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18 Jan 2018
CALL FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST
Closing date 31 January 2018
Early learning is crucial preparation for school. And yet, every year, over 1 MILLION 3 and 4-year old children miss out on this strong foundation for future learning. This is a national crisis.
To turn this around, SmartStart has developed a pragmatic, affordable model to rapidly expand access to quality early learning. The SmartStart model works through playgroups and child-minding programmes, and supports a national network of practitioners to deliver these services effectively.
For more information, download the full Expression of Interest document and the application form below.
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02 May 2017
What makes a successful SmartStart club?
This is a question we recently asked all our club team leaders. They agreed that good clubs:
Meet regularly Take action (i.e. organise events for members) Are creative Are brand ambassadors Leave no one behind. They support each other to get green Programme Quality Assurance (PQAs)Although members are aware and understand what is required of them as SmartStarters, they often let some activities fall back, or don’t give them enough priority, for various reasons.
Introducing the League of StarsTo encourage teamwork and increase excellence in these five areas, we have formed a new club league competition. The objective of the league is to encourage a support network, where clubs can collaborate, solve problems and...
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24 Apr 2017
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10 Sep 2016
This short video provides a good overview of why SmartStart was set up and what we hope to achieve in the next 10 years. It includes an interview with our CEO, Grace Matlhape, as well as interviews with SmartStart trainees and a caregiver whose child is attending a SmartStart playgroup.
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15 Jul 2016
When we launched SmartStart, we had a few reasons for wanting to use a social franchise model. One was to help us create consistent quality in our early learning programme. Another was to unite franchisees through a shared and powerful vision.
What we didn’t realise, was just how quickly our SmartStarters would internalise this vision and make it their own.
In May this year (one year after the start of SmartStart), we hosted our first ‘SmartStarters Unite’ event in the City of Joburg (CoJ). Over 60 SmartStarters from across CoJ joined us at our offices in Parktown North. Although our SmartStarters meet monthly in their respective clubs, this was a chance for us all to see the incredible work that clubs are doing, to share learnings and success stories, to celebrate...
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13 May 2016
Are you having difficulty presenting complex data? SmartStart uses think-cell, a Microsoft PowerPoint and Excel add-in software with dozens of features that enable users to quickly create complex data-driven charts, maintain a presentation's structure with auto-updating agendas, and consistently round numbers in Excel sheets.
think-cell also makes it is possible to create professional charts such as waterfalls, Marimekkos and Gantts within a few minutes, and to automatically update them from linked Excel data. The agenda-building capability is similarly automated—maintaining a complete agenda in PowerPoint functions in the same manner as a table of contents in a good word processor. The Excel add-in enables consistently rounded numbers across both complex calculations and...
Get involved! Find out more
To find out more about SmartStart and how you can get involved, contact the SmartStart office on 010 595 3902 or email us at hello@smartstart.org.za.