The Whole of Society Approach (WoSA), the West Coast’s second early childhood development (ECD) conference, was hosted by the Saldanha Bay Municipality (SBM).
The event was also held in partnership with Western Cape Government, Early Learning Resource Unit and the Grassroots Educare Trust.
The two-day conference took place at the Saldanha Hotel between Thursday 9 and Friday 10 June.
The goal of the conference was to improve knowledge on and understanding of the current state of ECD) at local, provincial and national level. It also focused on developing a WoSA to delivery of services targeted at children and families with the intention of expanding hope, resilience and development for infants and children.
The conference was attended by local ECD owners, SA Congress and other stakeholders and organisations. Speakers had the opportunity to express how to better the ECD sector and to harness its important role in society.
SBM Executive Mayor André Truter shared the same sentiment and said ECD staffers are often the most well-placed to identify signs and behaviours that may indicate a child has been subjected to abuse.
“That is how critical these pockets of education, nourishment, development and safety have become,” he added.
Franklin Daniels of the SBM’s Community Development Department pronounced the two-day conference a huge success.
