NEST Being Rolled Out in 500 Early Childhood Institutions

The Nurturing Early Scientific Thinking (NEST) Programme, aimed at introducing science at the early-childhood level, is being rolled out in 500 institutions across the island.

Minister without Portfolio with responsibility for Science, Technology and Special Projects, Dr. the Hon. Andrew Wheatley, said that institutions across all seven education regions and the island’s 14 parishes will be reached by the end of 2026.

He noted that implementation has already started in Kingston, St. Andrew, Portland, St. Mary, and St. Thomas, with the other parishes to complete the national coverage by year’s end.

He said that the programme will extend to “every region, every parish, 500 institutions, because the child who grows up asking ‘why’ and ‘how’ is the entrepreneur, the innovator, and the problem-solver Jamaica needs, and that journey begins not at university but at age three”.

Dr. Wheatley was making his contribution to the 2026/27 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (June 2).

He said the NEST initiative is Jamaica’s structured approach to embedding the foundations of inquiry, problem-solving, and evidence-based thinking into the earliest years of a child’s education.

“It works by building the capacity of educators in early-childhood institutions to deliver play-based science experiences, supported by Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) activity books and hands-on STEM kits designed specifically for the early-childhood context,” he informed.

“NEST targets our youngest children because for far too long we have sought to embed and grow scientific thinking at the secondary and tertiary level. This approach, in my estimation, is wrong and we must start cultivating scientific minds at the basic and primary level,” he contended.

He explained that the NEST pilot, conducted between February and June 2025, engaged 25 early-childhood institutions in Kingston and St. Andrew and deliberately selected schools in Zones of Special Operations, low-performing institutions, and compliant schools.

Dr. Wheatley also noted that 25 educators were trained through a Training of Trainers (TOT) Model delivered by Early Childhood Commission (ECC) officers, with mentorship support provided through the Association of Science Teachers of Jamaica.

“The evaluation is positive, the evidence base is built and the scale-up plan is ready,” he said.