Enrichment programme for rural preschool teachers

VISION

Ntataise’s vision is to improve the quality of Early Childhood Development opportunities for children living in disadvantaged rural areas of South Africa. They aim to provide good quality Early Childhood Development opportunities to equip children with a solid foundation for later learning, and to offset some of the negative effects of the environment in which they live, including poverty, disease and alcoholism. Research has shown that timely and appropriate interventions can reverse the effects of early disadvantage and that one way of achieving this is by increasing access to good quality Early Childhood Development programmes.

OVERVIEW

Ntataise Trust has been operating for 26 years and currently works with 60 preschools and 165 preschool teachers, reaching 4 500 children, to improve the standards of teaching at very poor Early Childhood Development centres in rural and township communities in the Free State. The Ntataise Enrichment Programme was introduced in August 2005 as a partnership with the University of Pretoria, to address the need for the implementation of good quality effective learning programmes at preschools in disadvantaged areas. The three-year enrichment programme, currently in its second year of operation with a group of 90 practitioners, is a pilot programme. It builds on the existing knowledge and skills of teachers who have completed their formal training, providing hands-on training with the children as the main focus, and equipping their centres with age-appropriate books, posters and educational toys to develop pre-literacy and numeracy skills. Parents and caregivers are involved through committee training and HIV/AIDS awareness programmes.

WHAT WE LIKE ABOUT THIS PROJECT

• Children from disadvantaged backgrounds, who would not otherwise have the opportunity, will be exposed to good quality early learning. Through their teachers’ enrichment programme, the children will be encouraged to develop early literacy and numeracy skills, as well as the social and emotional skills necessary to adapt to a school community. It is wonderful to see children who have never seen or held a book or crayon, or played with toys to assist their perceptual and conceptual development, enjoying access to suitable books, toys and trained adults for the first time. The programme will ensure that the children have a secure, solid foundation on which to build future learning.

EXPECTED LIFE CHANGE

An investment of R590 000 will enable the second year of the three-year enrichment programme for practitioners to be carried out.

• 90 practitioners with prior theoretical training will have their skills supplemented by hands-on practical training and the provision of resources.
• 3 000 children will receive higher quality preschool education through their teachers’ and centres’ involvement in the three-year programme.
• 60 preschool supervisors will benefit indirectly from the knowledge they will gain from the teachers.
• An estimated 5 500 parents and caregivers will benefit indirectly from the impact of the programme on the quality of their children’s education.
• Direct life change at R187.29 per person per year. Many more children will benefit from the enhanced capacity at these Early Childhood Development centres in future years.

The project has breadth by being spread across 30 Early Childhood Development centres in the Free State. Its depth is ensured through visits to the centres by the trainers, during which they ensure that the practitioners’ new skills are being put into practice. The intensity of the project’s impact is high, since the resources provided and the practitioners’ new knowledge will be used on a daily basis. Although there may be turnover in staff, it is hoped that by training three people from each centre, the effect will be permanent in that the centre as a whole will benefit and will be able to pass on new ways of running learning programmes to future staff.

NEED

Teachers at the Early Childhood Development centres where Ntataise Trust works, in the rural parts of the Free State around Bothaville, Kroonstad, Edenville and Steynsrus, earn between R25 and R300 per month, and any subsidies from the Department of Social Development usually go towards food, leaving no money for equipment or educational resources. In addition, Ntataise’s experience has shown that many of the teachers, although they have completed training courses and have been assessed as competent, are not implementing what they have learned. The teachers are generally poorly educated themselves, with limited or no previous exposure to preschool education. Their formal training has been effective to the extent that it gives them a foundational understanding of Early Childhood Development and the reasons for various preschool activities, but they experience problems when it comes to implementing, in a practical manner, what they have learned in theory. They also have limited access to books and learning equipment. As a result, many of the programmes that are implemented are poor quality.

STRATEGY

The Ntataise Trust is addressing these needs by providing a three-year in-service training and on-site support programme to 90 practitioners from 30 Early Childhood Development centres. This enrichment programme uses a hands-on approach to implementing what the teachers have already learned in theory. The programme is structured in such a way that each participating preschool teacher will receive eight to ten on-site visits a year from a well-trained Early Childhood Development trainer, who will work with them practically. Structured guides for the trainers are being developed to assist with the implementation of a well-rounded daily learning programme. Quarterly workshops are being held for all participating practitioners and evaluation takes place at the end of each calendar year.

ACTION PLAN

Preparation

The programme is already in its second year of operation, but preparation activities before the first year included the following:

• Formation of partnership with the University of Pretoria’s Department of Early Childhood Development.
• Initial orientation workshop for participating teachers
• Collection of baseline data for ongoing evaluation (finding out how practitioners perceive an ideal preschool and what is currently missing)
• Development and documentation of enrichment programme

Implementation

During this second year, the following activities are being carried out:

• Each teacher receives at least eight on-site visits by an experienced Early Childhoo Development trainer to help with the hands-on implementation of high-quality daily learning programmes (supported by the provision of structured guides).
• Central practitioners’ workshops are held quarterly.
• Suitable educational toys and children’s books are purchased and distributed to the Early Childhood Development centres.

Evaluation

• Evaluation at the end of each year is carried out by the trainers and the teachers together with a team from the University of Pretoria.

RISK PROFILE

Key Strengths

• Concept: Although the teachers at Ntataise are serving have a solid theoretical foundation, they have little experience in implementing practical activities. The enrichment programme solves this problem by putting in place hands-on quality daily learning programmes, supported by structured guides and learning resources. The need for the programme has been mutually identified by preschool teachers, trainers and project directors. The programme has been developed with a team approach.
• Design: The course has been developed with the University of Pretoria Early Childhood Development Department and uses Ntataise’s training and preschool curriculum as its base. The ongoing support and assessment by the trainers provided through their regular visits to the Early Childhood Development centres enables meaningful implementation of the programme. The core methodology is tried and tested and involves demonstration, consultation and building on what people already know and have.
• Capability: Ntataise is an established organisation accredited by the Education, Training and Development Practices Sector Education and Training Authority (ETDP Seta), with a good track record and well-qualified trainers. The project director has many years of experience and has come up through the ranks, from pre-school teacher to fieldworker, trainer, training co-ordinator and project director. He is currently being mentored by the previous project director, who is highly experienced.
• Control: Ntataise has well established governance practices, a bookkeeper, an auditor, sound financial controls, good record keeping and good accountability to a Board of Trustees. There are also well developed quality management policies.
• Sustainability: The enrichment programme is only being introduced to teachers who have completed formal training and have a sound theoretical understanding of ECD, so they will be able to make the most of the programme. All the participating ECD centres are affiliates of Ntataise so they are seriously committed (they pay a small affiliation fee of R200 per year). Once the programme is completed the practitioners should be confident to continue implementing the daily programmes. The centres are already established and will continue to operate, and Ntataise will continue to offer ongoing support in a less intensive manner.
• External: The programme has been discussed within communities and accepted by parents, caregivers and local structures.

Key Risks

• Concept: The project is dependent on the dedication of the practitioners to making the most of the opportunities, which cannot always be guaranteed.
• Design: There is a risk that the teachers who are trained will leave or fail to pass on skills and that the benefit will be short-lived. This is, however, mitigated by the fact that three practitioners from each ECD centre are part of the programme.
• Capability: The new project director currently does not have much experience in management, organisational and financial skills, and it may take some time before this capacity is developed. This is mitigated by the mentoring role being played by the former director.
• Sustainability: There is a risk that teachers may drop out, but the fact that other teachers in the affected pre-school are trained too may mitigate this problem.
• External: Theft of new books and equipment is possible. It is possible that some of the trainers or teachers will leave Ntataise during the programme because of factors beyond their control, e.g. illness or death of family members.