A total of 25 teachers at Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres from Heideveld, Delft and Lansdowne attended a workshop at Jumpstart Pre-School in Kenwyn on Saturday 15 October.
Norma Aloile, from the City of Cape Town’s ECD department, saw the need to upskill ECD teachers and approached Aziza Ebrahim, principal of Jumpstart, to assist in the training sessions.
“This is one of many training sessions where ECD teachers are trained in lesson planning, using recycled materials as learning tools and ensuring that all children get equal learning experiences in all communities,” says Ebrahim, who facilitated Level 5 and Diploma Groups at Northlink College.
Ebrahim says chairpersons, principals and teachers were positively impacted by the sessions and gave great reviews to Aloile about the curriculum development and class management training at the workshop.
“Bottle tops are used for counting, empty boxes are used for starting a discussion on colour, shape and so on. Plastic spoons can be used to make spoon puppets to get the conversation around a table going. In light of matrics thinking of careers, I would advice them to volunteer at an ECD before enrolling at a tertiary institution.”
Ebrahim says anyone who loves children and who are determined to make a difference in society, need to firstly volunteer at any ECD centre to gain some experience.
“Thereafter, once commitment is shown, they may apply, via their ECD principal to study ECD learnerships. A monthly stipend is given to students to study over 18 months. Experience in an ECD centre plays a pivotal role in understanding and completing assignments,” she says.
These workshops were offered this year and will continue in the future to ensure “no child is left behind” in their educational journey.
Matriculants can approach ECD centres in their community, volunteer or possibly work at an ECD centre and then further their studies after a few years in the ECD sector.
Ebrahim emphasises how important the workshops are and the efforts ECD teachers put in on a daily basis.
“ ‘No child must be left behind’ led to this training, so that ECD centres all provide quality learning experiences.”
