The Institute of Early Childhood Development National Standards Regulation, 2016 provides a set of standards that child-minders have to comply with in order to be able to operate legally. These standards aim to ensure consistency across child-minding establishments therefore, assuring quality service in early childhood care and education for the wholesome development of children in Seychelles.
However, in order to promote those national standards, an education and sensitisation campaign is necessary to reach not only all child-minders but also parents, prospective parents, other stakeholders and the public in general. This is also in line with the Institute’s mandate to advocate and promote comprehensive understanding of the best practices in Early Childhood Care and Education.
A series of ten media-based spots have been produced focusing on the ten standards (namely; Early Learning, Interaction, Health, Nutrition, Safety, Child Rights and Protection, Staffing, Physical Environment, Family and Community Engagement, and Administration). The spots are presently being aired on national television and radio, they have been broadcasted since August 2016 and we anticipate that this will be continued until December 2016.
In addition, they have been uploaded to the IECD website and Facebook Page. With such publicity, it is anticipated that the spots will help to raise awareness on the quality of childminding establishments and service delivery. We have so far received excellent reviews on the spots from professionals, parents and members of the public.
