Central SA
ECD play festival hosted by MEC of Education in Bloemfontein─── ZENANDE MPAME 13:30 Sat, 23 Nov 2024
The importance and benefits of play were celebrated on Saturday (23/11) at the Regional ECD Play Festival at Tjhebelopele Primary School in Bloemfontein.
The festival – from 09:00 to 15:00 – aims to engage parents, educators, and local stakeholders in Early Childhood Development (ECD), another aim is to celebrate and promote the developmental benefits of play – an important part of ECD.
“Kids are our national assets. We have to invest our resources in them as they are the future of this country,” said Free State Department of Education MEC, Dr MJ Maboya.
“Parents have to understand the importance of play. It develops a child socially and emotionally and builds language development. Today, we are here to show parents that through play, a lot can be achieved and it brings you closer to your children.”
MEC Maboya highlighted the department’s dedication to growing and improving ECD services and working with Takalani Sesame for the festival to bring an exciting and educational value, a South African children’s programme that has educated and entertained children for over 23 years.
In her budget vote speech in August, she promised to prioritise access to ECD centres for everyone as it improves learning in later years. In 2024 the department funded 1,410 centres giving access to 81,464 children.
“In broadening access to quality Early Learning Programmes, at least 300 unregistered ECD centres will be registered in the 2024/25 financial year,” she said in her speech.
International Day of Play is celebrated nationally on 11 June and Unicef South Africa says: “The brain thrives on experiences that establish new neural connections and pathways and play is the best way for infants and young children to pursue their natural curiosity, learn and grow.”
“Play is one of the most important ways in which young children gain essential knowledge and skills.”
Unicef South Africa says play takes many forms:
•Play is meaningful
•Play is joyful
•Play is actively engaging
•Play is repetitive
•Play is socially interactive
The department’s commitment to expanding and enhancing ECD services includes increasing access to ECD programmes, improving the quality of services, and ensuring that ECD centres are equipped to provide exemplary developmental support to children.
