1. Strengthening regional capacity in early childhood development in the Caribbean Region (CARICOM States) Supported by the Regional ECD Working Group Of the CARICOM Secretariat Meeting of the Consultative Group, Budapest, October 2008

2. Early Childhood Education and Care in the CARICOM Region, 2006 Research in 14/20 Caribbean countries for Education for All: Global Monitoring Report on Early Childhood Care and Education found: Lack of services for children, particularly for those under 3 years old Weak licensing, certification and monitoring systems A preponderance of small, undercapitalized operators Low levels of training among care-givers

3. Early Childhood Education and Care in the CARICOM Region, 2006, (contd.) Also: Absence of national standards Varying standards of care and quality Absence of sector wide governance at the national level, national plans, policies or regulatory mechanisms 87% of services in 14 countries in the region provided by community organisations, churches and private operators

4. Include early childhood in policies (1) Guidelines for developing ECD policy, regulation and standards –participatory multi level process over 2 ½ years – –now endorsed by CARICOM’s Council on Human and Social Development (COHSOD), March 2008 Monitoring by COHSOD of policy development and implementation of regulatory systems for ECD –Implementation projects at national level, several partners supporting, participatory multi-level processes, developing policy briefs and communication strategies

5. Include early childhood in policies (2)

6. Include early childhood in policies (3) National systems in development for monitoring performance of and quality in ECD sector against an agreed set of indicators –Being piloted in 3 countries –Long term support needed for ECD service coordinators in the analysis and use of data for reporting and decision-making, policy development and service improvement

7. Other key steps …. Costing and Financing Project continues … develop composite model based on 4 country case studies; construct user-friendly data based platform; recommend financing mechanisms Strengthen systems and structures for governance and development of ECD sectors …. formalise roles and processes, institutionalise systems, establish, technical units in governments and national coordinating mechanisms

8. Start at the Beginning Accessing children 0-3 to child development & early intervention services – regional policy forum to exchange effective practice to be held in 2009, technical process to develop strategy, regional guidelines developed 2010 Indicators for child development to be developed within current health screening systems & incorporated in parent-held child development ‘passports’ Support from Caribbean Learning Community – a network meeting annually to exchange research findings & lessons learned, recommend application to policy and programming

9. Get Ready for Success Regional project to improve access to ECD services ( building on experience in primary and secondary education) particularly for vulnerable children to be operational 2010, target 100% by 2015, through mixed strategy of kindergarten classes in schools and preschool/ ECD centres for 2-3 years duration Learning support practices guided by Caribbean ECD Learning goals and outcomes 2004, utilising survey ‘audits’ in 50% countries, several inter-country & international partnerships in support of implementation Sub regional & Country strategies in development for inclusion of children in disaster risk reduction & adaptation/mitigation responses to climate change

10. Improve primary school quality Strategy developed to extend access to teacher education across the region to EC personnel; currently available only in 25% countries –Regional level quality assurance mechanisms & qualification & progression routes in place –Sub regional and national levels of training delivery to be established over next 7 years - a resourcing package that requires support! Strategy for advocacy for the deployment of ECD trained teachers in the first two grades of primary schools –Research study tracking impact on primary school completion & retention –Transition & harmonisation projects with primary schools