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.”