Four early childhood institutions across the country will get special attention on Labour Day, May 23, by the Firearm Licensing Authority (FLA).

Work on the four institutions — Mountain View Primary School in Kingston, Mandeville Infant School on Wint Road in Manchester, Catherine Hall Infant School at West Green in Montego Bay, and Discovery Bay All-Age School (Infant Department) in St Ann — will aim to improve aesthetics, FLA Director of Corporate Planning and Client Relations Beverley Robinson told JIS News.

“We want our children to fulfil their potential and we want them to do that in environments that are stimulating. So, we have targeted early childhood education and we have done that from as far back as pre-COVID-19 when we did some work at the White Memorial Early Childhood Centre,” Robinson is quoted by the State news agency.

Robinson said that at Mandeville Infant School, the FLA will be marking and painting a pedestrian crossing.

“We have been having a series of accidents with our children, so road safety is critical to their protection and their safety,” she said.

Additionally Robinson said that with food security now high on the country’s agenda, the FLA staff will be planting a vegetable garden at the school.

Meanwhile, Catherine Hall Infant School, she said, will be getting a much-needed facelift to its playground as play is a critical element of children’s development.

“We’ll be repairing and painting their swing set and monkey bars and we will restore and paint their obstacle tyres. We will also be painting the partition wall and will place gravel and sand on the monkey bars and swing set area to improve safety in that area,” Robinson explained.

In St Ann, the FLA will also be marking and painting a pedestrian crossing at Discovery Bay High and Primary School.

Major repairs will be done at Mountain View Primary School, too, where the FLA will be teaming up with parents to renovate the guardhouse, tile the stage and paint the perimeter wall.

“We are making the guardhouse sturdy and installing glass, so that the security guard can get a clear view of the surroundings. We will also be looking at the tiling of the school stage. Every year the school has a graduation, they have to rent a stage and that cost is passed on to the parents. We are looking at eliminating that. We’re also looking at painting the perimeter wall for the front classrooms to improve the overall environment and aesthetics of the area,” Robinson said.

All the projects will commence at 8:00 am on Labour Day and citizens are encouraged to support the team.

Labour Day is being celebrated under the theme ‘Reigniting a Nation for Greatness – Protect Our Heritage and Environment’.