Cabinet’s approval of the long-awaited Children’s Amendment Bill brings us a step closer to ensuring all young children have opportunities to develop and thrive — now Parliament must pass it.
Real Reform for ECD celebrates Cabinet’s approval of the Children’s Amendment Bill 2026 as a major milestone for young children, early childhood development (ECD) practitioners and the early childhood development sector.
The Bill seeks to create a simpler, more supportive and streamlined legal framework for early childhood development by introducing a single registration process while at the same time recognising the diversity of ECD programmes serving South Africa’s young children, from crèches to toy libraries. It also sets out a clearer mandate for how the government supports under resourced programmes, improving the pathway for eligible children to benefit from an ECD subsidy.
These reforms are critical as thousands of ECD programmes serving poor, rural and informal communities are currently locked out of registration, funding and government support, deterring the establishment of new programmes and contributing to a situation where almost 60% of enrolled four-year-olds and 82% of unenrolled four-year-olds are not on track to thrive by age five.
“The Bill carries the voices of thousands of practitioners who have fought to be seen, heard and supported. This moment proves that when practitioners organise and refuse exclusion, change is possible,” said Tshepo Mantjé, the Real Reform for ECD movement coordinator.
The Real Reform movement was launched in 2020 in response to a poorly drafted Children’s Amendment Bill that failed to address the barriers preventing ECD programmes from registering, accessing state support and reaching children who need them most.
More than 1,600 submissions were made to Parliament, across seven provinces, with the overwhelming majority from ECD practitioners themselves. This groundswell led Parliament to reject the ECD-related clauses in the original draft law, prompting the establishment of a Technical Task Team to develop new ECD-focused amendments.
“I lack the words to explain my happiness; not me alone but the ECD workforce at large. Our hard work is slowly paying off, it was never easy; finally, we will be given an opportunity to voice our views concerning the children of South Africa,” said Connie Mkhabela, ECD practitioner at Lindokuhle ECD in Orange Farm.
Under South Africa’s current legal and regulatory framework, many providers face complicated registration processes, inappropriate norms and standards, and limited access to subsidies and infrastructure support. Although the Bill makes notable progress, there is still much more work to do. Many of the barriers to registration are at a municipal level where zoning regulations, high fees and onerous health and safety requirements make it difficult for practitioners to comply. The model municipal by-law mandated by the Bill could assist in removing such barriers, but the key lies in adoption and implementation by local governments.
“The consequences for young children are significant. About a third of 3–5-year-olds — about 1.15 million children — are not enrolled in an ECD programme, missing out on quality early learning,” said David Harrison, CEO of the DG Murray Trust.
“The Bill makes it much easier for practitioners to register with the provincial government, but they could still struggle if municipalities don’t relax their requirements. We are glad that the Bill recognises the need to protect children’s health and safety, while acknowledging the realities of many ECD programmes. It is better to have a child in a loving learning environment in a shack than on the streets or locked at home every day,” Harrison explained
What happens next
Cabinet approval is not the finish line. The Bill must now be tabled in Parliament and move through the legislative process before it’s passed and enacted into law.
Real Reform for ECD urges Parliament to prioritise the Bill, process it urgently, and ensure it is passed in a form that meets the pressing needs of the ECD sector.
Real Reform for ECD will continue to work constructively with Parliament, government, practitioners, civil society organisations and the broader ECD sector to ensure that the Bill becomes a law that enables access to quality, inclusive and holistic ECD services for all young children in South Africa.
About Real Reform for ECD: Real Reform for Early Childhood Development (RR4ECD) is a movement working to secure an enabling legal, policy and regulatory environment for holistic, inclusive and quality early childhood development in South Africa. The movement is represented by a Steering Committee of 10 organisations and ECD practitioners, is supported by over 1 000 ECD practitioners and 300 organisations across six provinces, and has solidarity partnerships with various unions.
Ilifa Labantwana co-founded the Real Reform for ECD Campaign with the Equality Collective — bringing together organisations in a shared call for change. DGMT has been a supporting partner from the onset.
