Principles of Teaching Grade R

This Grade R online course will develop you to understand the principles required for starting your own daycare centre. There are so many practitioners and early childhood development teachers in the field who want to start up their own businesses, or who are already running a daycare centre but without following the correct procedures. With this course, you will be guided step-by-step to understand the registration process and the way forward after that.

At the end of this course, you will be able to understand the process and implementation structure and be able to manage your own daycare centre, as well as a Grade R class. You will have sufficient knowledge about the starting point and registration process to register Grade R under regulations through community-based sites, independent schools, private ECD centres and also to register Grade R classes at mainstream public primary schools. You will be able to know why your daycare centre needs different policies and a well-balanced curriculum. You will also have knowledge of parent involvement and make use of your own recycled resources.

Susan Greyling graduated from UNISA with her Master’s degree in Educational Management and is currently busy with her doctorate in Educational Management.

Susan is an Early Childhood Education lecturer in the Faculty of Educational Sciences at the North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus). She is the Programme Leader for the Diploma in Grade R Teaching, and coordinates the design and delivery of the work integrated learning modules for distance learning.

She has accumulated years of experience within the training and development field of Early Childhood Development (ECD) and is primarily focused within academia and adult facilitation. Her research interests include early childhood education as well as educational management.

BASIC REQUIREMENTSTo successfully access and complete this course, you will be required to have a registered email account, access to a computer/laptop/tablet and stable internet connection. You will be required to be familiar with using a computer as you may need to be able to read and download documents in Adobe PDF Reader, view Microsoft PowerPoint presentations, and read and create documents in Microsoft Word.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTSOur online short learning programmes may require additional software applications. These additional software applications requirements will be communicated to you in this information pack and/or on the website course page. UNi4 Online does not provide any additional software applications required for online short learning programmes.

Please note: Google, YouTube and Vimeo may be used in our online course delivery. If any of these services are blocked in your jurisdiction, you may have difficult in accessing our course content.

Our online short learning programmes are broken into self-paced manageable modules designed to be interactive and engaging:

• The programme is available to be viewed on smart devices, which includes mobiles, tablets and personal computers.
• Relevant case studies, articles and recommended reading are part of supplementary resources available.
• Apply and evaluate what you have learned in each module with the self-grading quizzes and assignment submissions.
• View a range of introductory course videos by your Subject Matter Expert.
• Scheduled live webinars are included with the Online Academic Tutor.
• Network, collaborate and interact with your fellow participants and Online Academic Tutor via the discussion forum.

Your dedicated Online Academic Tutor (OAT) will provide you with necessary guidance, offer advice and answer questions on course content, to help you achieve academic success.

• MODULE 0 | Orientation Week 1
  Navigating the Virtual Learning Environment
• MODULE 1 | Opening up Your Own Day Care Centre: The Way Forward Week 2
  • Demonstrate basic understanding of how to start your own Day Care Centre
  • Understand the process of Grade R registration under regulations
  • Define the various components of registration at different sites
  • Understand the process of registering at SACE
  • Define the role of recruitment
  • Budget and understand budgeting measurements
• MODULE 2 | Management of a Day Care Centre Week 3
  • Have knowledge concerning the management of a Grade R site
  • Identify the different leadership styles
  • Analyse the different roles of all stakeholders
• MODULE 3 | Early Childhood Development (ECD) / Grade R Policy Week 4
  • Understand what a policy is
  • Develop the ability to construct and design an admission and safety policy for a Day Care Centre
  • Have knowledge on the School’s Act and children’s rights
• MODULE 4 | Manage a Grade R Class Week 5
  • Have sufficient knowledge of qualifications for Grade R teaching
  • Understand the concept of managing a Grade R class
  • Know the difference between the play area inside and outside the classroom
  • Identify relevant equipment

• MODULE 5 | The Curriculum Week 6
  • Understand the concept of a curriculum
  • Understand the various options in supporting and reporting to parents
  • Develop the ability to understand the CAPS document
• MODULE 6 | Admission to a Day Care Centre Week 7
  • Have sufficient knowledge regarding the difference between 0-4 years and Grade R
  • Understand the admission requirements
  • Understand the language barriers in a Day Care Centre
  • Demonstrate basic understanding of disabilities when applying for admission
• MODULE 7 | Parental Involvement Week 8
  • Understand parents need to be informed about and involved in their child’s education
  • Demonstrate knowledge of frequent communication between the teacher and parent
  • Understand how communication should take place
  • Understand the responsibilities when organising an event/outing for the Day Care Centre
• MODULE 8 | Wrap-up Week 9
  Synthesise your learning journey experience