ECD Registration & Support

We assist ECD practitioners in facilitating necessary changes required in order to register with the Department of Education by introducing them to the compliance requirements and application process. Our forms contain all the information and guidance on the required documentation that ECD centres need when applying for partial care registration. It guides applicants through filling in forms, as well as collecting supporting documentation. Most of these centres are situated in rural areas in KwaZulu-Natal.

The ECD Function Shift from Department of Social Development (DSD) to the Department of Basic Education (DBE) took place on 1 April 2022. We have been busy supporting National DSD in partnership with Nelson Mandela Foundation in rolling out the Vangasali campaign seeking to find and register every ECD service in the country. This was an exciting opportunity to embed all the learning and work we have been doing on ECD registration over the previous 4 years in all the districts we serve. We work closely with the district offices of the DBE to limit the service delivery interruptions to ECD services and to ensure that the sector continues to grow in government support. Ultimately, it can only be Government support to ECD centres that ensures sustainability and child protection on a large scale.

Early 2025, the National DBE rolled out their ECD Bana Pele Mass Registration Drove (MRD) and KwaZulu Natal opened their online platform in April. Many of our centres who had previously submitted Vangasali application packs were put into limbo and have to start their partial care application process again.

We take great pride in having assisted over 200 unfunded ECD centres through the registration and subsidy application process since 2018, 15 of which are fully subsidized now.  In the first 2 terms of 2025, we assisted over 90 centres in submitting their MRD application on the e-care platform and are hopeful that they will receive their “Bronze” status shortly. We continue working closely with the district DBE departments who give us feedback on submitted applications and challenges, mostly referring to unsafe infrastructure. We assist with targeted interventions where we can and furthermore assist the departments with site visits in order to speed up the process.