The best would be a licenced facility with required certified early childhood educators and a mandated curriculum, but the NWT has no standards. Day homes do not have to have certified early childhood educators on staff, nor does the Department of ECE require the use of an approved curriculum. That’s not the case in other NWT ECE programs.
As part of the education renewal project, the Department of ECE has advised that the Early Childhood Development Action Plan includes a review of funding and governance for ECD programs. Part of that review is supposed to evaluate child care costs for families. This review is long overdue. We have a patchwork of programs for ECD and inconsistent methods of funding. For example, licenced day homes and preschools have not seen any significant increase in their funding for at least seven years and yet JK is fully funded.
Change is needed, and the sooner the better. Thank you.