Question NW633 to the Minister of Social Development

PROVINCE

(a) total number of early childhood development (ECD) centres are equipped to handle disabled children in the Republic

(b)Measures taken to ensure that the needs of disabled children are provided for in ECD centres

EC

The Eastern Cape has 34 Special Day Care Centres for Children living with Disabilities.

The 34 Special Day Care Centres for Children living with Disability has been funded for 2021/22 financial year.

FS

There are 10 ECD centres equiped to handle children with disabilities.

All these centres are equiped with ramps, rails and disablitiy accesable toilet facilities.

A 5% of the subsidy is utilised to procure stimulation material that includes children with disablities.

In ECD centres where children with disablities are admitted, the Department in partnership with the Department of Education and Health provides appropriate care and support using the strategy on scerening, idenfication and Support (SIAS) to assess in order to curb the unnecasessary placement in day care centres thereby promoting mainstreaming.

The ECD classrooms are made approriate and play equipment adapted to accomodate children with Disabilities.

GP

There are 73 ECD centres that are currently accomodating children with disabilities.

The province has partnered with a Sector on Persons with Disabilities to capacitate ECD Practitioners on the identification, learning and stimulation of children with special needs to promote inclusion.The indicator is on the Province APP to ensure inclusion of children with disabilities in the sector.

KZN

All the funded ECD centers in KwaZulu Natal are equipped to handle disabled children.

The educators in ECD Centers were trained to handle children with disabilities. The Province did revamps in the ECD Centers for easy access by children with disabilities.

LP

There are hundred and two (102) centres

There are on-going capacity building sessions on management of children with disabilities offered by a multi-disciplinary team (Primary Health Care Practitioners, Occupational, speech and hearing therapists) from the Department of Health. A 5% of the subsidy is utilised to procure stimulation material.

NC

The centres are not fully equipped to render ECD services to all children with disabilities. The Northern-Cape Province had seven (7) ECD Facilities registered as centres providing ECD services to children with disabilities, but two (2) of the seven (7) centres closed and two (2) decided to mainstream due to poor attendance of children younger than seven (7) years.

parents and practitioners are supported and capacitated through programmes rendered by Uhambo, an NGO appointed by the Department of Health and Occupational Therapists stationed at clinics and some appointed by DBE to stimulate the children at the centres and at home.

NW

The Provincial Social

Development has

equipped 150 ECD

centres through

training of ECD

Practitioners on

Inclusive Education

for children with

special needs during

2019/20

financial year

The Department is continuously

Conducting workshops on the

minimum Norms and Standards that provides guidance on the accessibility of Partial Care and ECD Centres to children with disabilities.

A total number of 400 parents and caregivers were trained on parenting programme to enable them to provide Early Childhood Development services for children with special needs.

Training was also conducted in partnership with the Department of Health on the Nutrition Guideline for ECD practitioners from 134 ECD Centres.

WC

5 Registered facilities accommodates children with disabilities.

The focus on children with disabilities is an imperative. To this end, the Department is piloting the registration of partial care facilities/day care centres for children with disabilities to give effect to the legislative mandate prescribed by Chapter 5 of the Children’s Act, 38 of 2005.  One registration was concluded already.

In addition, the department funds two social service organisations to provide capacity to ECD practitioners to encourage inclusion of children with special needs using the inclusive education and persona dolls approaches.