Early childhood educators get certification support in Linstead

Early childhood educators in St Catherine North Western were spared the usual weeks of travel, paperwork and expense on Wednesday when key agencies came together in Linstead to make the certification process easier.

The initiative, spearheaded by St Catherine North Western Member of Parliament and Opposition Spokesman on Education and Early Childhood Development Damion Crawford, in partnership with the Early Childhood Commission (ECC), brought a range of services under one roof at Charlemont High School.

The certification fair was designed to help educators overcome some of the practical challenges of obtaining documents and meeting the requirements needed to operate their institutions legally.

“Today is the execution of one of the phases of our education revolution in Northwest St Catherine where we are targeting one degree per household in 15 years,” Crawford said.

He added: “We have started to ensure that they have adequate introduction at the early childhood stage.”

According to Crawford, there are 44 early childhood schools in the constituency, but only five are certified. He said the fair aimed to help move the remaining institutions towards certification.

The initiative was structured to remove some of the logistical hurdles that often discourage or delay educators from completing the process.

“We also have the ECC here to establish all the necessary standards and review their last report, indicating to them how they can improve.”

The fair provided access to all the documents required for certification, including police records, food handlers’ permits, and medical certificates. First-aid training was also available, allowing educators to access services that would normally require travel to multiple locations.

Crawford pointed to police records as one of the major burdens facing educators, noting that some had to travel as far as St Mary to obtain the document.

For Lois Forester, principal of Nation Builders Early Years Care Centre, the initiative offered welcome relief from the financial and logistical demands of certification.

CONVENIENCE

Forester, who attended the fair to obtain her police record and medical documentation, said the convenience could not be overstated.

“This is very convenient for us here in Linstead, because we would have to go to different locations to obtain these documents, so we truly appreciate this initiative,” she told The Gleaner.

Forester said obtaining the necessary documents for her seven-member team would normally cost about $5,000 per person, in addition to the time spent travelling between agencies.

The convenience was similarly welcomed by Rosemarie McKenzie Cole, principal of the Ewarton Church of Christ Basic School.

“This is very convenient for us. I was so happy when I learned of this fair. We don’t have to be running up and down all over the place, costing us a lot of money in transportation costs to get the documents. Very much convenient,” she said.

Trisha Williams-Singh, chairperson of the ECC, said the fair represented an effort to take the certification process directly to educators rather than requiring them to navigate several agencies independently.

“What is happening today is the bringing together of 161 early childhood educators and over 30 institutions that operate in this area, not only to have a permit to operate but to educate them more about what happens at the Early Childhood Commission,” Williams-Singh said.

She said the exercise was also expected to improve compliance rates among institutions in the area.

“So, what you are going to find from an activity like today, a lot of the institutions that are here, we should see an increase in their numbers once we do their inspection,” she said.

Beyond documentation and certification services, the fair also exposed educators to modern approaches to early childhood education.

A major feature was an ECC exhibition showcasing 21st-century learning tools. Educators were able to see and interact with hands-on learning resources that can be incorporated into the classroom.

Several agencies participated, including the fire department, the police fingerprinting unit, the health department, and a team of medical doctors.

Their presence meant educators could access multiple services in one location, reducing the need for repeated trips and making the certification process less time-consuming and more cost-effective.

ruddy.mathison@gleanerjm.com