Policy includes all policies approved by government. This includes policies of the national government, provincial governments and/or local government and for the ECD Info Hub the primary focus is on those policies related to children from birth to five years and services to these children.

National policies, these are policies approved by a national government department or Cabinet, are organised by topic on this page. If you are looking for something related to a specific area, please click on it below and it will take you to that part of this page.

Early learning & basic education | Higher education and training.

Provincial policies, these are policies approved by a provincial government department, are organised by province on this page. Click here to go to the part of the page where you will find provincial policies.

Local government policies are policies approved by a metro, district municipality or local municipality. Click here to go to the part of the page where you will find local government policies.

If you are looking for legislation, regulations or similar, please go to the legislation page.

National policies

General: Children

• National Plan of Action for Children 2019 – 2024
• General Regulations for Children, 2010
• South Africas 2030 Strategy for Early Childhood Development Programmes
• National Plan of Action for Children – Child Friendly Version

Early learning and basic education

• National Integrated Early Childhood Development Policy, 2015
• The National Early Learning and Development Standards (NELDS)
• Education White Paper 5 on Early Childhood Education: Meeting the challenge of Early Childhood Development in South Africa
• Policy framework for universal access to Grade R

Higher education and training

• White Paper on Education and Training
• Policy on Minimum Requirements for Programmes Leading to Qualifications in Higher Education for ECD Educators
• Revised policy on the minimum requirements for teacher education qualifications (2015) – Grade R and Foundation Phase
• National Integrated ECD Policy Web Version Final 01 08 2016

Health

• Infant and Young Child Feeding Policy
• National Mental Health Policy framework and strategic Plan, 2023
• Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act 54 Of 1972: Regulations Relating to the Labelling And Advertising of Foodstuffs

Social development

• White Paper on Social Welfare, 1997 (DSD) (and White Paper review, 2016)
• White Paper on Population Policy (1998)(DSD)
• Norms and Standards for Services to Families, 2013 (DSD)
• Revised White Paper on Families in South Africa (2021)
• Norms and Standards Consolidated

Inclusion (including children with disabilities)

• White Paper on the Rights of persons with Disabilities, 2015
• White Paper on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Implementation Matrix 2015 – 2030
• Policy on Screening, Identification, Assessment, and Support (SIAS), 2014 (DBE)
• Education White Paper 6: Special needs education. Building an inclusive education and training system