Daycare teachers start CVQ Early Childhood Education training

A group of six daycare teachers, two after-school care teachers, a few teacher assistants of the Sacred Heart primary school, and some persons of other organizations have started the Caribbean Vocation Qualification (CVQ) Early Childhood Education training at the Saba Comprehensive School (SCS).
Teacher Floyd Pryce from Jamaica has been hired and started teaching the group on Friday, October 4. That day marked the official start of the Early Childhood Education training with the cutting of the ribbon by Island Governor Jonathan Johnson and Commissioner Rolando Wilson.

The class consists of 15 persons. They will be attending school once a week. The curriculum includes units such as early childhood education policies, supporting the safety and wellbeing of children, social and emotional development, supporting parents in their parenting role, and inter-active workplace communication.

The CVQ 2 Early Childhood Education on Saba is a two-year program and provided as part of the larger BES(t) 4 Kids program to upgrade daycare and after-school care in the Caribbean Netherlands. The focus of BES(t) 4 Kids is on creating a safe and caring environment for children, which is accessible to all parents.

Good quality childcare requires sufficient qualified caregivers. The Public Entity Saba provides all staff working at the daycare and after-school care the opportunity to become qualified by 2022. The group that has now started with the CVQ 2 program does not involve the entire daycare and after-school care staff. In the next school year beginning August 2020, the second half will start with the rest of the daycare and after-school care staff, explained Saba’s project leader BES(t) 4 Kids Rosa Johnson.

Commissioner Wilson addressed the gathering on Friday. He said that several measures were being taken to create a more affordable, high-quality daycare and noted that the plans for the new daycare center were adjusted to facilitate more children. “We are investing in our future and that of the island. I would like to wish all participants the very best and to encourage you that at all times, do not just rely on your strength but count on each other so that as a united group, it will become easier to achieve success.”

Daycare Manager Tessa Samuel-Alexander is very content with the start of the CVQ Early Childhood Education program. “The Laura Linzey Day Care is gradually moving towards improving the quality of service and care provided. We are excited about this opportunity that the BES(t) 4 Kids program has afforded the staff to be trained and qualified in the CVQ Early Childhood Education, this continues to build awareness of the importance of their role as caregivers in early childhood education and afford staff the vital foundational skills and tools needed to meet the holistic development of the child.” Human Resources Department Head of the Public Entity Saba Miguela Gumbs said that the local government considered it essential to keep investing in the development of its personnel. “The daycare staff has a vital task in our community as they help mold the youngest members of our community in their first years of life,” she said.

GIS Saba.