Early Childhood Practitioners in Hanover Honoured

“Wi glad bag buss! Humility and pride weltering within me and my fellow honorees for the recognition accorded to us”, is how an elated Beulah Pryce summed up the appreciation of early childhood practitioners in Hanover who were recently honoured by the Early Childhood Commission (ECC).

Ms Pryce was among eleven early childhood practitioners who were recognized for giving between 35 and 43 years of service to the early childhood sector as part of the ECC’s tenth anniversary celebrations during a ceremony held at the Tryall Club in Hanover.

The parish-wide anniversary celebrations, which continue until November, also seek to recognize Early Childhood Institutions (ECI’s) who have made significant progress in meeting the required standards. Based on the ECC’s inspection, the top ten institutions in Hanover attaining the highest legal standards for this year are: Haughton Grove Basic; Pondside Basic; Sandy Bay Basic; Hopewell Basic; Logwood Basic; Bethel Infant; Askenish Basic; Mount Hannah Basic; Miles Town Basic and the Salvation Army Arthur Wint Basic.

The ECC standards cover areas including staffing, development of educational programmes, interactions and relationships with children, physical environment, health and safety, child rights, protection and equality, as well as interactions with parents and community members.

In commending the institutions for their attainment, Professor Maureen Samms-Vaughn, Chairman of the ECC, said the parish of Hanover topped early childhood institutions islandwide in their attainment of some ECC standards for certification.

“These teachers have given of themselves and we are very proud of them,” said Professor Samms-Vaughn. “The good position that Early Childhood Education in the parish of Hanover is currently in is due in a serious way to the contributions they have made in building and moulding young minds over the years,” she added.

In delivering the keynote address, Mrs. Hillary Foster, regional director at the Ministry of Education, noted that the ECC’s standards are “internationally recognised and challenging to achieve, but they have been established in the best interest of our children”. Therefore, she encouraged all operators of Early Childhood Institutions to strive to comply with the standards.

Mrs. Foster said that the government had embarked on a rationalization programme to assist more early childhood institutions to attain certification by having them merged into infant departments of primary schools. She reported that in the 2013/2014 academic year, 68 basic schools were merged into infant departments, along with the construction of two stand-alone schools. The Ministry is targeting the merger and/or construction of 200 ECI’s in the coming school year.