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Edtech start-up Play Sense expands after R8.25m funding

Sibahle Malinga
By Sibahle Malinga, ITWeb senior news journalist.
Johannesburg, 19 Jan 2021
All Play Sense teachers are trained in both online and in-home education.
All Play Sense teachers are trained in both online and in-home education.

Local edtech start-up Play Sense has become among the first registered tech-focused preschool franchises in the country, after recently achieving accreditation by the Department of Social Development as a registered early childhood development (ECD) programme.

Cape Town-based Play Sense was founded by early childhood expert and author Meg Faure (CEO), who also founded the Baby Sense brand, and fellow occupational therapist and educator Lara Schoenfeld (COO), who also founded the Nanny ‘n Me franchise.

The start-up offers a digitally-enabled micro-playschool programme and enables teachers to set up their own playschools at home under the Play Sense banner. The programme offers a play-centred curriculum for pre-schoolers, which encompasses sensory play, gross motor/outdoor play, art, music, stories and imaginary play, to create rich experiences that encourage language, emotional and social skills for toddlers, according to the company.

The start-up says it is expanding nationwide after last year raising more than R8.25 million in international investment from Africa-focused US-based venture capital firm Enygma Ventures.

After becoming one of the first programmes of its kind to be accredited in terms of the Children's Act, the company says it is looking to provide cost-effective ECD business opportunities for teachers and qualified caregivers who want to run innovative preschools from home.

“Our evidence-based curriculum follows the Vygotskian theory of development which says that guided imagination-based play is the best way to equip kids with the core capacities they need to thrive in a changing world, including self-regulation, executive function, creativity, collaboration and learning readiness,” says Faure.

“Our accreditation by the government is an important validation of the quality of both our educational programme and the innovative business model that underpins it. We’re excited about expanding the programme across SA this year and globally in the near future − this kind of schooling really is the way of the future.”

The start-up, which successfully pivoted at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis in SA, says it offers both a blended and fully online curriculum that is aligned with UNICEF’s national curriculum framework, early learning developmental areas, national early learning development standards, and operational norms and standards for preschool education.

In-home teachers are required to invest in a Play Sense kit that contains everything they need to conduct the programme.

According to Play Sense, the franchise stable currently accommodates more than 30 groups in the Western Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and online.

The online model is designed for groups of up to six children between the ages of two to four to come together to play and learn in a safe home-based environment for three to five days of the week.

“All our teachers are trained in both online and in-home education so that they can adapt as situations change. We just don’t know what 2021 holds, so we have to be flexible,” says Faure.

“What makes Play Sense unique is that it is such a cost-effective and scalable model for highly progressive preschool education – something that the market has been asking for and that will empower lots of women who are passionate about ECD to become entrepreneurs who make an impact in their communities.”

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