Daycare costs may be skyrocketing, but workers are not cashing in.  

BY SARAH SAHAGIAN - TORONTOIST.COM

It’s no secret that childcare costs have—and continue to—skyrocket in Toronto. These days, the median cost of childcare for an infant is now more than $1,700 per month, and that number seems to be growing steadily. In fact, Ontarians pay the most for childcare in the country.

But what of the people who provide the services? How much of that money gets passed onto them?

Read more on Torontoist.com

cc image courtesy of Canadian Pacific on Flickr

Government is increasing salaries to early childhood educators employed at early years centres by two per cent, as of July 2016.

“Prince Edward Island’s early learning and childcare system is among the best in Canada and early childhood educators are important partners in helping Island children fulfill their potential as they prepare for public education,” said Education, Early Learning and Culture Minister Doug Currie. “We are providing a two per cent increase in wages for over 300 early years centre educators, starting this July. This wage increase will see $300,000 re-invested into front-line educators.”

News Release

In this Issue:

• AECEO Response to Proposed Phase 2 Regulations: Age Groupings, Ratios & Group Size
• Child and Family programs in Ontario: Where do RECES fit in?
• (featured article available to the public)
• Professional Pay and Decent Work for All
• Professional Pay for Professional Work
• AECEO News/Draft revised Mission Statement
• Reconceptualizing Early Childhood Education (RECE) International Conference
• Shared framework for building an early childhood education and care system for all
• AECEO Member Survey/AGM Notice
• AECEO Board nominations slate

We would like to thank the following advertisers for helping to support this issue of the eceLINK

Early Childhood Investigations

This webinar will provide early learning leaders the opportunity to:

• Investigate the spectrum of commonly used terms in anti-bias and culturally responsive approaches in early childhood education

• Identify fundamental gaps in implementing an anti-bias approach and develop classroom and program-level visions for improving current practices as an early childhood leader

• Examine effective strategies and tools that early childhood leaders can adopt in order to execute a substantial anti-bias approach

Other webinars and resources available on their website

"Transforming Ontario's Early Years Child and Family Programs"

Ontario is moving forward on its commitment to integrate and transform its child and family programs.

Four existing programs, funded by the Ontario government, will be integrated. Ontario Early Years Child and Family Centres (OEYCFCs) will give families and children access to high-quality early years programs, as well as some programs that meet needs within their community.

Public plan for the creation of Ontario Early Years Child and Family Centres

The Board of Directors is very pleased to welcome Lyndsay Macdonald as the new Coordinator of the AECEO

Lyndsay is an RECE who has worked within the Ontario child care sector, both directly in programs and in policy research and advocacy. Lyndsay holds both a BA in Early Childhood Education and an MA in Early Childhood Studies from Ryerson University School of Early Childhood Studies. Lyndsay advocates passionately for child care policies that support all Canadian families and that put children at the centre of system building. At the heart of Lyndsay's advocacy work are the dedicated early childhood educators who provide high quality programs for children and families every single day. Lyndsay strongly believes that early childhood educators have the knowledge, the skills and the capacity to initiate positive change in the sector and she is committed to finding space for ECEs to mobilize and engage in policy discussions that impact our sector. 

In these very exciting times of change in the Early Learning and Care field, Lyndsay’s extensive knowledge of the current landscape for our early learning professionals and her passion for influencing change that matters to ECEs and to children and families will be key assets in supporting and furthering our mission.

We very much look forward to working with Lyndsay on all of the exciting initiatives and activities we have planned for 2016 and beyond!

Growing ECE Access and Quality: Opportunities and Challenges

Across Canada and around the Globe policymakers are looking to expand children’s access to early childhood education. Join Michel Boivin, Canada Research Chair on Child Social Development and professor of psychology at the School of Psychology of Université Laval, Rowena Phair of the OECD’s Education and Skills Directorate and Tove Mogstad Slinde of the OECD Network on Early Childhood Education and Care as they discuss how states are expanding ECE access while maintaining program quality; balancing the needs of 0-3 year olds with programs for 4-6 year olds; and addressing children’s right to ECE with parents need for child care.

more information

The Canadian Press Posted: Feb 04, 2016

The federal families minister is heading west to meet his provincial and territorial counterparts to talk about the path forward on a national child-care system.

The meeting comes more than 10 years after former Liberal minister Ken Dryden and nine provinces agreed to create a national daycare program, only to watch the Conservatives end those agreements when they took office in 2006.

Read more... 

My Name is Shailja Jain, and I am a fourth-year degree student in the School of Early Childhood at George Brown College. In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Bachelor in Early Childhood Leadership, I am required to conduct a research project.  The study is entitled Gendering in Early Childhood Settings: The Impact of Training on Educator Practice.

The purpose of the study is to explore the relationship between educator training and practice in regards to gender.

I am presently seeking Registered Early Childhood Educators who have worked in the field between 5 and 10 years to participate in this study.

Your participation would consist of an interview which will take approximately 45 minutes to complete.

Your participation in this study will contribute to the advancement of the sector of early childhood when working with children who may identify outside of a traditional gender norm.

Please contact me by email below if you are available to assist.

Researcher

Shailja Jain, Student, George Brown College

[email protected]

Toronto Star - January 27, 2016

January 22, 2016

The Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario (AECEO) is pleased that the Minister of Education confirmed in her statement today that the Ontario Government will fulfill its commitment to provide a $1 wage increase for early childhood educators in 2016. This illustrates their awareness of issues related to recruitment, retention and remuneration that continue to impact the sector and demonstrates that efforts are being made to address them.

Our student blog aims to provide an opportunity for both students and professional ECEs to participate in a positive learning and sharing experience that will help to build and support our ECE community.

We are looking for entries to be posted on the blog on any topic you wish to explore, but here are some suggestions to get you started:

Suggested topics

• Placement experiences
• Job searching and preparation
• Study tips
• Reflective practice
• Professional progress and goals
• Education paths and experiences

Visit the AECEO Student Blog for more information

The province is taking the next steps in creating a universally accessible child-care system for Manitoba families that will include lower fees, 12,000 more spaces, increased training and better wages for early childhood educators, Premier Greg Selinger announced today.

We are committed to ensuring families who need child care will have access to high-quality, licensed, affordable and publicly funded spaces," Premier Selinger said. "At the same time, we will be supporting good wages and training opportunities for the workforce and an early learning curriculum that enriches children and reaches underserved areas."

Read more....

Check out this new resource by Dr. Francis Wardle. 

A Step by Step Instruction manual to build your own outdoor playground.

Find it here in the members only Resource Library

Not a member?  Join today! 

The best line of the Trudeau government’s first day— widely reported and praised in the international media—was the new PM’s.  In response to a reporter’s question about why he’d chosen to create a gender-parity cabinet, he rather matter of factly observed “because it’s 2015”.  This ostensibly simple statement summed up a complexity of attitudes, beliefs and even world views in three words.  For those feminists who remain doggedly optimistic after a decade nasty enough to slay the optimism of Anne of Green Gables, it raised hopes that the first day’s lustre could foreshadow more significant changes to come.

Read more on Child Care Now Blog

CBC News - November 9, 2015

Minister of Education Liz Sandals has announced $498 million in funding to build 30 new schools, renovate 26 existing ones and create 2,135 new child care spaces across Ontario.

Sandals made the announcement at Davisville Junior Public School today, which she says will get a new school building through the funding.

Read more on CBC News

Ontario is investing $498 million in new and renovated schools as well as new child care spaces to provide students with better places to learn while also giving families more options for quality licensed child care that is close to home.

Over the next few months, work will begin on:

• 30 new schools
• 26 major additions and renovations
• 122 safe, high-quality licensed child care rooms, resulting in 2,135 new licensed spaces for infants, toddlers and pre-schoolers.

Visit Ontario.ca for more information

Vote Child Care 2015 has called a National Day of Action on October 8th 2015 to recognize that Early Childhood Educators and child care workers are the key to high quality child care.

Child care has been a key election issue and has been discussed by all major parties! Vote Child Care has collected publicly available details of each party's child care platform and compared them to the key components of our Vision. 

There are some great promises for child care in this election but the parties have been silent on their plans to support a well-trained, well-compensated ECEC workforce.

Visit the CCAAC website for more information 

In This Issue:

• THE EVOLUTION OF PROFESSIONAL LEARNING FOR RECES IN ONTARIO

Featured article available to the public

• 13 COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE: A Pedagological Approach to Professional Learning
• AECEO 2015 ELECTION RESULTS
• VOTE CHILD CARE 2015 CAMPAIGN
• ONTARIO SPRANG INTO ACTION!
• WELLNESS AND THE EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATOR
• SPOTLIGHT ON LONG-TIME MEMBERS
• BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT: Really Listening to the Stress of Children with Special Needs and Autism
• KIWANIS CLUBS OF NIAGARA AND THE ECCDC JOIN FORCES
• A REMEMBRANCE OF VIOLET MULHOLLAND
• and More!

We would like to thank the following advertisers for helping to support this issue of the eceLINK.

Seneca Faculty of Continuing Education and Training
Hi Mama
Johnson Insurance

The eceLINK is a quarterly publication of the Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario (AECEO).

Since 1992, the publication has been distributed across Ontario to all our members and affiliate organizations.  The eceLINK has a circulation of approximately 3500, reaching Early Childhood Educators working in different early learning and child care settings. They include students, frontline practitioners, administrators & supervisors, trainers and policy makers.

To access your copy of the eceLINK, you must be a member of the AECEO.  Not a Member?  Not a problem!  You can join today and access this issue in addition to our eceLINK archives. 

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