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101 450 children reached

101 450 children reached

220 000 children reached

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7 000 Practitioners trained

7 000 Practitioners trained

18 000 practitioners trained

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Help us reach 1 million children every year by 2030

Help us reach 1 million children every year by 2030

Help us reach 1 million children every year by 2030

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Giving Bright Futures an Early Start

Giving Bright Futures
an Early Start

SmartStart was established in 2015 to close the access gap to early learning opportunities. These remain out of reach for the majority of children, especially those in underserved communities

From the outset, SmartStart and its partners knew that an entirely new solution was needed. One that could be delivered at speed and scale at grassroots level and integrate every aspect of the early learning value chain.

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How?

How?

By harnessing the power of partnership, community,
and collaboration, SmartStart provides a unique National Delivery Platform that addresses the lack of affordable, quality early learning programmes, the shortage of pre-schools and the dire need for trained and licensed practitioners, while creating new employment opportunities.

The SmartStart Early Learning Programme has been developed to:

1) Improve children’s readiness for learning, school performance and overall success in life.

2) Be delivered by Early Learning Practitioners – smart, caring individuals from the local communities that are specially recruited, trained and licensed by SmartStart and its partners.

Today, we support a rapidly expanding nationwide network of Early Learning Practitioners who are licensed to implement our quality early learning programme for children aged between three and five years.

Our Vision

Our Vision

Every child in South Africa has access to quality early learning programmes.

Our Mission

Our Mission

To ensure all children have the right foundations in place to succeed, while creating employment and social enterprise opportunities, and stimulating economic activity in our most under-resourced communities.

Our Strategic Objectives

Our Strategic Objectives

To close the early learning access gap, we need to:

Close the early learning Opportunity gap

Close the early learning Supply gap

Close the early learning Funding gap

Our Board of Directors

Our Board of Directors

The SmartStart Board of Directors regulates how the organisation is conducted, to further the mission of SmartStart, in accordance with principles of good governance. The Board is directly accountable to the founder organisations and bears ultimate responsibility for the Organisation achieving the purposes for which it exists. Providing leadership and strategic governance, the duties and responsibilities of the Board include, determining the Organisation’s strategic direction, annual budgets, and major initiatives.

Click on the smiles to meet the Board Members.

Carley Furness-Symm
Chairperson
David Harrison
Board Member
Nicola Galombik
Board Member
Siven Maslamoney
Alternate Director

Our Executive Team

Our Executive Team

The growing SmartStart team is responsible for orchestrating processes, systems and support to the SmartStart network.

Click on the smiles to meet the SmartStart teams.

Carley Furness-Symms

Board Chairperson

Carley is a Director: Programs at the ELMA Philanthropies Services (Africa)(Pty)Ltd), managing the Johannesburg office. She has worked in the Early Childhood, Community Development, and Human Rights sectors for the past fifteen years. At the ELMA Philanthropies, Carley has played a leading role in the development of the Early Childhood Development portfolio in Southern Africa and leads the portfolio on supporting constitutional democracy in South Africa.

Grace Matlhape

Chief Executive Officer

Leading a team that’s changing the country one child at a time and staying ahead by putting our best foot forward, always.

Kuben Pillay

Chief Financial Officer

Nomvula Matlare

Brand & Communications Lead

Calisto Kondowe

Development Co-Lead

….

Thandeka Mabaso

Kwa-Zulu Natal Branch Manager

Samantha Maasdorp

Network Strategist

Working with a network of practitioners who are reshaping the ECD landscape, making affordable, quality early learning services accessible to every child.

Azola Fali

Operations Lead

Jon Hodgson

People & OD Lead

SmartStart is a systemic effort to afford early play-learning to all (for the practice of freedom). I can enable SmartStart’s people to do better work together.

Hopolang Selebalo

Policy & Advocacy Lead

Justine Jowell

Programme Design Lead

My passion for early learning started while working with young people at risk, and experiencing the impact of the lack of nurturing and stimulating environments on children and young adults as they grow. I love working for SmartStart as I have the privilege of being part of supporting and creating opportunities for nurturing relationships and quality early learning  environments for children that are so critical to their, and our country’s, success.