SA ECD Awards: Creating a brighter future for our children
Considering the South African Government’s commitment to recognize and support ECD, the South African Early Childhood Development Awards aim to raise awareness of the ECD sector’s goal to break the cycle of poverty. The Awards promote and recognise excellence, hard work, dedication and investment in the future of children by individual practitioners, community centres and organisations involved in early childhood development. The National Development Agency (NDA), an Agency of Department of Social Development contributes towards the eradication of poverty and its causes, is the custodian of the SA ECD Awards.
The Awards highlight the need for a proper system of early childhood development, one that is integrated in its approach, by considering children’s health, nutrition, education, psychosocial and additional environmental factors within the context of their family and their community.
The annual ECD Awards initiative, which is the only one of its kind in South Africa, has been taking place since 2003. This has been in partnership with the Departments of Basic Education and Social Development, South African Congress of Early Childhood Development, UNICEF, National Development Agency and recently the Department of Health.
The Awards are in the following categories:
Best ECD Practitioner of the Year
Best ECD Centre of the Year
Best ECD Trainer of the Year
Best ECD Publication of the Year
Best ECD Nutrition Programme of the year
Best ECD Non-Centre Based Programme of the Year
Best ECD Programme supporting Babies and Young Children with Disabilities
The ECD Awards categories promote
The improvement of quality of care, protection and development of children.
Skills development of care givers on caring for children and providing them with stimulating environments.
The importance of early childhood development.