In its Fourth ECCE Forum, the IECD brought together child development professionals, nurses, parents, and other stakeholders to share the results of the study, discuss policy-related issues, recommendations of the study for future improvements and chart the way forward.
Participants at the Forum
The objectives of the study were to:
- Capture and analyze child Development outcome data from the Denver Development Screening Test (DDST),
- Establish the achievement of Developmental milestone of Seychellois Children,
- Examine the testing conditions in the community health centre’s
- Seek the views of parents on the development of their children.
During the forum, the two consultants who assisted the IECD on the Project; Mr. Egbert Benstrong and Dr. Andre Leste, presented among other recommendations the following:
– The need for the test to be reviewed to improve the reliability in its administration.
– Validity in the interpretation of the results.
– The need to carry out an audit of the DDST facilities to administer the DDST in the Health Centres by the Programme Managers in consultation with the Nurse Mangers.
Dr Andre Leste addressing the participants
The Chief Executive Officer of the IECD, Mrs. Shirley Choppy highlighted the importance of measuring and reporting on child development outcomes as an international best practice. She recommended that proposals discussed are translated into action, to build capacity of professionals and improve on data availability on child development to enhance learning outcomes and ultimately raise the quality of service.
The CEO of the IECD, Mrs Shirley Choppy
