Find Free online resources to get your ECD centre ready to provide quality education in 2026
Free online resources to get your ECD centre ready to provide quality education in 2026
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Back-to-school season is brewing with most school’s opening tomorrow. With more than 58% of children aged four to five not being developmentally on track, especially in lower-income communities, some of the most critical preparations must be done by South Africa’s more than 40,000 ECD centres to ensure they are ready to provide meaningful education in 2026.
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To help ECD owners and teachers, several free preschool resources are available to make their lives easier and ensure successful back-to-school preparations. These platforms are not only free but also credible, locally relevant and designed to empower ECD centres in South Africa.
1. Grow ECD’s Resource Centre. Grow ECD is a non-profit organisation that helps preschool owners run sustainable ECD centres that offer learners a 5-star education. Grow’s free Resource Centre includes over 450 downloads, such as policies, procedures, templates, classroom tools, songs and rhymes, and parent newsletters, designed specifically for South African preschools.
Helene Brand, Grow ECD’s Marketing Manager, says,
“It’s a library of free downloads that will give you access to real, practical tools you can use immediately in any classroom or preschool office. The 2026 ECD calendar is one of our most popular downloads. It is a great planning tool, with themes and other important information, like school holidays, special days and term dates, already added in. https://resources.growecd.org.za/ "
2. The Department of Basic Education’s free online P.L.A.Y. Course is focused on play-based learning. It is ideal for preschool owners and teachers already working in classrooms, crèches, or community centres. It offers self-paced modules with practical strategies to integrate play into daily classroom routines. Recognised by the Department of Basic Education as part of its ECD professionalisation, ECD owners can enrol at www.playsa.org.
3. ECD Information Hub, a collaborative platform between the Department of Basic Education, UNICEF and the Lego Foundation, provides sector-wide resources, research and insights for educators, caregivers, policymakers and NGOs. The ECD Information Hub is designed as a knowledge-sharing repository to strengthen ECD quality and access nationwide, available at https://ecdinfohub.org
4. The Ubuntu Hub, developed by Ubuntu Education, is the largest online community of teachers and school leaders in Africa. It’s a teacher-centred platform that lets educators access everything they need to advance their careers. This vibrant community of teachers and school leaders across Africa connects, grows and shapes the future of education. It is linked to a growing network of schools, education organisations and academics across the continent, working together to shape the future of education. https://ubuntu.education/
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Along with free resources available to ECD owners and teachers, Grow ECD’s Marketing Manager, Helene Brand, has three tips to help preschool owners get ready for the new school year.
1. Choose a great curriculum for 2026.
“A daily, practical and play-based curriculum will transform your classrooms,”
says Brand.
“You can use Grow ECD’s online curriculum for free. There is a special curriculum for babies and one for 2-to 5-year-olds. They are NCF aligned and approved by DBE. To access the curriculum, simply download Grow ECD’s free Giraffe app.”
2. Use a free ECD management app.
“Using a management app that helps you manage your preschool like a business is like having an extra staff member to do your admin. The Grow ECD Giraffe App, for example, is free and available to all South African preschools. It helps you manage your admin, finances, learner assessments and reports, teacher development and much more.”
says Brand.
3. Plan the year properly with a good calendar.
“We offer a free online 2026 calendar that includes learning themes, term dates and public holidays and special dates you can include in your learning. It’s a good idea to prepare with a good calendar before school starts,”
she says.
Finally, Brand says,
“Grow ECD wishes all South African preschool owners, teachers, parents and learners a successful 2026, full of quality learning and good, sustainable management.”
For more information visit GrowECD.org.za
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About Grow ECD
Grow ECD is a non-profit social enterprise within the Taking Care of Business (TCB) group, dedicated to transforming Early Childhood Development (ECD) in South Africa. We equip and connect ECD centre owners with the skills, support, and resources they need to provide 5-star early learning and build financially sustainable centres.
Our holistic model makes it possible for ECD businesses to become more sustainable while ensuring high-quality early education is accessible to every child.
Our services include:
- Free ECD management app – A powerful one-stop-shop to manage admin, finances, assessments, parent engagement, and teacher development and connect preschools with hundreds of downloadable business and education resources.
- Data-free online training – Professional and personal development courses for ECD owners, managers and teachers.
- Play-based, online curriculum – A daily, NCF-aligned, DBE-approved curriculum and teacher’s guide designed to help teachers of all levels provide quality education for 0-5-year-olds.
- ECD Business Accelerator – An intense six-part training programme that equips centre owners with a social-entrepreneur mindset and provides the essential skills to take their ECD centre to the next level.
- Small Business Programme – A comprehensive, step-by-step three-year programme to building a successful ECD Centre which includes practical training, mentorship, and resources to help ECD centres improve business sustainability and education quality.
