Assessing Early Learning and Development in South Africa: Introducing the Thrive by Five Index
Executive Summary
The Thrive by Five Index is a project that collects and presents data to measure the quality of early learning and development in South Africa. It provides information on the proportion of preschool children who are ´on track´ for their age in key areas of development. The dataset is nationally and provincially representative and can be broken down by income quintile and sex. Over 5000 children aged 50 to 59 months, enrolled in almost 1400 early learning programmes across the country, were assessed during the second half of 2021. The Thrive by Five data collection will be repeated every three years to track trends over time. The Index aims to support government departments, NGOs, funders, businesses, and academia in their collective efforts to ensure that more children have positive early life experiences that contribute to their long-term success.
Implementation
The Thrive by Five Index presents data across the following key areas of development:
Learning: Gross Motor Development; Fine Motor Development and Visual Motor Integration; Emergent Numeracy and Mathematics; Cognition and Executive Functioning; Emergent Literacy and Language; Social and Emotional Functioning; Height for Age Children were assessed using the Early Learning Outcomes Measure (ELOM) Direct Assessment Tool and the ELOM Social and Emotional Functioning Rating Scales. These locally developed, standardised tools have been rigorously tested to ensure that they are valid, reliable and culturally and linguistically fair.
Stakeholders and partners involved
The Thrive by Five Index was initiated through a partnership between Innovation Edge and First National Bank (FNB). The Index will be launched as a collaborative effort involving the private, public, and non-profit sectors. The Department of Basic Education (DBE) serves as the anchor government department for the Index. Co-funders of the Index include USAID and ECD Measure.
Impact
The Index reports a staggering 57% of children attending an ELP in South Africa fail to Thrive by Five. These children are not On Track for cognitive and/or physical development. They face barriers to thriving, which limit their chances of realising their full potential. For Early Learning specifically, 45% of South African children attending ELPs are On Track. The remaining 55% of children are not able to do the learning tasks expected of children their age, with 28% of children Falling Far Behind the expected standard. The Department of Basic Education is using this data for the following: ECD practitioner training and development; Strengthening the 0-4 curriculum and materials; Improvements to early learning regulatory and compliance systems; Funding for early learning programmes; Opportunities for public-private partnerships for interventions; Enhanced routine monitoring systems; and Effective bridging programmes for Grade R.
Innovations
Developing Contextually-Relevant Assessment Tools and Enhancing Stakeholder Engagement
The Thrive by Five Index has assisted the DBE to develop more targeted support for ECD programmes, enhancing the accountability and monitoring systems so that they are more focussed on child outcomes and lobbying for additional funding to the sector. It will be important to have an early learning assessment tool which is contextually relevant. Having a masterlist of ECD programmes will also ensure more effective and representative sampling. Finally, a willingness from ECD programmes and parents to allow for the assessment of children will be beneficial.
Constraints
The key constaint was the development of an effective sampling strategy, given the lack of a masterlist of ECD programmes in South Africa. Using primary schools to form clusters for sampling assisted in ensuring national representativity in our sample.
Addressing Early Inequalities in Children´s Experiences is Crucial to Breaking Cycles of Poverty, highlighting the Need for Urgent Collective Action for Better Outcomes and Success in South Africa
Massive inequalities persist in South Africa concerning children´s experiences in their first five years, leading to measurable disparities in child outcomes. Most poor children face significant barriers to success before even entering school, impacting their long-term prospects and reinforcing cycles of poverty. Urgent collective action is necessary to close the performance gap and ensure more children in South Africa thrive by age five, setting them up for success.