Collaborating for Impact: GROW and Oystar Join Forces to Further Empower the South African Early Childhood Development Sector With Digital Technology

9th September 202326th April 2023 by Evolve1979

Announcement South Africa, May 2023 Grow ECD is excited to announce our partnership with Oystar Africa, a tech and innovation company specialising in education. The Grow ECD digital platform (a mobile-first one-stop-shop for the early childhood development sector) is powered by Oystar’s technology. This partnership aims to make Early Childhood Development (ECD) technology more … Read more

Breadline Africa Reaches 1 000 milestone

9th September 202321st February 2023 by Helene Brand

Providing Life-Changing Education Infrastructure for South African Schools thanks to Partnerships The education sector in South Africa faces many challenges, but one of the biggest is a lack of safe and effective infrastructure for early childhood development (ECD) centers. On 17 February 2023, we celebrated a huge achievement with Breadline Africa, a fellow non-profit organization, … Read more

The alarming state of Early Childhood Development in South Africa

10th June 20223rd June 2022 by Helene Brand

Updated June 2022 In South Africa, 1.6 million children (72%) under 6 years old are enrolled to attend an Early Learning Programme meant to prepare them for school. Concerningly, this figure was closer to 2million before the Covid19 pandemic. The decline shows that parents are slow to send their children back to pre-school, possibly due … Read more

How GROW equips local preschools with a one-stop-shop solution and access to finance

3rd June 2022 by Helene Brand

Press release: 1 June 2022 From an easy-to-use app to lesson plans, learner assessment tools and now also pioneering affordable micro-loans: GROW Educare Centres aims to lift the standard of preschool education and management in South Africa. A holistic solution for early learning Running a successful preschool or Early Childhood Development (ECD) centre requires a … Read more

Six important things to know about the #ECDShift

23rd February 202217th February 2022 by Helene Brand

ECD moves from the Department of Social Development to the Department of Basic Education on 1 April 2022 The #ECDShift is the administrative process of moving all the Early Childhood Development (ECD) functions, roles and responsibilities that are currently with the Department of Social Development (DSD) to the Department of Basic Education (DBE). The #ECDShift … Read more

A boost for the Early Childhood Development sector in South Africa as Old Mutual partners with GROW Educare Centres

3rd December 2021 by Helene Brand

Press release – 2 December 2021. It’s a long-held belief that the key to South Africa’s success lies in education. It is also widely understood among education specialists that the earlier a child begins their education the better. That’s why Old Mutual is pleased to announce a partnership with GROW, a leading Early Childhood Development … Read more

Ouma-Vics Daycare & Pre-school – True success story

21st November 202221st May 2021 by Helene Brand

ECD Centre Owner: Victoria Maharaj (left) and her daughter Chantel Qobolo – headteacher and manager (featured in photos below) Centre Name: Ouma-Vics Daycare & Pre-school Location: President Park, Midrand, Gauteng, South Africa Date: May 2021 Mother-Daugther ECD Centre adopts technology and business thinking Ouma Vic’s Preschool and Grade R in Midrand, run by Victoria Maharaj … Read more

Book Week with GROW Educare Centres

29th March 2021 by Helene Brand

Our recent #BookWeek was a great success: all our early learning centres used the opportunity to make reading fun! Theme tables, puppet shows, character dress-ups, guest readers, and much more. Well done and thank you to all our GROW Educare Centres and our Education team. Thank you to everyone who donated books!

How to choose the right preschool or ECD centre for your child

24th January 202219th January 2021 by Helene Brand

GROW Educare Centres helps local women to run more professional, high-quality Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres in developing neighbourhoods across the country. Why should I send my child to an ECD centre? High-quality educare education is crucial to a child’s brain development. It creates the foundation for school readiness by developing foundational skills in literacy, … Read more

Real stories: Women in the ECD sector suffer harshly under lockdown and covid19 impact

14th December 202025th November 2020 by Helene Brand

Lockdown has been hard for many, but the Early Childhood Development (ECD) sector has been hit particularly hard. This industry is run by women working to educate children between 0 and five years old – a crucial time in a child’s development when children learn the skills they need to reach their full potential in … Read more