Practitioners and ECD Centre Supervisors work together as a team with parents and key community stakeholders towards a sustainable, community owned and managed ECD outreach, and a gentle , just and stimulating childhood for all children. • It is a multi stakeholder and multi faceted approach. which takes into account the many issues which impact on the well-being of young children. • It provides a feasible model of integrated early childhood development, which brings crucial implementable structure and co-ordination to the concept of community ownership and sustainability.