According to the Thrive by Five Index 2024, a comprehensive national survey of preschool child outcomes, only 42% of four-year-olds enrolled in early learning programmes (ELPs) are on track for early learning, while 28% are falling behind and 30% are falling far behind.
This means that approximately 29% of four-year-olds (around 350,000 children) were not attending an early learning programme in 2024.
According to Woolworths, this evidence reinforces the importance of investing not simply in access to ECD, but in the quality, capacity and sustainability of centres and practitioners serving young children.
“Research has shown that the first five years of a child’s life are foundational to their development, wellbeing and ability to learn,” says Joy Lange, general manager of Woolworths’ Community Inclusive Justice Institute, which manages its social impact programmes.
“For Woolworths, supporting children means looking beyond the classroom and investing in the educators and communities that shape their earliest experiences.”
The index found a significant relationship between programme quality and children’s learning outcomes, with teaching strategies and the quality of interactions between practitioners and children among the important predictors of learning outcomes.
Through partnerships with non-profit organisations, Rhiza Babuyile and Impande Yotshani, Woolworths is piloting different approaches to ECD.
“These partnerships give us the opportunity to test different approaches to ECD as we intend to make a meaningful and measurable impact as an extension of our commitment to making a difference towards quality basic education,” adds Lange.
It is funding practitioner development, business and sustainability skills, and infrastructure improvements.
Collectively, these initiatives are expected to benefit more than 340 young children through improved infrastructure, hygiene facilities and learning environments.
“By extending our social impact efforts into early childhood development, we are contributing earlier to children’s educational journeys, helping address inequalities at their roots and creating opportunities for more children to reach their full potential, regardless of where they are born or the circumstances of their family.”
“Through supporting practitioners, learning environments and the sustainability of ECD centres, we are helping to build the foundations children need to thrive at school and beyond. This is what turning our commitment to ‘Leave No Child Behind’ into practical action looks like,” Lange says in conclusion.
![Image credit: [https://kaboompics.com/photo/42026/blue-plastic-sheet-abstract-texture-vertical-composition Kaboompics]]](https://biz-file.com/c/2610/824275-120x120.jpg?5)
