Reflections and evidence on Every Word Counts (with parents and caregivers of 0-5 year-old children)
At a glance
When Wordworks began work in the first five years of children’s lives, we developed a set of resources that form the Every Word Counts (EWC) programme. We hoped that these resources would be used in a variety of ways in the diverse ECD sector, ranging from ECD centres, health and community settings to direct work with parents or caregivers of young children. We also include a report on a 2017 evaluation of the CareUp project, a mobile communication intervention initiated by the Department of Social Development in the Western Cape, targeting ECD practitioners and parents of children aged 4-5, whose content was based on EWC. The project evolved into the Wordworks Mobile Phone App now freely available on the Googleplay store.
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Outcomes of the EWC Programme within the Yizani Sifunde collaboration (2021-2023)
This slide deck shows the findings from an internal evaluation on the outcomes of Yizani Sifunde EWC caregiver workshops offered by trained ECD practitioners (Eastern Cape, 2021-2023). It uses Home-Learning Environment data pre- and post-intervention to surface shifts in caregiver behaviour around reading, storytelling, etc.
Evaluating Every Word Counts (2018)
This report presents findings from a 2018 review of the Every Word Counts programme, highlighting key implementation learnings, informing future directions for the programme from 2019, and exploring strategic positioning of EWC in relation to South African ECD policy and programme developments.
CareUp Evaluation Report (2017)
This report shares findings from the CareUp pilot, a mobile-based project supporting quality communication between parents, caregivers, and children to promote early language development. The 12–16 week pilot was implemented in ten Western Cape ECD centres from August to December 2016.
Evaluation of Every Word Counts in Worcester (2016)
This report presents an evaluation of the Every Word Counts (EWC) programme in Worcester, Western Cape. It assesses whether the delivery model deepened participants’ understanding of early learning, built practical skills, supported application, and whether the training and support model was effective overall.
Piloting EWC in a non-ECD organisation (2015)
This report presents findings from an evaluation of the Every Word Counts (EWC) programme, piloted in a non-ECD organisation with a home visiting programme. It explores how the EWC approach and materials were adopted, to guide trainer support and resource development.
