STAKEHOLDERS in the early childhood education sector have launched a public education campaign aimed at improving standards at the island’s institutions for children aged zero to six years old.

Following on the islandwide campaign, all early childhood institutions (ECIs) will be inspected, and those which make no effort to improve their standards will be ordered closed.

However, chairperson of the Early Childhood Commission (ECC) Dr Maureen Samms-Vaughan emphasised that closure would be a last resort reserved for institutions where children are deemed to be in “clear and present danger”.

“We want to know what their (the ECIs) challenges are, and we want them to begin to work through them. when we visit we must see that progress is being made,” Dr Samms-Vaughan told the Observer after the campaign launch, held at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston on Wednesday.

When an early childhood institution is inspected, there will be three possible outcomes:

. the institution meets all the legal requirements and therefore can be fully registered;

. the institution does not meet all the legal requirements, but the children are not in clear and present danger; in such case a permit will be issued for it to operate and a report written on what the institution needs to do in order to meet the legal requirements; or

. the institution is recommended for closure, if the children are found to be in clear and present danger with regard to their health and safety.

Under the public education campaign, which will have as its theme ‘Start them right, make them bright’, approximately 200 workshops on the regulations and standards will be conducted by education officers in communities islandwide.

The workshops will be held over two months, starting next month. They will engage operators of ECIs, early childhood practitioners, community representatives, parents, churches, NGOs, the private sector and other stakeholders.

As part of the campaign, the ECC has also developed a user guide, which sets out regulations and standards for the operation of ECIs in Jamaica. Included in the user guide are 12 standards, including those for staffing, health, safety, nutrition, indoor and outdoor equipment furnishing and supplies, interaction with parents and community members, administration and finance.

Speaking at the launch, Education Minister Maxine Henry-Wilson urged the private sector to contribute to the early childhood sector, if they had not already done so. She said many ECIs would need help if they were to meet the legal standards.

“We talk about early childhood; we now have to act on what we say. Let us not just think about the need. We need your full cooperation and your tangible support,” Henry-Wilson said.