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The Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC and the Early Childhood Educators of BC are pleased to announce the release of our Briefing Note on our Emerging Plan for an Integrated System of Early Care and Learning in BC.
The Emerging Plan is part of our organizations' response to BC's implementation of full school day Kindergarten for 5 year olds and the promise of some kind of 'pre kindergarten' for 3 and 4 year olds to follow.
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Highlights of the Emerging Plan include:
- A new home for all community and school based early care and learning programs for young children in the Ministry of Education.
- A new Early Care and Learning Act to enshrine the rights of young children to services that meet their developmental needs and the rights of families to access quality care and learning services.
- Early Care and Learning Plans developed by local Boards of Education with stakeholders involvement.
- Early Years Centres -- an alternative, more appropriate approach than part day pre-Kindergarten -- where young children participate in full or part time early care and learning programs while their families are at work, study or home.
- A process to integrate existing group and family child care and pre-school into Early Years Centres.
- An enhanced approach to Kindergarten and Grade 1 with ECEs joining teachers as part of the staff team.
- A workforce development plan that moves ECEs towards parity with teachers while respecting their unique expertise.
- A way to get from here to there that, with accountability measures in place, welcomes existing providers into the new system.