Registering a Crèche in Cape Town

Figure 1:”The Correct Steps to Follow if You Want to Start a Crèche.” – Land Use, Fire and Safety, Environmental Health government clearances have to be obtained prior to working with the Department of Social Development to become a registered crèche. The Land Use clearance has to be completed first as the rest of the process is contingent upon it.

Land Use Clearance

• All should fill out the Land Use Management Application
  • If you are not the owner of the building, you need to contact the owner to obtain the official building plans of the building before proceeding with the application and inspection
• If you plan to make changes to the facility in any way, first fill out this application from the Planning and Building Development Office
• Once application(s) is filled out, call the business’ local land use management office to schedule an appointment for inspection. This number can be found by typing “Land Use Management” and your city’s name in your internet search engine.

Fire and Safety Clearance

• Land Use clearance must be completed prior to completing this step.
• All should fill out the Fire and Safety Application form.

Environmental Health Clearance

• Land Use clearance must be completed prior to completing this step.
• All should fill out the Environmental Health Application form.

Department of Social Services Registration

• When first meeting with the DSD, you will receive a registration packet with the following forms and other general information on how to run a crèche. The order of the forms is based on that of the registration packet provided to our group through the Wynberg DSD Office.

DSD Registration Packet Contents

• Application for the Registration of a Partial Care Facility
  • Purpose: General document to clarify what type of child care facility you will be and information about the location. Provides a list of necessary supporting documents for registration including a business plan and constitution.
• Application for the Registration of and ECD Programme
  • Purpose: General document to report the ECD programmed the crèche will be following, along with the reporting of the number of children attending and the employee’s information.
• Form 29
  • Purpose: To determine if any potential employers of a crèche fall under Part B of the National Child Protection Register, which records any person unsuitable to work with children.
• Form 30
  • Purpose: To determine if owner of a crèche falls under Part B of the National Child Protection Register, which records any person unsuitable to work with children.
• Application for Building Work
  • Purpose: To apply to perform work on the building the crèche resides in to obtain approval from the government.
• Land Use Management Application
  • Purpose: To apply and request the zoning of the land to confirm the usability of the land for a crèche. Click here to learn about the application supplements necessary.
  • If you do not own the land or are starting a new crèche, you must fill out the application for copies of the building plans of the building. Click here for more information on how to start a new crèche.
• Environmental Health Application
  • Purpose: To apply for environmental health clearance for the crèche through the city health department. Click here for standard health requirements for crèches and aftercare.
• Application for Food Premises
  • Purpose: To apply for the ability to provide food for the children in the facility. This form asks about they type of food being provided, how it is prepared and by whom, etc. More information about nutrition and food options can be found here (Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3).
• Fire and Safety Application
  • Purpose: To apply for clearance of the building from the fire department. Click here for the standard operating procedure for this application.
• Other General Information
  • Purpose: To educate applicants on how to run a crèche including other information helpful to crèche owners.
  • Chart of children’s development; Example of a daily routine ; Example of a constitution for a private creche; Example of a constitution for a public creche; Child abuse packets (Packet 1 and Packet 2); Teacher:Child Ratios; DSD Administrative requirements with DSD Examples; Town planning requirements for Wynberg; A How-To sheet to make a mobile hand washing station; and an Informational Slideshow.