Earl Grey Children’s Centre has operated out of Earl Grey School for 35 years. We are a provincially licensed early childhood education centre serving 71 children ages 3-12 years. We employ 15 Early Childhood Educators and support the Earl Grey School community exclusively. We do not transport to other centres and all of our children attend Earl Grey School. We directly affect enrolment for the school; parents choose Earl Grey because of the Child Care Centre. We operate all year long providing care during in-services and school closures including winter, spring and summer break.
All of our staff are trained educators; provincial regulations require staff to have Early Childhood Education training. Our Early Childhood Education (ECE) Level 3 staff are qualified to teach Nursery. Our provincially mandated curriculum ensures that, as an early childhood education centre, we have children school ready by grade 1.
Our commitment to the school and vice versa is paramount to each other’s success. Three years ago we expanded our centre by 15 spaces on request of the school to meet the higher enrolment demands. This kind of cooperation between child care and educational systems is a vital community service that is supported by all levels of government and backed by empirical evidence in the latest research on early childhood education outcomes.
In the event of a school swap, our future in either building is uncertain at best. According to the Community Consultation statement on the Winnipeg School Division (WSD) website, we are viewed as mere tenants who may only be offered space providing that it is available. We have begun to look at contingency planning and have determined that there is no suitable location within walking distance for us to relocate and still serve the Earl Grey Community. A school swap would effectively shut down a child care centre that has been in operation for 35 years, leave 71 children without early educational child care and cause 15 people to lose their jobs. This is not just a matter of trading buildings. There is much more at stake here.
Additionally, Earl Grey School is directly connected to other child care systems in the same one block community. Dante Nursery has been in operation for 41 years. Originally they operated from the school and then later moved to the building directly behind, adjacent to the Community Club.
They provide provincially licensed childcare space from infancy through preschool. Each year they have up to 15 children who attend Nursery and Kindergarten at Earl Grey and, due to their proximity, are able to walk those kids to and from school. Like Earl Grey Children’s Centre, they are open year round and provide care during school closure and holidays. However, if Earl Grey School moves, they will not be able to transport. The centre itself is not in jeopardy but 15 more children will lose their child care option.
Both centres currently have waiting lists from families who, in anticipation of their children attending Earl Grey School are waiting for space. Child care waiting lists are over 2 years long, even longer for infant care. Families in our community who are planning their childcare and school future based on the locations of the school and child care centres will be affected. These decisions affect not just those of us using the services now, but also families in our community well into the future.
The Earl Grey Community Club provides programming to many Earl Grey students every day. They run before and after school and lunch supervision programs in which 40-60 children regularly attend.
Despite the number of licensed child care spaces, there will never be enough and the Community Club provides an invaluable resource for those families who cannot secure or afford licensed child care space and for adolescent children who need a safe and secure place to be outside of school hours.
The Community Club does not have the means to transport kids or assure their safe arrival to the club if they were expected to travel alone. As a result these families would no longer have the affordable and trusted supervision for their children. It is the proximity of the Community Centre to the School that makes this programming successful. Four blocks may not seem like much to you or I, but to these children and their families, it is a barrier they cannot surmount.
On January 24, 2015 The Winnipeg Free Press released the first of a year-long series on child-care as a key economic and education issue, leading up to the Provincial and Federal elections. They site many sources all of whom agree with the current research that supports the collaboration between schools and early childhood education centres including the Manitoba Association of School Superintendents, The Manitoba School Boards Association, Manitoba Family Services, Healthy Child Manitoba, and Manitoba Education. Some of the key points are as follows:
• Economic experts and child-care studies globally support the fact that a child who gets a decent start in the preschool years has a much brighter future. Long term positive outcomes and cost-savings include improved school performance, reduced special education placement, lower school drop-out rates and increased lifelong earning potential.
• A new generation of brain research shows the incredible value of early-childhood education. This greater understanding of the importance of the preschool years has led to increasing integration of programs and services for preschoolers with programs and services for school age children. This data is so persuasive, even economists have taken notice because the evidence shows experiences during the first five years of life have a material impact on economic and social success, including educational, health and overall well-being. This science has begun to inform education policy.
• In Manitoba about half of all daycare centres are located in or next to schools. The province requires that new schools include purpose-built childcare centres and are working to ensure that existing centres will be protected by Bill 7. Bill 7 is an amendment to the Public Schools Act protecting child care spaces in school settings which has been put before the Legislature of Manitoba in cooperation with The Manitoba School Boards Association. The Act is based on the following standards: WHEREAS licensed child care centres in schools let children move seamlessly between child care and school within a safe, secure and nurturing environment; AND WHEREAS families, school boards and child care centres all benefit by being able to plan knowing that the child care space will continue to be available; it protects a child care centre operating out of a school setting by requiring full cooperation, agreement and planning to occur between the school division, the child care centre and the provincial Minister regarding any changes in space or location. Minister of Education Peter Bjornson made the first reading in November 2014 and it is expected to pass without objection. As elected trustees of the School Board Office, I respectfully suggest that any decision made needs to adhere to the spirit of this legislation pending the official Royal Assent passing it into law because the goal of the province in collaboration with school divisions is towards integrating early learning childcare centres with the current formalized educational system.
All of our staff are trained educators; provincial regulations require staff to have Early Childhood Education training. Our Early Childhood Education (ECE) Level 3 staff are qualified to teach Nursery. Our provincially mandated curriculum ensures that, as an early childhood education centre, we have children school ready by grade 1.
Our commitment to the school and vice versa is paramount to each other’s success. Three years ago we expanded our centre by 15 spaces on request of the school to meet the higher enrolment demands. This kind of cooperation between child care and educational systems is a vital community service that is supported by all levels of government and backed by empirical evidence in the latest research on early childhood education outcomes.
In the event of a school swap, our future in either building is uncertain at best. According to the Community Consultation statement on the Winnipeg School Division (WSD) website, we are viewed as mere tenants who may only be offered space providing that it is available. We have begun to look at contingency planning and have determined that there is no suitable location within walking distance for us to relocate and still serve the Earl Grey Community. A school swap would effectively shut down a child care centre that has been in operation for 35 years, leave 71 children without early educational child care and cause 15 people to lose their jobs. This is not just a matter of trading buildings. There is much more at stake here.
Additionally, Earl Grey School is directly connected to other child care systems in the same one block community. Dante Nursery has been in operation for 41 years. Originally they operated from the school and then later moved to the building directly behind, adjacent to the Community Club.
They provide provincially licensed childcare space from infancy through preschool. Each year they have up to 15 children who attend Nursery and Kindergarten at Earl Grey and, due to their proximity, are able to walk those kids to and from school. Like Earl Grey Children’s Centre, they are open year round and provide care during school closure and holidays. However, if Earl Grey School moves, they will not be able to transport. The centre itself is not in jeopardy but 15 more children will lose their child care option.
Both centres currently have waiting lists from families who, in anticipation of their children attending Earl Grey School are waiting for space. Child care waiting lists are over 2 years long, even longer for infant care. Families in our community who are planning their childcare and school future based on the locations of the school and child care centres will be affected. These decisions affect not just those of us using the services now, but also families in our community well into the future.
The Earl Grey Community Club provides programming to many Earl Grey students every day. They run before and after school and lunch supervision programs in which 40-60 children regularly attend.
Despite the number of licensed child care spaces, there will never be enough and the Community Club provides an invaluable resource for those families who cannot secure or afford licensed child care space and for adolescent children who need a safe and secure place to be outside of school hours.
The Community Club does not have the means to transport kids or assure their safe arrival to the club if they were expected to travel alone. As a result these families would no longer have the affordable and trusted supervision for their children. It is the proximity of the Community Centre to the School that makes this programming successful. Four blocks may not seem like much to you or I, but to these children and their families, it is a barrier they cannot surmount.
On January 24, 2015 The Winnipeg Free Press released the first of a year-long series on child-care as a key economic and education issue, leading up to the Provincial and Federal elections. They site many sources all of whom agree with the current research that supports the collaboration between schools and early childhood education centres including the Manitoba Association of School Superintendents, The Manitoba School Boards Association, Manitoba Family Services, Healthy Child Manitoba, and Manitoba Education. Some of the key points are as follows:
• Economic experts and child-care studies globally support the fact that a child who gets a decent start in the preschool years has a much brighter future. Long term positive outcomes and cost-savings include improved school performance, reduced special education placement, lower school drop-out rates and increased lifelong earning potential.
• A new generation of brain research shows the incredible value of early-childhood education. This greater understanding of the importance of the preschool years has led to increasing integration of programs and services for preschoolers with programs and services for school age children. This data is so persuasive, even economists have taken notice because the evidence shows experiences during the first five years of life have a material impact on economic and social success, including educational, health and overall well-being. This science has begun to inform education policy.
• In Manitoba about half of all daycare centres are located in or next to schools. The province requires that new schools include purpose-built childcare centres and are working to ensure that existing centres will be protected by Bill 7. Bill 7 is an amendment to the Public Schools Act protecting child care spaces in school settings which has been put before the Legislature of Manitoba in cooperation with The Manitoba School Boards Association. The Act is based on the following standards: WHEREAS licensed child care centres in schools let children move seamlessly between child care and school within a safe, secure and nurturing environment; AND WHEREAS families, school boards and child care centres all benefit by being able to plan knowing that the child care space will continue to be available; it protects a child care centre operating out of a school setting by requiring full cooperation, agreement and planning to occur between the school division, the child care centre and the provincial Minister regarding any changes in space or location. Minister of Education Peter Bjornson made the first reading in November 2014 and it is expected to pass without objection. As elected trustees of the School Board Office, I respectfully suggest that any decision made needs to adhere to the spirit of this legislation pending the official Royal Assent passing it into law because the goal of the province in collaboration with school divisions is towards integrating early learning childcare centres with the current formalized educational system.
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