Every feature your school needs, built for South African ECD
EarlyTrack covers assessments, attendance, incident reporting, staff management, parent communication, and AI-assisted observations — in one system, in English and Afrikaans.
No patchwork of tools. No data in a spreadsheet someone else built. No compliance records you cannot find.
ELDA and Grade R assessments — built in, not bolted on
South African preschool assessments are not generic. The ELDA framework has 964 skills across five age brackets and six developmental domains. Grade R covers 98 skills across Home Language, Mathematics, and Life Skills. Neither fits a blank template.
EarlyTrack has both frameworks built into the system. Teachers open a structured form, rate each skill, and add observations — without rebuilding anything from a spreadsheet each term. Once submitted, assessments move through a principal approval workflow before reports reach parents.
Milestone tracking that becomes a School Readiness Report for big school
The Milestone Tracker turns the observations and assessments teachers already capture into a living developmental record for each child along the South African NCF — the six ELDAs across four phases — with no extra work for teachers. At transition, the principal turns that record into a branded School Readiness Report the receiving school can read on its own.
AI that reduces the reporting burden — not one that replaces the teacher
Writing observation comments is the part of term-end reporting that takes the most time. A teacher with 20 students needs hundreds of unique, parent-appropriate comments every term.
EarlyTrack's AI generates observation comments based on the skill ratings the teacher has already entered. The teacher reviews and adjusts them. All AI features work in both English and Afrikaans.
A live daily register — not a paper sheet filled in from memory
EarlyTrack's attendance module replaces the paper register with a digital class register that gives the principal real-time visibility across every class. If a register is not completed by the cutoff time, both teacher and principal are notified. Students not marked are set to absent automatically.
DSD-compliant incident records — complete, numbered, and retrievable
EarlyTrack's incident reporting module implements the DSD 2022 specification in full. Every section of the form is present. Digital signatures are collected from teacher, principal, and parent. Every incident is assigned a number and timestamp the moment it is created.
Everything staff-related, connected
EarlyTrack's staff management module covers the full operations cycle. Staff clock in and out on a tablet. Leave is requested and approved digitally. Qualification expiry dates are tracked with advance warnings. Staff-to-child ratios are monitored automatically with breach alerts.
Replace WhatsApp with a structured, professional parent experience
EarlyTrack's parent portal gives parents read-only access to everything relevant to their child — assessment reports, attendance history, incident records, and AI-generated home learning activities. Parents self-register using an invitation link.
Want two-way messages, broadcast notifications, and a shared events calendar? See Parent Communication →
Daily reports for every child — Baby + Little Learners + Neurodiverse
Three daily report formats on one platform. Baby Daily Reports covers feeding, sleep, nappy, food, mood, and activities for infant and toddler classes (0–3). Little Learners Daily Reports gives older preschool and Grade R teachers a lighter daily comment plus photos. Neurodiverse Daily Reports — specialised for schools supporting neurodiverse children — covers nappies, food, emotion regulation, therapy visits, and observation context. All three are included on Pro and on Complete, and go through principal approval before parents see them.
The foundation that runs in the background
Not every feature announces itself. Some of the most important capabilities operate automatically, ensure compliance, and prevent problems before they occur.
Paperless enrolment & re-registration
EarlyTrack replaces the paper enrolment pack with a guided online workflow. Parents complete a structured application from any device, upload the documents you require, and sign the agreements digitally. Admins review and approve each application, and every enrolment is captured as a branded PDF record. At year-end, families roll over for re-registration in a few clicks.
New: the Admissions Pipeline, enquiries to enrolment →
Aftercare check-in, late fees & billing
The EarlyTrack Aftercare Edition runs your after-school care end to end: staff check children in and out on a phone or tablet, late pickups are charged automatically, and flexible plans (monthly, selected days, ad-hoc and holiday care) bill straight into Fee Management and reconcile from your bank statement. Available standalone from R299/mo, or included in EarlyTrack Complete.
One dashboard across all your preschools
EarlyTrack Groups gives owners a read-only overview across every school they run: site status, attendance, fees, payroll, staff and aftercare, with a per-site breakdown and a group total. Each school stays fully separate, with its own data, billing and team. From R799/mo for the first site, plus R299/mo per additional site (max 3).
Fees, finance & payroll in one place
The EarlyTrack Finance Suite runs the money side of your preschool: bill families and reconcile your bank, account for petty cash, let an AI helper suggest matches, and run SARS-compliant payroll. Part of EarlyTrack Complete, with the core finance tools also in the standalone Aftercare Edition. POPIA-aligned and fully audited.
Every item & payment you collect, on one list
Tissues, toiletries, costumes, concert money, photo money, signed forms. The Items & Payments Tracker replaces the paper list on the office counter and the spreadsheet nobody trusts. One private checklist per collection, a row per child, and totals that work themselves out. It is an office tool: teachers and parents never see it, and nothing here touches your invoices or accounting records. Included from Professional up.
Which features are included on each plan?
EarlyTrack scales from core assessments to the full suite. Aftercare, the Finance Suite and Payroll are part of EarlyTrack Complete; the standalone Aftercare Edition is built just for after-school care centres.
Frequently asked questions about EarlyTrack features
Straight answers to the questions we hear most often.
See every feature working in your school
The 14-day free trial gives you the complete Professional plan — every module, every AI feature, every report type. No restrictions, no credit card required. Most schools complete setup in under two hours.
Start your free 14-day trialNo credit card. Full Professional access. Cancel any time.