01
Supervision
Each facilitator is supervised by a trainer who observes their work and gives feedback.
By selection, with partners
Indaba FacilitatorsBecome a Guide for Those Who Guide Children.
An advanced professional pathway for locally rooted educators who can train, mentor and help sustain quality in their communities.
01Roles and progression
Four Roles, Not One Credential.
Facilitation is a progression, and each step is recognised for what it is. Being a facilitator-in-training is not yet a facilitator credential, and no single certificate covers every role. Coordinating cohorts, logistics, safeguarding and reporting is agreed with the Indaba Institute and each partner, and is separate from these roles.
In the CoRE model described in 2024, a defined pathway leads from the CoRE practitioner certificate to CoRE trainer, through Montessori orientation or assistant certificates, the facilitator-in-training year and diploma training. Role definitions and any awards attached to them are being formalised with the Indaba Institute.
The path begins here
01 · Preparing
Facilitator-in-training
A selected practitioner who co-facilitates under supervision while completing a year of preparation.
02 · Leading
Facilitator
Leads workshops and mentoring visits for a cohort, working to shared standards, supported by a trainer.
03 · Mentoring
Master facilitator
An experienced facilitator who mentors other facilitators, observes their practice and helps keep standards consistent.
04 · Forming
Trainer
Prepares and supervises facilitators-in-training, and is responsible for the quality of their formation.
02Why facilitators
Quality Travels with People.
Promising programmes often lose their effect as they grow: training is diluted, standards drift and support thins out. A workshop is only one part of a longer process. What sustains change is a trusted, skilled person who comes back: to observe, to coach and to notice what still needs attention.
Facilitators are that person. They are the bridge between the Indaba Institute and the field. Today CoRE is delivered by five active facilitators (Indaba evidence briefing, June 2026), which is why forming more, carefully, matters so much.
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Train
Prepare teachers and caregivers through practical, facilitated workshops.
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Mentor
Visit, observe and coach in classrooms and centres, long after the workshop.
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Protect quality
Keep shared standards strong as more people take part.
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Build leaders
Recognise and encourage the next generation of facilitators.
Most systems scale buildings. Indaba sets out to scale prepared people.
03Profile and selection
Who Becomes a Facilitator.
Facilitators are chosen for their practice and their standing in their community, not only for their qualifications. We look for people other educators already learn from.
How selection is intended to work: the details are agreed with each partner and cohort.
- Experience as an early childhood practitioner, usually having completed CoRE
- Rooted in the community they would serve, and fluent in its languages
- Calm, observant classroom practice that others want to learn from
- Able to give honest, kind feedback to adults
- Able to commit to a year of supervised preparation
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01
Interest
Nominated by a partner or trainer, or registered here.
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02
Conversation
A conversation and an observation of your practice.
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03
Selection
Agreed with the partner, linked to a planned cohort.
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04
Preparation
The supervised facilitator-in-training year begins.
04Training and supervised practice
Learning to Teach Adults, Under Supervision.
Concept
Facilitators learn the craft by doing it alongside someone experienced. In the 2024 CoRE model, the facilitator-in-training programme was a one-year commitment: the seven monthly modules, plus 70 further hours building community and visiting centres.
Preparation moves from participating, to co-facilitating, to leading with a trainer present, with observation and feedback at every step.
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01
Participate
Experience the modules from the inside.
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02
Co-facilitate
Share sessions and centre visits with a trainer.
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03
Lead, supervised
Lead with a trainer observing and giving feedback.
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04
Review
Practice is reviewed before the next role.
05Responsibilities
What Facilitators Do.
A facilitator’s work happens in workshops, in centres and in the community. In the CoRE model, facilitators continue mentoring visits to centres for at least five months after the modules end, and each cohort keeps a peer group going.
- Run practical workshops for teachers and caregivers
- Visit centres to observe and coach in the room
- Keep careful records: what educators tried, what was noticed, what still needs attention
- Involve families and community leaders
- Follow safeguarding and child-protection procedures
- Recognise and encourage future facilitators
Classroom visit · Room 2
What changed since last time?
Observed today
Materials on low shelves. Children choosing their own work. Two children pouring, one returning again and again.
Since the last visit
- Practical-life shelf within reach
- Materials made from local resources
- Fewer instructions from the front
Coaching focus
“Watch for ten minutes before stepping in.”
Agreed next step
Add a pouring activity to the practical-life shelf. Notice who returns to it.
Notes reviewed with the trainerNo child names or personal data
06Support and standards
Nobody Facilitates Alone.
What the model requires of every cohort. Each cohort is set up with the Indaba Institute and the partner before facilitators begin.
02
A community of practice
Facilitators share what is working, and what is not, with peers.
03
Shared standards
Common observation tools and quality expectations, being formalised with the Indaba Institute.
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Reflection and records
Regular review of visit notes and practice keeps support honest.
05
Safeguarding
Written safeguarding procedures for working with children, families and centres, agreed with the Institute and the partner for each cohort.
06
Continuing development
A progression to master facilitator or trainer for those suited to it.
07Institutional deployment
The Local Capacity Behind Every Deployment.
For organisations and public partners, trained local facilitators are what turn a programme into lasting capability. Through Indaba Deploy, partners can develop their own facilitator team, selected from their communities and prepared to shared standards.
That way, quality stays close to where children are, and does not depend on experts flying in.
Planning model · not reported results
1
fully formed facilitator, prepared over one to two years
≈70
teachers prepared and mentored each year
≈330
caregivers professionally trained each year
Annual projection
≈12,000–14,000
children benefiting each year, depending on deployment context
- Year 1
- Year 2
- Year 3
- Year 4
- Year 5
- Year 6 …
Year after year.
Teachers stay in their classrooms. Each year they welcome new children, while the facilitator prepares the next group of adults. Capability accumulates instead of ending with a programme.
Long-term projection
≈240,000
children benefiting over the long term, depending on deployment context
Today, in practice
- 5active facilitators deliver CoRE today (June 2026)
- 35teachers and principals from 31 centres began the 2025 Kayamandi group
SourceIndaba’s planning model for one fully formed facilitator (2026). Figures are approximate, depend on deployment context and describe what the model is designed to support, not outcomes achieved.
08Questions
Questions About Facilitation.
Can I apply directly?
Places open by selection, with partners, when a cohort needs facilitators-in-training. Register interest and tell us about your experience and where you work.
Do I need to have completed CoRE?
Usually, yes. Facilitators need to know the programme from the inside. Talk to us if your background is different.
Is facilitation paid work?
Arrangements depend on the partner and the cohort, and are agreed before preparation begins.
What credential will I receive?
Each role is recognised separately. Role definitions and any awards are being formalised with the Indaba Institute; we will not describe a credential until it is confirmed.
09At a glance
Indaba Facilitators at a Glance.
- For
- Experienced, locally rooted early childhood educators, usually CoRE graduates, who want to train and mentor other adults.
- What changes
- You move from leading one classroom to supporting many: running workshops, visiting centres, coaching practitioners and keeping standards.
- What you get
- Supervised preparation as a facilitator-in-training, mentoring from experienced trainers, a defined progression and a community of practice. Each role is recognised separately; there is no single all-purpose credential.
- How it’s delivered
- Alongside a CoRE cohort, under supervision. In the 2024 CoRE model, the facilitator-in-training year combined the seven monthly modules with 70 further hours building community and visiting centres.
- Available now?
- By selection, with partners. Applications open by selection with partners; there is no open public call.
- What happens next
- Register interest sends your details to the Indaba team. We will be in touch if a partner cohort is selecting facilitators-in-training in your region.
- Who stands behind it
- The Indaba Institute and the CoRE trainers who prepare and supervise facilitators, building on the Educateurs sans Frontières (EsF) CoRE trainer progression.
10Register interest
Interested in Becoming a Facilitator?
Applications open by selection with partners. Register interest and tell us about your practice and your community; we will be in touch if a cohort near you is selecting facilitators-in-training.
- Your name and email go to the Indaba team
- We write when there is news about this pathway
- No payment and no commitment
- Remove your details at any time
Interest registered
Thank you.
We have your details and will write to you when there is news about what you chose. You can ask us to remove them at any time.
Indaba Facilitators
Strengthen Quality Where It Matters Most.
Organisations can build a local facilitator team as part of an Indaba deployment.