The province’s long-awaited plan to revitalize the early childhood sector will finally be released to the public today.
The Early Years Report will reveal government’s plan to help the struggling sector and detail how $7 million dedicated to the sector in the recent provincial budget will be allocated.
Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Doug Currie has been loath to give any details about the plan before the official release of the report, but he did say the strategy would include a boost in wages for early childhood educators.
Early childhood educators, daycare operators and parents have been eagerly awaiting this strategy since last July when Kindergarten Commissioner Pat Mella’s report on the rollout of kindergarten into the public school system was released.
The move of kindergarten into schools has created a major strain on the early childhood sector.
Over 100 early childhood educators (ECEs) have left P.E.I. daycare centres to take better-paying jobs in the public system as kindergarten instructors. That has left a concerning gap in licensed educators for Island daycares.
Now many centres, especially those in rural P.E.I., are facing imminent closure if financial support and trained teaching staff isn’t injected into the sector soon.
But there are also parents who are concerned about children who don’t attend childcare centres. They are hoping government’s early childhood development strategy will include supports for all children on P.E.I., regardless of whether they attend daycare.

“We’re really hoping to see much more reference to a comprehensive approach to the early years,” said Jane Boyd, president of the childcare advocacy group Parents for Choice and Quality.

Many parents can’t afford to put their children in licensed childcare facilities, so if the government focuses its support only on the sector of early learning operators and educators, children who attend unlicensed centres or who stay home with parents will fall through the cracks, Boyd said.

“We really hope there will be components of the government’s early learning action plan that will address the needs of those children too because, let’s face it, the majority of children on P.E.I. are not in licensed childcare … there are so many young vulnerable children on P.E.I. and we remain concerned about what is the plan so that there is a comprehensive approach that reaches all children.”
Sonya Corrigan, executive director of the Early Childhood Development Association (ECDA), told The Guardian last April she hopes government’s early childhood plan will help make quality childcare more accessible for all families.
 “Children and families deserve to have access to early learning opportunities in all communities,” Corrigan told The Guardian when the provincial budget was released in April. “Unfortunately affordability has been a huge barrier to that as well as access to service, so we hope that as we go forward we’re going to put systems in place that will eliminate the affordability factor and increase accessibility.”
The plan will be announced at a 10 a.m. news conference at Park Royal Church in Charlottetown.

via www.theguardian.pe.ca

From Parents for Choice & Quality Blog

Parents for Choice & Quality have obtained the following information regarding the release of The Early Years Report. Child care centres began to receive invitations in the mail this morning.

May 25th, 2010
To Whom It May Concern:
In my initial letter to you, I indicated that soon we would be releasing The Early Years Report and government’s plan to revitalize and refocus early learning and child care for children from birth to age 4 on Prince Edward Island. I am pleased to inform you that we have completed our work and now, I invite you to participate in one of the following opportunities to learn more about the details of this plan.

The first opportunity for information will be a press conference, which is being held on Friday, May 28th at 10:00 am at the Parkdale Sherwood Headstart, located at 11 Christie Drive, Charlottetown.

Two information sessions are planned for Saturday, May 29th. Kathleen Flanagan will be on hand to present The Early Years Report and I will also be in attendance at these sessions. Senior staff from the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development will also be available to answer any questions you may have as we work to refocus the early learning system on PEI.

The information sessions will be held Saturday, May 29th at the following times and locations:
8:30 – 11:00 am
Carrefour de l’Isle-Saint-Jean
5 Acadienne Drive
Charlottetown
1:00 – 3:30 pm
Loyalist Country Inn
195 Harbour Drive
Summerside

Thank you for taking the time to raise issues and make suggestions. Your contributions have been invaluable in informing and assisting government. We have attempted to consider all points of view as we developed the plan and would appreciate your participation as we move this plan forward. I look forward to seeing you on Friday at the press conference or on Saturday at one of the information sessions.

Sincerely,

Doug Currie
Minister

via choiceandquality.wordpress.com