The United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, Children’s Services Department is partnering with Ontario’s 47 Early Years and Child Care Service System Managers to launch a province-wide marketing campaign to raise awareness.
The campaign is aimed at generating an increased understanding of, and support for, Ontario’s licensed child care and Early Years sector. The goal of the campaign is to increase public awareness and provide key facts to ensure that our community is able to maintain a stable early education system that is high quality, equitably available, accessible and affordable. “The licensed child care and early years programs located across Leeds and Grenville are an important part of our community,” said Shannon Brown, Manager of Children’s Services, United Counties of Leeds and Grenville.
“If we are going to sustain these programs and work to increase the number of child care spaces available to families, we need to attract more qualified staff to work in these programs. Early Childhood Education and the staff that work in licensed child care and early years programs, need to hold a greater value in our community,” Ms. Brown said.
Leeds and Grenville currently has 855 centre-based licensed child care infant, toddler and preschool spaces spread across the region, including locations in Kemptville, Johnstown, Maynard, Brockville, Elgin, Westport, Lansdown, and Gananoque.
Quality child care and early years services are important for a child’s development and future success, Ms. Brown said. High-quality licensed child care and early years programs provide Ontario’s children with safe, responsive, and caring interactions that help them develop vital skills and build a strong foundation for their continued development to grow into healthy and productive adults. Early Childhood Educators are essential for quality child care and early years programs. Registered Early Childhood Educators (RECEs) are trained professionals with expertise in child development who are a key element of quality early learning. These professionals must be recognized, valued, and fairly compensated for the important role they play in the lives of children, families, and communities at large. All communities need qualified and engaged RECEs to perform and deliver child care’s evidence-based early learning and child care benefits. “This campaign will assist the public in learning more about the importance of high-quality licensed child care and early years programs in our community and acknowledge RECEs for the important work they do,” said Ms. Brown.
For more information on local programming and the province-wide campaign, contact: Shannon Brown, RECE Manager, Children’s Services United Counties of Leeds and Grenville shannon.brown@uclg.on.ca 613-342-3840, extension 2461
