For 1.3m children, the caregiver is the curriculum — the missing early learning investment

For 1.3 million children outside any programme, there is no teacher or curriculum, only a caregiver. The 2024 Thrive by Five Index found that 56% of these caregivers believed their child was developing at the same pace as their peers, and 35% believed their child was ahead. Despite this reflecting invested caregivers who were paying attention, the same study found that these reflections were not accurate. It found that 82% of children who are not enrolled in early childhood care and education (ECCE) centres are unable to do basic tasks expected of a child their age, and are consequently falling behind their peers.

In response to this, and the broader Thrive By Five results, the government is making concerted efforts to ensure universal access to ECCE by 2030: the Department of Basic Education’s (DBE) 2030 Strategy provides a framework for ECCE sector reform, along with the recent ECD social compact proposition, the Bana Pele registration drive, the National Strategy to Accelerate Action for Children, and the ECD Nutrition Support Programme. These measures seek not only to radically increase access through enrolling seven million children in structured programmes by 2030, but also to increase the quality of these programmes. Another important initiative is the $29-million ECCE Outcomes Fund, a multisectoral collaboration between the DBE, National Treasury and a range of philanthropic and implementing partners. Launched in 2025, the Fund also seeks to increase both the reach and the quality of ECCE programming. The government’s drive to include all children in quality structured programmes is commendable. 

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