Reaching One Million Children
It is estimated that there are more than five million children under the age of 5 years in South Africa.
More than one-million of them are not in any early learning programme or Early Childhood Development Centre with 40% of them living in underserved communities across the country.
SmartStart with your help, works to reach that one-million children and give each of them the power to succeed!
SmartStart and you
The first five years of a child’s life set the foundation for their future success at school, and beyond.
To develop these fundamental skills and behaviours, children need a nurturing, safe space and a caring adult to help them along the way.
SmartStart’s social franchise model delivers affordable, quality early learning nationwide by recruiting and training suitable individuals from within local communities to be registered and licensed Early Learning Practitioners.
In addition to personal applications, we work closely with communities and NGOs to source ideal candidates – including existing, unregistered early learning practitioners – and provide the skills and support they need to offer a quality service.
In this way, we can close the early learning gap to accessible, affordable, quality early learning programmes in our communities, while creating sustainable employment and micro-enterprise opportunities.
Smart Programme Overview
The SmartStart programme is focussed on achieving three key outcomes for children that participate in our programmes:
Healthy Relationships
The ability to form relationships that make them happy and give them a secure foundation.
Confident Communication
To be a smart a thinker and communicator, who uses language effectively to listen, reason and speak.
Confident Communication
To develop core general skills like self-control, perseverance, flexibility and memory, which are essential for success.
Have you got what it takes?
To be considered for the SmartStart’s Early Learning Practitioner programme, you will need to have:
Become a SmartStart Practitioner
Once you have expressed your interest and if SmartStart is operating close your area, we will contact you to attend a selection day (our Matching Day).
If you are successfully matched, we will train and licence you as a SmartStart Early Learning practitioner. You will be able to run your own early learning programme as a social enterprise, generating an income through a combination of parent fees, subsidies, and stipends.
We empower and support you so that you can empower children. Speak to us about becoming a SmartStart practitioner today.
Click apply below to get started.
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