1. PROGRESS ON ECD SERVICES AND PROGRAMMES
PRESENTATION TO THE
SELECT COMMITTEE
21 JUNE 2017
Top Management - 15 October 2010

2. PURPOSE OF THE PRESENTATION
To brief the Committee on progress made pertaining to Early Childhood Development (ECD) since May 2015 during the NCOP plenary meeting held on 26 May 2015.

3. PROGRESS MADE ON UNDETAKINGS MADE AT THE NCOP PLENARY MEETING HELD 26 MAY 2015
Continuation of the extension of services to children in the zero to five years age cohort took place the past two years.
The National Integrated ECD Policy which guides the extension of the ECD services has been approved by Cabinet on 09 December 2015.

4. PROGRESS (cont…)
All provinces capacitated on the National Integrated ECD Policy people from different departments and civil society attended.
Draft National Integrated Implementation Plan compiled and consulted with partner departments since 08 December 2016.
Process underway to ensure the inclusion of outstanding inputs from some departments in the Integrated Implementation Plan. Final Plan to be submitted to Cabinet for approval before the end of 2017/18 financial year.

5. PROGRESS (CONT….): BACKGROUND TO THE CONDITIONAL GRANT FOR ECD
In order to enhance the implementation of the ECD policy, Treasury has allocated R812 million as a conditional grant for 2017/18 (R ) and 2018/19 (R ). This is to enable National DSD to better control and ring-fence expansion of ECD in the country in line with the approved national Integrated ECD Policy.
The allocation will be used to increase coverage of children accessing ECD services through the ECD subsidy to poor children as well as assist to improve the conditionally registered ECD centres to meet basic requirements in order to be fully registered.
The grant is divided into two:
Subsidy component to cover 104,000 children by 2018/19
ECD maintenance component to upgrade 4000 sites by 2018/19
Five national workshops were held with provinces to prepare for the implementation of the Conditional Grant

6. PROGRESS (CONT….): BACKGROUND TO THE CONDITIONAL GRANT FOR ECD
A comprehensive document was sent to the provinces on the 25 May 2016 which included the following:
Submission to HOD’s on the grant including timelines for implementation;
Criteria for assessment of ECD’s;
The assessment tool; and
The database template

7. PROGRESS (CONT…) SUMMARY ALLOCATION
2016/17
2017/18
2018/19
R' 000
Early Childhood Development Grant -
319,828
493,065
ECD subsidy expansion
250,000
413,187
ECD centre maintenance
69,828
79,878
12 February 2018

8. PROGRESS (CONT…) KEY CONDITIONS OF THE ECD CONDITIONAL GRANT
A. Subsidy Grant
The grant will assist registered centres that are not fully funded from the equitable share, fully registered centres that are not funded or conditionally registered partial care facilities not funded offering Early Childhood Development programmes.
The subsidy is targeted for qualifying children from birth to 5 years or until they enter Grade R.
The value of the subsidy paid is at a rate of R15 per child for a maximum period of 264 days to equalize and standardize number of days.
12 February 2018

9. PROGRESS (CONT…) KEY CONDITIONS OF THE ECD CONDITIONAL GRANT
B. Maintenance Grant
Partial care facilities offering ECD programmes that are registered conditionally will be eligible for the maintenance grant.
ECD centres must be conditionally registered
Minor building and maintenance improvements aimed at ensuring ECD centres comply with the health and safety norms and standards, as identified by the National Department of Social Development will be funded from the grant.

10. PROGRESS (CONT…) KEY CONDITIONS OF THE ECD CONDITIONAL GRANT (cont..)
B. Maintenance Grant (cont…)
The maximum value to be spent per ECD centre for maintenance improvements is R100  Initially, it was R32,000 which was increased following assessments done by provinces)
Prior approval for any amount exceeding the R100 000 should be obtained from the HOD and CFO.
The exceeding amount should not be more than 30% of the R100 000.
Provinces must conduct assessments of conditionally registered centres and cost them in order to qualify for maintenance grant funding in 2018/19.
All maintenance projects must be recorded on the National Treasury Infrastructure Reporting Model (IRM).

11. PROGRESS (CONT…) CATEGORIES FOR MAINTENANCE COMPONENT
Health and Safety
Minor Building improvement
Early Learning Material
Equipment
12 February 2018
Audit Committee

12. PROGRESS (CONT…) STEPS AND TIMELINES FOR THE PROCESS
01 August 2016 to 30 September 2016
01 March 2016 to 31 July 2016
National analysis of the lists from provinces
Approval of the final list
Identification of ECD’s.
Assessment of Issues
Costing of the issues
Categorisation of ECD’s
01 October 2016 to 31 October 2016
Finalisation of the CG framework and allocations
Reporting as per conditional grant
Database management
Payment approval
Invoice management
Implementation (Fixing the issues)
01 April 2017 to 31 March 2019

13. PROGRESS (CONT…) RESPONSIBILITIES OF NATIONAL DEPARTMENT
Monitoring of implementation, progress and compliance to conditional grant framework;
Provide the guidelines and criteria for the development and approval of Business Plans;
To approve the Business Plan submitted by provinces;
Monitor implementation through project site visits and provide support on a monthly and/or quarterly basis;
Submitted the allocation criteria for 2017 MTEF provincial allocations and the Conditional Grant Framework to National Treasury by 30th November 2016;

14. PROGRESS (CONT…): RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE NATIONAL DEPARTMENT (cont…)
Comply with prescribed terms and conditions of the national transferring officer outlined in the Division of Revenue Act (DoRA);
Submit monthly financial reports to National Treasury 15 days after the end of the month;
Consolidate and submit quarterly performance reports to National Treasury within 45 days after the end of each quarter;
Monitor the utilisation of the grant against the set outcomes and take appropriate action in cases of non-compliance;
Submit an annual evaluation report after the end of the 2017/18 financial year;

15. PROGRESS (CONT…) RESPONSIBILITIES OF PROVINCES
Appointment and management of service providers;
Develop Business Plans and submit after they get signed off by Heads of Department to national DSD;
Provinces to implement the Business Plans as approved by national department (national should be notified in writing about deviations before implementation can take place);
Comply with terms and conditions of the receiving officer outlined in the Division of Revenue Act (DoRA);
Submit monthly financial reports to National Treasury 15 days after the end of the month;
Submit quarterly performance reports to national department within 30 days after the end of each quarter;
12 February 2018

16. PROGRESS (CONT…) TOTAL ALLOCATION TO PROVINCES
Column A
Column B
Allocation
MTEF Estimates
2017/18
2018/19
2019/20
R'000
Eastern Cape
56 365
86 968
91 830
Free State
18 398
25 903
27 346
Gauteng
38 489
61 883
65 344
KwaZulu-Natal
71 879
Limpopo
41 085
62 414
65 901
Mpumalanga
25 799
39 989
42 223
Northern Cape
13 761
18 127
19 139
North West
32 686
51 692
54 581
Western Cape
19 150
31 477
33 235
Total

17. PROGRESS (CONT…) PAYMENT SCHEDULES
PROVINCE
Actual /proposed payment date
Actual amount Q1
Actual/proposed payment date
Actual/proposed amount Q2 Q3 Q4
Total amount for 2017/18 EC
17 May
31 July
31 October
30 January 2018 FS
14 July GP
KZN
30 June
29 September
29 December
31 March 2018

18. PROGRESS (CONT…) PAYMENT SCHEDULES
PROVINCE
Actual /proposed payment date
Actual amount Q1
Actual/proposed payment date
Actual/proposed amount Q2 Q3 Q4
Total amount for 2017/18
LIM
17 May
31 July
31 October
30 January 2018
MPU
03 July
2 October
15 January 2018 NC NW
15 August
15 November WC

19. NATIONAL PROGRESS TO DATE
Consultations with provinces have been done;
Final criteria for qualifying ECD centres has been agreed between National, Provinces and National Treasury;
Standard operating procedures document has been developed;
Business Plan was developed and sent to provinces;
The terms of reference for the appointment of service providers have been developed with provinces;
Invoice payment management and process finalised;
Conditional Framework linked to the Division of Revenue Act (DoRA) has been developed, finalised and submitted to National Treasury;
Levels of registration framework for ECD centres has been developed and being finalised through consultation with provinces and environmental health professionals;
Guidelines for implementation of the ECD Conditional Grant have been developed and finalized (Maintenance Grant Component);
Service Level Agreements for maintenance and subsidy have been developed;

20. NATIONAL PROGRESS TO DATE
All provinces have submitted their Business Plans to national DSD;
Payment schedule has been approved by the Director General and submitted to National Treasury;
Payments of the grant will be done to provinces on a quarterly basis and the first payment to be done by end of May 2017;
Conditional Grant Project Team to provide technical support to provinces on subsidies and infrastructure is being put in place through the Human Resource unit;
The following approved documents were forwarded to provinces:
1.Service Level Agreement (SLA) template for the Subsidy and maintenance
2.Guidelines for the conditional grant;
3.Checklist for submission of claims to National DSD/ Claim Certificate;
4.The approved ECD Conditional Grant Framework.
5. Payment schedules

21. PROVINCIAL PROGRESS TO DATE
It is to be noted that all provinces will receive their payments on 16 June 2017 but Gauteng and Western Cape Provinces need to be verified first. A total of R81 million will then be transferred. Detail progress is as follows:
EASTERN CAPE:
Service Level Agreements (SLAs) signed 05 June 2017
The claim certificate sent to National DSD on 9 June 2017
Pre-implementation workshop was held 26 May 2017 with districts to give guidance on implementation of the conditional grant.
They have advertised posts for administration of the conditional grant, the closing date was 26 May 2017 – CG post positions still to be interviewed.

22. PROVINCIAL PROGRESS TO DATE
FREE STATE :
The claim certificate sent to NDSD on 6 June 2017.
The SLAs to be signed by the 23 June 2017.
Approval for advertisement is awaited from the HOD.
KWAZULU-NATAL:
The claim certificate sent to NDSD on 9 June 2017.
Finalised process of signing of the SLAs and awaiting the approval from the HOD.
Pre-implementation workshop was held 29 to 31 May 2017 with districts to give guidance on implementation of the conditional grant.
Appointed four new CG staff members from 01 June 2017.

23. PROVINCIAL PROGRESS TO DATE
LIMPOPO
Service Level Agreements were signed by 13 June 2017
Claim certificates was sent to National DSD on 13 May 2017 but without the maintenance part.
Verification was conducted and completed on 26 May 2017.
Advertising for CG posts was done and closing date is 15 June 2017.
MPUMALANGA
Service Levels Agreements (SLAs) signed on 02 June 2017.
Interviews for CG positions scheduled for 19 June 2017.
Admin clerk already interviewed on 05 June 2017
Claim certificate was submitted on 08 June 2017.

24. PROVINCIAL PROGRESS TO DATE
NORTHERN CAPE
Claim certificates was submitted to NDSD on 9 June 2017.
Conditional Grant – project manager post interview was held on 14 June 2017; Quantity surveyor post applications received were not compliant; Admin post shortlisting has been done and HOD was requested to sign it off.
NORTH WEST
Pre-implementation workshop will be held on 20 June 2017 with district officials to give guidance on the implementation of the conditional grant.
Service level agreements not yet signed.
Shortlisting for the interviews taking place currently as interviews will be conducted on 01 July 2017.
Claim certificate submitted to NDSD 29 May 2017.

25. PROVINCIAL PROGRESS TO DATE
WESTERN CAPE
Claim certificate was submitted on 19 May 2017.
Appointed a service provider (Western Cape Foundation for Community Work).
SLAs were done for the infrastructure but the SLAs for the subsidy are still to be done.
GAUTENG:
Claim certificate was submitted on 06 June 2017.
SLAs were signed from 11 to 19 May 2017.
The advertisement information has been submitted to the HRD for advertising.
Pre-implementation workshops were held from 25 May 2017 to 17 June with district officials to give guidance on the implementation of the conditional grant.

26. NUMBER OF CENTRES TO BENEFIT FROM MAINTENANCE GRANT PER PROVINCE
Total
Gauteng 15
Western Cape 53
Northern Cape 66
North West 48
Free State 79
Mpumalanga 62
Limpopo 98
KwaZulu Natal
117
Eastern Cape
180
Grand Total
718
12 February 2018
Audit Committee

27. ADMINISTRATION FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GRANT
National DSD have allocated R2.3 million for administrative management of the grant;
Provinces are to utilise R2.1 million from their conditional grant allocation for administrative management of the grant, this includes capacity to manage the grant and funding for maintenance improvement assessments of ECD centres.
Proposed Administration Support for National
1 Project Manager, 3 ECD project coordinators(subsidy), 3 infrastructure coordinators, 3 state accountants and 2 administration officers.
Proposed Administration Support for Provinces
Programme coordinators(subsidy) x 9, Project coordinators(maintenance)x9 Administration officer x9, Chief Quantity Survey x9

28. WAY FORWARD PERTAINING TO THE CONDITIONAL GRANT
National DSD will continue to meet with provinces and provide technical support, for instance a meeting is being planned for early July 2017.

29. PROGRESS (CONT….):
Statistics pertaining to children benefitting from ECD services as at the end of 2015/16 are as follows:
Total number of registered ECD Centres
Total number of children subsidized:
Total number of children accessing ECD Services:
Figures for 2016/17 are still in process to be consolidated.

30. PROGRESS ON OTHER AREAS OF ECD
Institutional arrangements, coordination and integration:
A report on the feasibility study finalised and currently on agenda for discussion on different structures and forums;
The feasibility study supported government coordination with political support and additional capacity regarding human and financial resources.
The National Interdepartmental Committee for ECD is meeting bi-monthly to enhance coordination and integration.

31. PROGRESS ON OTHER AREAS OF ECD (cont…)
Comprehensive ECD Programmes/Services:
The comprehensive programme has been aligned with the ECD Policy;
Five training sessions were done on the Parental/primary Caregiver Capacity Building Training package for six provinces in 2016/17 and May 2017, capacitating 147 master trainers for the rolling-out of the Parental Programme.
Trained master trainers are expected to develop a roll-out plan to capacitate parent and primary caregivers in 2017/18.

32. PROGRESS ON OTHER AREAS OF ECD (cont…)
Human resources, training and capacity building:
Human resource plan for ECD sector being developed -led by DBE - and consultations are taking place in provinces;
ECD HRD to guide the process of registration of ECD Practitioners.
DHET has developed a policy on minimum qualification requirements for practitioner/teacher education through a qualification framework to accommodate prior learning, experience, and progression in career advancement.
The Policy was approved and published in the Government Gazette No dated 31 march 2017.

33. PROGRESS ON OTHER AREAS OF ECD (cont…)
Funding and partnerships:
A draft DSD Sector Financing Strategy was compiled to inform and address cost driving matters for ECD service delivery matters;
Gaps were identified and funding models are to be developed linked to the Financing Strategy.
National Lotteries Commission has confirmed funding (R463 million) for 208 projects with 96 buildings and 112 education-containers for 9 provinces.
CIPLA, a pharmaceutical company, has built one ECD Centre in Limpopo that is ready for launching.
A partnership has been established with the ECD Donor Funding Forum for future collaboration.

34. PROGRESS ON OTHER AREAS OF ECD (cont…)
Research, Monitoring and Evaluation:
Monitoring indicators based on the ECD Policy are under review with all M&E units of the core partner departments.
Management Information System (MIS) for ECD being developed with Information Technology (IT) using the audit information as baseline;
Data base information to be used for National Integrated Social Protection Information System (NISPIS);
A consortium of donors to assist with data collection in all existing ECD programmes on children and ECD centres registered and non registered to be uploaded in the DSD system and will be part of NISPIS;

35. PROGRESS ON OTHER AREAS OF ECD (cont…)
Communication and Awareness:
Draft communication strategy was developed by the communication unit in conjunction with the partner departments and GCIS to facilitate integrated inter-sectoral awareness messages.;
Management Information System (MIS) for ECD being developed with Information Technology (IT) using the audit information as baseline;
A draft national registration plan has been developed to call for all service providers to register their ECD Centres and Programmes.
Provinces are driving awareness campaigns during national health and protection awareness campaigns .

36. RECOMMENDATION
The Select Committee note the of progress made pertaining to ECD since May 2015 to date.

37. THANK YOU