The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in collaboration with the Turks and Caicos Islands Ministry of Education, Youth Sports and Library Services hosted an Intervention seminar for early childhood practitioners throughout the Islands, from January 12 -14th at the Regent Palms, Providenciales. The workshop was being facilitated by both regional and local educators and expertise within the field of Early Childhood Development (ECD).
The main goal of this workshop was to expose participants to the key features of designing an effective screening and early intervention system for children at risk.
At the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:
Ø Understand the importance of the Early Childhood period and its impact on later development
Ø Describe normal physical, cognitive, language, sensory and socio-emotional development in the early years
Ø Describe deviations in normal development in the early years
Ø Understand the importance of screening and early identification of children with developmental and behavioural disabilities and disorders
Ø Understand the difference between screening and diagnostic tests
Additionally, the early childhood sector is one such area that the Ministry of Education has committed to strengthening both from a human capital development standpoint and infrastructure wise. The Education Sector Plan, 2013-2017, Strategic Imperative 6, clearly outlined key pointers that the ministry has adopted. The central tenet would be to:
Ø review guidelines to allow all children an opportunity to enroll at ages 2 and 3 year.
Ø register and supervise a sufficient number of schools to allow all children the opportunity to enroll
Ø review the curriculum guidelines to ensure that they are appropriate for use in the Turks and Caicos
Ø Provide both pre-service and professional teacher development opportunities for early childhood teachers
Ø provide professional and technical assistance to the early Childhood Centres
In closing, the Ministry thanked UNICEF, the local educators, and participants who have, and continue to contribute to the high education standards established here in the TCI.
