The Jamaican Early Childhood Programme

1. The Jamaican Early Childhood Programme

2. The Jamaican Early Childhood Programme It is universally acknowledged that the first five years of a child´s life offer the greatest potential for building the foundations of conceptual learning and of developing valuable life skills, habits and attitudes, early childhood education therefore provides early estimulation in bulding interests in positive dispositions towards learning. The Ministry´s Early Childhood Programme dates back to 1970 when the government of Jamaica adopted and added new dimension to the successful Bernard Van Leer Foundation project which started in 1965 and was completed in 1975.

3. Government´s Policy on Early Childhood Education The Jamaican Government is fully committed not only to the development and horizontal expansion of Basic Schools and other institutions for the pre-primary school child of the nation, but it also belives implicity in the provition of quality education and care. It believes that irrespective of accident at birth – physically, socially and emotanionally each child has the right to a fair start in life. In Jamaica, Early Childhood Education is delivered through community operated basic schools, government infant schools and infant deparments in primary and all - age schools and kindergarten deparments of privately owned preparatory schools. Readiness of children entering the primary school continues to be main concern in Jamaica.

4. Early Childhood Programme in Jamaica as it relates to equity of our young children: The Ministry of Education Youth & Culture has embarked on the process of placing one trained teacher in each recognised Basic School with minimum enrolment with minimum enrolment of over one hundred. The Ministry develops the curriculum and trains the teachers in regular workshops. The enrolments rate of 3+ - 5 year old age cohort is 91 percent (91%) and is one highest in the Caribbean Region 1.

5. Over 80 percent (80%) of preschoolers enrolled attend community operated basic schools and just under 20% are in Public Infant Deparments and private centers wich benefit from government subsidies for teachers salaries, class materials and schools meals. In 1998 of approximately 237,400 children in the birth to three age cohort, only 3,6% of 8500 were supervised care with private provision accouting for more than 90 percent of the children in 402 day care facilities.

6. The Jamaican Early Childhood Programming is administered through a unit in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Culture and encompasses. 1,921 Recognised Basic Schools. 147 Unrecognised Basic Schools 402 Day Care Centers (Government built, private homebased) 29 Government infant schools . 83 Government Infant Deparments. 5 Special Edcuation Institutions offering Early Childhood. * MB – Structure for viewing

7. Present Early Childhood Projects in Jamaica. Integration Programme of Day Care and Basic Schools policy enacted in parliament in 1997, This collaboration through integration provides a more effective means of latering to the development of the “Whole Child” at the most critical stage of development. Enhancement of basic schools´project: concentrates on physical structure training and environment. Roving care givers programme: A programme which takes child care to the most needy children in rural Jamaica, interestingly, this programme has recived international recognition in UNICEF´S Maurice Peat Award. This is now replicated in other countries in the region.

8. Present Early Childhood Projects in Jamaica. Transition Project This was oficially launcher november 2001. A project designed to facilite the implementation of strategies to improve existing structures wich will help to bridge the gaps between the two levels Pre and Primary. Curriculum Review Presently, UNICEF is funding the writing and review of the new curriculum for 6 years age cohort.

9. Present Early Childhood Projects in Jamaica. Comunity Mobilization underpins the development of the early childhood programme. There is strong collaboration with interest groups and donor agencies. Each early childhood institution has a comunity managment board responsible for its day to day operations, in a qualitative context. The focus of the programme is the development of the whole child and as result the strategy employed is and integrated approach to programmes and service delivery. The programmes goal is readiness programme as stated in its mission statement. “To ensure taht children birth – six years old are provided with the opportunity for developmentally appropiate stimulating readiness programmes with emphasis on the affective, psychomotor and cognitive domains”. Health, nutrition and protection have also been included in the integrated focus.