For too long, South Africa’s (SA’s) ECD system has locked out the very children who need it most.
More than five years ago, ECD practitioners across the country read a Bill meant to support them, and rejected it. Through over 1,600 submissions, they told Parliament it failed to reflect the realities of ECD programmes in their homes, churches, community halls, townships, informal settlements and rural villages.
Real Reform for ECD was born at that moment.
In 2020, a Children’s Amendment Bill tabled before Parliament missed the mark. It failed to address the systemic barriers that prevent ECD programmes from registering, accessing support and reaching the children who need them most. Fast forward to 7 May 2026, there is a reason to celebrate.
Cabinet approved a revised Children’s Act Amendment Bill on 7 May 2026 that goes a long way towards addressing systemic challenges that have long held the sector back, marking a major milestone for SA’s young children and the ECD practitioners who care for them.
This moment has been years in the making. It represents a significant victory for the thousands of practitioners who joined forces to demand real reform for the ECD sector – reform that addresses barriers preventing ECD programmes from registering, accessing support and reaching the children who need them most. Together, we are showing that it is possible for ECD practitioners, parents and caregivers, and other people who care about young children to participate in creating laws that deliver for everyone in SA.
The new Bill would create a step-change in the ECD system. The current regulation of ECD programmes under the Children’s Act works against vulnerable children, putting access to quality services out of reach. Most ECD programmes serving poorer communities cannot meet the requirements for registration. And if an ECD programme is not registered, it cannot access the government’s ECD subsidy, currently R24 per eligible child per day.
‘Impossible’ choices
This creates a brutal catch-22: the ECD programmes that need it most are least likely to benefit from government funding. ECD practitioners must instead rely on small fees paid by parents and caregivers — forcing them to make impossible choices between paying staff, buying cleaning materials and feeding the children in their care.
One of the main purposes of the Bill is to fix this dire problem and ensure all young children can access quality ECD programmes on an equitable basis. How will this be achieved?
First, the overly burdensome, two-step registration system (under which an ECD centre must register as both a partial care facility and an ECD programme) will be replaced with a single, streamlined registration process.
Second, the Bill will recognise the diversity of SA’s ECD sector, with tailored registration requirements for modalities such as toy libraries, mobile programmes, playgroups and childminders.
Third, there will be a much clearer mandate for the government to support ECD programmes to meet registration requirements. Instead of being locked out of the system, under-resourced programmes will get the support they need to improve the service they provide. In these ways, the Bill will provide a strong legislative foundation for the Bana Pele Mass Registration Drive, securing a fairer, more equitable, more supportive system for years to come.
When the ECD function shifted to the Department of Basic Education in 2022, Real Reform for ECD wrote to the Minister with a clear message: if SA was serious about expanding access to ECD, the new department had to fix the legal framework standing in the sector’s way.
Reforms a significant milestone
We called for many of the reforms that are now captured in the Bill. This is why Cabinet’s approval for the ECD Children’s Act Amendment Bill is such a significant milestone.
And to its credit, the Department of Basic Education did not treat the sector as an obstacle. It welcomed the support of experts through a Technical Task Team process. Real Reform for ECD, together with practitioners, partners and technical experts, was able to contribute legal and policy input, while continuing to hold the process accountable to the realities of the sector.
This has been a years-long process of organising, listening, technical work, advocacy and persistence. There were delays, technical disagreements and moments of frustration.
For practitioners who are trying to keep programmes open every day, legal reform can feel painfully slow. Children grow quickly. A year is a long time in the life of a young child.
Not perfect solution – yet
The Bill now approved by Cabinet is not perfect and will not on its own solve every challenge facing ECD in SA. Real change does not happen when documents are signed, but when children receive healthy meals and loving care; when a practitioner who has spent years outside of the formal system is finally able to register; when a child who qualifies for support is actually funded.
It happens when a government system becomes easier to navigate and not harder. Nonetheless, the Bill is a crucial and urgently needed step in the right direction.
Cabinet approval is not the finish line.
The Bill must still be tabled in Parliament, processed and – ultimately – passed. As a sector, we must organise, participate in the process and tell Parliament what this Bill means to us. And Parliament must act with the requisite urgency, prioritise SA’s young children, and pass the Bill without delay.
We cannot sacrifice the early years of another generation before we deliver on the promise of change. DM
Tess Peacock is the Director of the Equality Collective. Tshepo Mantjé is the Right to ECD Senior Coordinator at the Equality Collective and the Real Reform for ECD movement’s coordinator. Tatiana Kazim is the Research and Advocacy Lead at Equality Collective and a steering committee member of the Real Reform for ECD movement. Kayin Scholtz is the Digital Transformation Manager with SmartStart. Hopolang Selebalo is the Advocacy Lead at SmartStart. Standford Ndlovu is the Special Projects and Partnerships Manager at Masinyusane Development Organisation and a member of the steering committee of the Real Reform for ECD movement. Daniel Peter Al-Naddaf is a Researcher at the Equal Education Law Centre and a member of the steering committee of the Real Reform for ECD movement.