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FIRST ROUND OF EARLY YEARS CENTRES ANNOUNCED

CHARLOTTETOWN, PEI — Centres who have been selected to become an Early
Years Centre (EYC) in the first round have all been notified and the
transition process is now underway, says Minister of Education and
Early Childhood Development, Doug Currie.

“Staff at the Department have been meeting with the centres
over the last two weeks to determine which centres are ready to
transition to an EYC,” said Mr. Currie. “The calibre of commitment and
the level of interest from the sector has made this choice a difficult
one. I have every confidence that the centres who are going ahead in
this first round are ready and will develop into wonderful models for
the Preschool Excellence Initiative.”
The Preschool Excellence Initiative will implement 34 EYCs
across the province in the first round this fall. Those centres are
broken down into either community or school zones. The first round of
centres that will transition to EYCs include two centres in Souris; one
in the Morell, St. Peters, Mount Stewart zone; one in Cardigan-Montague
area; two in Donagh-Glen Stewart; 14 centres in Charlottetown; one in
Westwood – Cornwall zone; one centre in the Queen Elizabeth Kensington
area; seven centres in Summerside; one in Bloomfield-Alberton; one
centre in Tignish-St. Louis; and three French Language centres.
Another 15 centres are preparing to become Early Years Centres
and are considered to be round two applicants. These centres will also
be asked to come up with a plan by mid October, which will be reviewed
by the department, detailing how they will be able to meet all
requirements to become an EYC by January 2012.
Centres that have chosen to remain private have done so for a
variety of reasons, which could include the inability to meet size
requirements, lack of spaces for infants, or a preference to set their
own rates and policies. Before choosing a child care centre, parents
are being advised to refer to the Early Childhood Development
Association’s Guide to Quality Child Care Handbook, which can be found
at
www.gov.pe.ca/eecd/ecdahandbook.
Centres are being encouraged to let all families know what their
plans are as soon as possible. The owners and staff from the centres
who will be closing or converting to an EYC will also help families, as
much as possible, with any transitions that need to be made. If you
have any questions or for more information please call 902-438-4854 or
902-368-6518 or email earlylearning@edu.pe.ca.

BACKGROUNDER
First Round Early Years Centres
The Preschool Excellence Initiative will implement 34 EYCs across the
province in the first round this fall. Those centres are broken down
into either community or school zones.
The first round of centres that will transition to EYCs include:
Bloomfield, Alberton – one centre, Kinderstart Early Learning Centre Inc.
Cardigan, Montague – one centre, the Montessori Children’s Centre
Charlottetown – 14 centres:
• Child Development Centre
• Creative Child Care Centre
• First Friends Child Care Centre Inc.
• Just for You Children’s Centre
• Leaps and Bounds Childcare Centre Inc.
• Little Lambs Child Care Centre
• West Royalty Child Care Centre
• Sonshine Daycare Centre
• Tiny Tot Early Childhood Centre
• Tiny Tot Early Childhood Centre – Pope Road
• Parkdale Sherwood Headstart
• Bright Future Child Development Centre
• Little Wonders Early Learning Centre
Donagh – Glen Stewart – two centres:
• CHANCES Early Learning Centre – Mason Road
• Milestones Early Childhood Development Centre
French Language Centres – three centres :
• Les Services de Garde I’lle Enchantée in Charlottetown
• Les Couleurs de L’Arc-en-Ciel in Deblois
• Le Jardin des Étoiles in Summerside
Morell, St. Peters, Mount Stewart – one centre, the Morell Early Childhood Centre
Queen Elizabeth, Kensington area – one centre, Fun Times Early Education and Child Care Centre
Souris – two centres:
• Eastern Kings Early Learning Centre
• Down to Earth
Summerside – seven centres :
• Little Bear Day Care
• Precious Lambs Day Care Inc.
• Rainbow Early Childhood Centre
• Angel Keepers Early Learning
• Dreams Unlimited Childcare Centre
• YMCA of Summerside Creative Learning Centre
• Little Angels Daycare
Tignish, St. Louis – one centre, Magic Moments Child Care Centre
Westwood zone, Cornwall – one centre, CHANCES Early Childhood Development Centre

The majority of daycare operators on P.E.I. want to transition their centres into provincial Early Years Centres.
All 95 daycares on the Island had until July 1 to decide whether to take part in the many changes coming to the childcare sector with government’s announcement of its new preschool initiative in late May.
The centrepiece of the massive changes is a transition of current daycares into provincial Early Years Centres. These centres will charge regulated fees, offer pay increases to early childhood educators and will offer a standardized provincial curriculum.
Fifty-five of the 95 daycares in the province have told the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development they want to transition into Early Years Centres.
But that doesn’t mean they will all become provincial centres.
Government officials are going through each application and will determine whether each daycare qualifies to become an Early Years Centre.
“We’re going through them based on the criteria that we gave (operators). We gave them a criteria to say what information we require and what the application will be judged on,” said Linda Lowther, assistant deputy minister of Early Childhood Development.
For centres to qualify, operators will have to agree to provide services most do not currently offer. They will have to be open year-round, will have strict nutrition policies and, with 40-50 children, will be larger than most current daycares. To address a major lack of childcare spaces for infants under 22 months, government is requiring all Early Years Centres to also accept a certain number of babies.
Lowther said it’s too early to say how many of the 55 daycares that applied will be accepted to become provincial centres, as officials are still going through applications.
But not all daycares in the province are interested in joining the new provincial childcare system. Close to a quarter of the centres told government they want to remain private.
Another 12 centres are taking advantage of the government’s offer to buy out licences. Those centres will receive twice the amount they currently receive annually for their operating grant as a one-time licence buyout.
A total of five daycares will be closing their doors altogether. Lowther said these numbers correspond with the department’s projections.
“It’s pretty close to what we thought we’d get, as far as the numbers go. We were expecting about 50 (to transition).”
The department is hoping 20-25 daycares will be ready to open as Early Years Centres this September. The rest will have until Oct. 1 to submit a plan for any work they need to do to complete the transition.
“The start dates for those supplementary centres could vary anywhere from October to September of 2011 or even possibly later, depending on what they need to do.” Lowther said.
There is currently no cap on the number of Early Years Centres that will be established, but the province will determine how many are needed based on the childcare requirements of each community across the Island.
“We want to make sure that there’s sufficient numbers to take in the children that are there and that they’re spread out so that there’s no communities or areas that don’t have access,” Lowther said.
One thing not yet known is whether the 55 daycares that have applied are evenly spread across P.E.I.
Lowther said that’s one of the many things that will be determined over the next week as officials continue to go through the daycare applications. The department will be reviewing applications until July 16. Officials will meet with each daycare operator to let them know the results of this process.

via www.theguardian.pe.ca

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FIRST ROUND OF EARLY YEARS CENTRES ANNOUNCED – PEI

Charlottetown, The Guardian: Local News | Majority of daycares apply to transition into Early Years Centres