WEYBURN — It's all about supporting the growth and development of the child while responding to needs and interests that are unique to the families of Estevan and the surrounding area.
Jacquelene Gibbs, who is the co-ordinator of early learning and care at South East Cornerstone Public School Division (SECPSD) and a member of the Estevan Early Years Family Resource Centre, is witnessing a rapid growth pattern for the program that reaches out to youngsters and their parents, prior to their presence in a traditional school system.
Gibbs provided evidence to the South East Cornerstone Public School Division's board members that "what we do works." She supported that declaration with a short video presentation provided by early learning program evaluators. Program evaluators explained that good quality early learning programming comes at a cost, but a strong start for children translates into positive social, health, education and economic outcomes for children as they grow into contributing adults and offers a return of between $7 and $16 for each $1 invested.
The Estevan program, located in the Estevan Comprehensive School facility, is funded through provincial and federal grants. SECPSD partnered with the existing Estevan Family Resource Centre to offer Estevan and area, expanded space and programming to meet the needs of young families.
"There is a variety of programs for families, not for children alone. This is not a day care or pre-school centre. High expectations for our programming, set by the Ministry of Education, focus our work at the Early Years Family Resource Centre to provide quality early learning experiences for children to participate in with their families, to provide a place where families can come, get information and materials, and connect with other families."
Gibbs said the growth has been impressive, especially evident in the number of visits to the drop-in playroom. Over the past year, drop-in numbers have grown from just over 400 children and adults each month to more than 1,600 each month.
Special programming is designed to respond to the specific needs of Estevan and area families. She noted, as an example, how they have operated a successful Ukrainian family playgroup that includes fellowship among the Ukrainian community while they and the youngsters learn a new language.
Supporting unlicensed day care providers is another example of programming that responds to unique needs of Estevan and the area. Unlicensed home daycare providers don't have access to professional development grants and can't offer the $10 per day service that is offered by licensed daycares.
"We want to support the home day care providers in Estevan to access high-quality professional development, to offer them a network of supports, and to help them get licensed if they want it," she said.
The Estevan Early Years Family Resource Centre also provides transportation for Home Daycare Support Group participants and the children in their care to and from the centre.
"We have the drivers and the car seats," ensuring that these service providers can participate in professional development without losing a day of wages; it ensures that their clients receive consistent quality care.
On the agenda for future expansion is outdoor programming. Natural outdoor play supports growth across all domains of learning and contributes to positive mental and physical health. Providing a safe, high-quality, outdoor space for families to gather has been identified as an important goal for the Estevan Early Years Family Resource Centre.
Gibbs fielded a number of questions posed by board members about numbers and programs and was thanked for taking some of her busy time that day to speak to them about the progress that was being made at the centre.
