How to use this slide show … This template is offered to you by the County of Wellington and the Quality Child Care Initiative – we are working together to provide supports for the community for the upcoming changes regarding the Early Learning Program (Full Day Kindergarten & the birth to 4 years Child Care System). These slides have been prepared as a template for the child care system in Guelph and Wellington to use (and adapt). These slides provide a framework for you to introduce some of the main changes that the child care system is, and will be, experiencing. The slides are intended to be used to stimulate discussion among your programme’s strategic planners with respect to adjusting the programme to a birth to 4 years age group. You may want to consider using these slides for a meeting with the board of directors, or perhaps with staff, or even parents … it’s up to you. When you are preparing the slides for your own purposes, the small yellow squares i.e., [LC1], have short notes regarding the slide that you’re on and how you may want to use the slide. They don’t show up when you are showing the slide show (they DO show up if you print the slides, so you might want to delete them when you’re done adapting the slides for your audience). To read the content in the notes, you just have to put your curser on the square and left click and, voila, there is the note. You can right click on the square if you want to delete it all together. Make this slide show your own. A few of the slides need to be updated with your own programme’s information – and all of the slides can be adapted (changed, added to, deleted) in any way that you wish. The photos in the slides, including a couple of extras at the end of the slide show, are i-stock photos purchased by the County for this purpose, and you are welcome to use them to brighten up these slides. There are several points in these slides that come from descriptions of our community and from research that is cited in our County of Wellington Child Care Services documents and Service Plans – they are available for your reference any time on the County of Wellington website! Specific documents that are referenced throughout the slide show are listed in the note area below the relevant slide. Don’t forget to take this slide out of your presentation!

Planning for the Future of Our Child Care Centre

Child care matters. AGENDA 1. Why is child care so important? 2. The Child Care System is Changing 3. What are our Main Priorities and Considerations?

Child Care Is Important for Children High quality child care has the potential to enhance children’s development Daily developmental screening is an activity that occurs naturally in high quality child care A focus on play in child care is one of the most important ways that children’s development and learning is supported

Child Care Is Important for Children Children’s participation in daily high quality early childhood education and child care programmes impacts their:  educational outcomes  health  cognitive  social  and financial status at 40 years of age (Dr. W. Steve Barnett, 2008, National Institute for Early Education Research).

Child Care is Important for Families Intensified family interactions and positive parenting are associated with high quality child care Parents who are involved in discussions about their child with ECEs are shown in research to feel more connected to their child and to the child care programme

Child Care is Important for Families Families need stable child care to work or study 74% of mothers and 95% of fathers with children younger than 6 years are working in Wellington and Guelph.  There isn’t enough licensed child care to meet the need: most working families in our community have to rely on unlicensed child care arrangements (whether they prefer licensed care or not)

Child Care is Important for Communities Child care is a labour intensive industry - every one full time job in child care creates or sustains up to 2.15 jobs in Canada. The current licensed centre-based child care industry in Wellington County and Guelph generates over $20 million annually ($5,243,372 in Wellington and $15,262,496 in Guelph) making it a notable industry in our community.

The Child Care System is Changing By 2014 all Children 4 & 5 years will have a space in Full Day Early Learning Kindergarten Our child care programme has XX spaces for children 4 & 5 years

We may lose revenue … The JK/SK spaces in our programme represent XX% of our revenue from parent fees

We may be facing staffing changes It can be challenging to attract well qualified Early Childhood Educators It is anticipated that about 1/5 to 1/3 of the Ontario ECE workforce will leave the child care system to work as a Designated Early Childhood Educator in full day kindergarten

Comparing Wages and Benefits Registered ECEs in FDK can earn about $22 to $28 per hour in our local schools.  They also receive benefits, pension contributions, can be unionized, and have school breaks off Registered ECEs in our programme earn $XX  The benefits our staff receive are XXXXX

The Need to Plan is Now! We need to adapt our programme to focus on younger children (child care system policy and funding is focused on children ages birth to 4 years) With changes to the child care system, our programme may risk closure Our main source of funding is from parents paying child care fees Provincial transition funding grants are available until 2015

There is funding help, we need a plan. Available funding grants include:  Transition Minor Capital  Help to pay for minor renovations (this funding is only available for not for profits)  Transition Operating  Help to pay for start up costs to existing programmes making changes to serve children birth to 4 years  Third Party Contract Start Up Funding  Help to pay for the start up costs to existing operators who have a third party contract to offer before and after school care with a local school board.  Health and Safety (not specifically transition funding)  Help to pay for repairs or purchases to meet legislated requirements

Priorities & Considerations  Are our staff wages competitive?  What conditions can we control to keep great ECEs working at our programme?  The main source of income for the programme is parent fees – can those change?

Priorities & Considerations  What physical changes would need to be made to this programme for younger children?  What are the Professional Development needs of staff to work with children who are very young?

Keep in Mind  Families need us.  there’s 1 space for every 10 children in this community  Fees still need to be affordable.  families spend about 16% of their income on care for 1 child in our community  Are we accessible?  there’s often a mismatch between the hours and scheduling that care is available and parents’ need for care

Next Steps

We can make the child care changes good for children and families. Have questions? Need support? Contact: The County of Wellington, Child Care Services Quality Child Care Initiative