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MOSSEL BAY NEWS - A Mossel Bay NPO offers training to people working with preschool children so that the children are properly equipped for school and Christian values are instilled in them.

The training is suitable for those wanting to do a short, non-accredited course, right through to those wanting a formal, accredited qualification.

The NPO saw the need to offer this training because of the high percentage of children who drop out of school. Many of those who drop out were not properly prepared for school during the early childhood development (ECD) phase of their education, it has been found.

Social responsibility
The NPO, which is the social responsibility arm of the church, Every Nation Mossel Bay, is called Growing Hope and its project which offers this ECD training is Growing Children.

Every Nation is a global church network with churches in 80 nations. There are 61 Every Nation churches in Southern Africa.

The Growing Hope NPO's project, Growing Children, is led by Ché Clarke, who was an intermediate-senior phase (Intersen) and FET teacher. She is SA Council of Educators accredited and she has an honours degree in Theology.

So far Ché has trained more than 100 men and women. Preschool and school staff, social workers, children's ministry leaders and parents of children aged one to five, and older, can all benefit from the training offered by Growing Children.

There is an average of 10 attendees in each course, with 20 children in their classes, so 200 children are impacted positively by each course. Ché says the courses have a foundation of biblical principles which focus on the spiritual development of the child, therefore whole communities can be changed, empowering a future generation to have godly values and make the right choices.

PHOTO GALLERY: NPO offers training  to people working with preschool children

Growing Children offers three courses:

• The first - over five days - follows the Isivuno programme, providing attendees with a year's worth of lesson plans. It covers everything from starting up a preschool, to daily running of it, to lessons and discipline.
  
  It is in line with Department of Education requirements.
  
  
• The second course, over four days, is a National Curriculum Framework (NCF) course. Attendees receive an attendance certificate.
  
  It covers all the aspects of early learning development areas (ELDAs) that preschool teachers should know about.
  
  
• The third course, 12-month training, provides the nationally accredited ECD Level 4 qualification. A high school Grade 11 is required before one does the course.
  
  The qualification is recognised by the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) and it is ideal for those wishing to work in a preschool or foundation phase environment, for social workers and for au pairs.
  
  This course also takes into account recognition of prior learning (RPL) in the field; this contributes towards the attendees' credits for the qualification.

Reasonably priced
The courses offered by Growing Children are reasonably priced, so that people who might not have had the opportunity to be trained before, can be accommodated.

Ché says: "In 2024 we will focus on empowering the unemployed. Bursaries are now available for the Level 4 course."

Another focus of Growing Children is mentoring and assisting preschools in becoming compliant in order to register as ECD centres.If you would like to sponsor or donate to Growing Hope and/or Growing Children, become involved or volunteer, or sponsor a bursary for one of the students, contact Ché (082 567 1739 or che@growinghope.co.za). See www.facebook.com/growinghopesouthafrica and https://growinghope.co.za.

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