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National Child Care Committee |Cupe.ca Child Care News Link| Terms of Reference National Child Care Working Group PEI leadership on child care an example for others, says CUPE OTTAWA – The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) says the government of Prince Edward Island is to be congratulated for showing leadership with its new Preschool Excellence Initiative. “Premier Ghiz and his government have embraced the need to guarantee a quality system of Early Childhood Learning and Care (ECEC), that is accessible and sustainable—something we’ve long advocated for. The initiative means that public funding for for-profit centres will end,” said CUPE National President Paul Moist. “PEI is taking leadership and setting an example for other provinces and the federal government.” The initiative is to provide quality care to all of the island’s children aged four and under. Quality care will come from a system that ensures access, a standard play-based curriculum, qualified early childhood education workers that have decent pay and benefits, and parent involvement. PEI will open 20 early learning centres for September 2010 and 20 more in 2011. “This initiative is important for children’s development, for families, and for the future of our communities,” said Shawna Quinn, who represents PEI on CUPE’s national child care working group. “It’ll be a boost for workers in the sector and help the economy, too.” PEI is the first province to implement an ECEC system for preschool children. The new system begins September 2010. The Canadian Union of Public Employees, Canada’s largest union, has long advocated for universal, high quality early learning and child care programs, and against for-profit care. To find out more about CUPE ‘s position on early learning and care go to www.cupe.ca/childcare For more information:
National Working Child Care Committee Report May 2010 We met in Montreal for the All Committees Meetings on March 29-April 1. There were introductions as we now have a new committee and a new member from Quebec sitting on the Child Care Working Group. For the new members there, we discussed the history of the National Child Care Working Group ,the Terms of Reference for the committee, the Policy and the NDP Child Care Bill-C373 (more...) CUPE National Childcare Working Group Report 2010 CUPE represents 100,000 child care workers across Canada. CUPE is one of the leading advocates for a cross-country system of early learning and child care. CUPE National Child Care Working Group has been active since 1981. CUPE National Child Care Working Group works in coalition nationally with the Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada and Code Blue for Child Care (more....) An open letter to Canada’s parliamentarians Dear Honourable Members of Parliament, New study shows major benefits from investing in child care A major new study on the economics of early learning and child care provides important additional evidence of the benefits of investing in the sector. (more....) From vision to action: Early childhood education and care in 2020 Article by by Martha Friendly and Susan Prentice THE IMPORTANCE OF AN EARLY CHILD CARE PROGRAM A Child Care Program is needed on PEI for numberous reasons! I have worked in the education system in an elementary atmosphere for the past 14 years, I have seen and continue to see the positive effects of Ealry Childhood Programs on children entering the school system. Children who have had the experiences of an Early Childhood Program show confidence and are well prepared socially and emotionally to enter school. A jump start in an Early Childhood Program makes for a positive beginning in school and a postive beginning leads to many successes! As a mother I had the privledge of having my daughter taken care of on a daily basis at home by her grandmother! At the age of three I enrolled my daughter into a local play school program to prepare her for the fast approaching school years. She attended play school for two years at age 3 and 4 before entering Kindergarten at age 5. The reasons I chose to send my daugter to playschool and Kindergarten were not because I had to, it was to prepare her to enter the school system socially, intellectually, and emotionally. It is a wonderful thing to have the opprotunity to have the option of you child being taken care of by a family member, it gives you peace of mind knowing your childs every need is being met! Along with the pros comes some cons, a child may recieve all the love and attention that a mother could want but what about the social skills to play and learn with other children? These are skills that are essential to being successfull in a large populated atmosphere, like the school system. Not only do you have to be socially prepared, but emotionally, to have the skills to deal the seperation of family members, the confidence to be able to problem solve and make choices independently. We cannot always be there to make the right choices or solve all the problems for our children, so they have to learn the skills to make make their own choices and solve problems independently. I was forunate enough to have the best of both worlds, the beginning years my daugther cared for by the next best thing to her mother and Child Care Programs that provided skills that my daughter will take with her through life and build on daily. The unfortunate thing about Child Care Programs on PEI is we need more, they have to be affordable and accessible to families. When I enrolled my duahter into a playschool program I was fortunate I done it early! In order to get my child in an adequate Kindergarten Program I registered her at the age of 2! That is three years prior to her attending and I was the second last seat for that class for her Kindergarten year! I feel every child is entitled to a good start in life, An Early Childhood Program is a step in the right direction! Stacy Delaney CUPE National Child Care Working Group |
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