November 19, 2009
PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT TAKES STEPS TO SUPPORT THE EARLY CHILDHOOD SECTOR
CHARLOTTETOWN, PEI — The provincial government is taking steps to
support the early childhood sector as the kindergarten program
transitions to the public school system, and many projects are now
nearing completion, says Education and Early Childhood Development
Minister Gerard Greenan.
“The most significant initiative is a financial impact
study that we are doing to identify and address impact on early
childhood centres,” said Minister Greenan. “This is an in-depth expert
analysis being conducted by MRSB. It is overseen by an advisory
committee of people from government departments, the Early Childhood
Development Association and the Early Learning Operators of PEI.” The
study will be complete in December. It will include:
• a detailed profile of early childhood centres including size
and type of centre, location and setting, children served, staffing,
and programs offered;
• overall financial impact on the sector by region, size and type of centre;
• current and forecast demand by region, shortfalls and overlaps by region;
• options for measures that could assist the sector and individual centres to adapt.
“We are taking an orderly approach to transfer kindergarten to
schools, to address immediate impact on early childhood centres, and to
ensure that families have good access to high quality early learning
and child care in the future,” said the Minister. “The information in
the financial impact study will enable us to identify the supports that
best respond to the specific needs of families and centres.”
The provincial government announced in the Speech from the
Throne that it will soon initiate a wider process to establish a vision
and long term strategy for the early childhood sector. “This will bring
parents, early childhood educators and partners together to identify
what we want for our children, and how we can work together towards a
vibrant, sustainable early childhood sector in Prince Edward Island.”
An accelerated training program for staff of early childhood
centres will soon be offered. It will provide employees with full
tuition and the opportunity to receive a Diploma in Early Childhood
Care and Education in one year, rather than two. The program will
benefit owners and operators of centres by providing them with access
to more certified staff.
A survey has been conducted to determine how many kindergarten
educators are interested in moving to the school system. This
information will support human resource planning by schools and early
childhood centres.
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development staff
are meeting this weekend with early childhood centre staff to update
them on the kindergarten transition. Sessions will take place Saturday,
November 21 at 9:30 a.m. at la Belle Alliance in Summerside in both
English and French. In Charlottetown, it will be offered at Carrefour
de l’Isle St.-Jean at 1:15 p.m.
Minister Greenan encouraged early childhood educators to take
this opportunity to receive the latest information and have their
questions answered.
“The transfer of kindergarten to the public school system is a
major initiative that represents significant change. People are
concerned right now because they don’t know exactly what the early
childhood sector will look like in the future. This is why we are
taking time to understand future financial and human resource needs.
We want to ensure that our decisions are based on good information and
sound research, that they respond effectively to immediate needs, and
support the long term sustainability of the early childhood sector,”
said Minister Greenan. “We acknowledge and appreciate the excellent
work that continues in our early childhood centres and we assure
parents and all partners of our continued commitment and support.”
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