INTRODUCTION

Early childhood care and education (ECCE) is more than a preparatory stage assisting the

child’s transition to formal schooling. It places emphasis on developing the whole child -

attending to his or her social, emotional, cognitive and physical needs - to establish a solid and

broad foundation for lifelong learning and wellbeing. Early childhood is defined as the period

from birth to eight years old. A time of remarkable brain growth, these years lay the basis for

subsequent development.

Tracing its historical development has shown tremendous growth and development across

various spheres of early childhood education in Jamaica. We have seen how it has moved from

an informal system to a more formalized system of care and training for preschool-age

children.

Subsequently, the aim of this project is to give an overview of the historical development of

early childhood education in Jamaica and those pioneers who have made significant

contributions to its development. In addition, various policies and regulations that promote

the integration of early childhood sector were highlighted to include programmes that promote

the development, procedure and regulations that govern the operations of early childhood

centres.
 EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION ACT (E.C.C)

In this Act
 ‘Commission’ means the commission is established by section 3;

 ‘Child’ means a child under the age of nine years;

 ‘Early Childhood Institution’ means a setting that provides developmental appropriate

care, stimulation, education and socialization for children under the age of six years.

There shall be established for the purpose of this act a body to be called the Early
Childhood Commission, which shall be a body corporate to which section 28 of the
interpretation act shall apply.
The Early Childhood Commission (ECC) was established in (2003), in keeping the
strategic goal of the Government of Jamaica to improve Early Childhood development in the
early childhood sector.
The ECC is an agency of the Ministry of Education that coordinates all activities, plans and
programmes in the early childhood sector. The ECC is operated under three(3) departments-
Regulations and Monitoring, Sector Support Services and Cross Sectoral coordination that
seek to ensure effective implementation of policies and programmes.
The Regulation and Monitoring department is responsible for registration of early
childhood institution (ECIs) and monitoring operations to ensure compliance with the
regulation and standard. The Sectoral Support department provides developmental support to
ECIs and early childhood practitioners (ECPs) while the Cross Coordination department
collaborates with Government ministries and sector partners in early childhood development
programmes as well as support for community intervention initiatives.
The ECC has collaborated with the Ministry of Education and other partners to develop
two(2) National Strategic Plans;(NSP) 2008-2013 and (NSP) 2013-2018, this outline guides
to ensure children of a early childhood level is provided with requisite support to realize their
full potential.
 The National Strategic Plan (NSP) includes five(5) focus areas to assist stakeholders in
providing relevant support required for proper growth and development of our children.

THESE AREAS ARE:

 Effective parenting education;
 Support effective preventative health care and effective screening;
 Diagnosis and intervention for ‘at risk’ children the provision of safety;
 Learners centre
 Well maintained ECIs facilities effective curriculum delivery

The commission shall perform the following functions:

 Advise the minister on policy matters relating to early childhood care, education and
development in Jamaica, including initiatives and actions to achieve national early
childhood goals;
 Assist in the preparation of plans and programmes concerning early childhood
development;
 Analyse resource needs and submit recommendations for budgetary allocations for
early childhood development;
 Supervise and regulate early childhood institutions;
 THE EDUCATION ACT
The education act was established on December 16th,1965. This act is consist of six (6)
different parts namely:
 Preliminary
 Minister’s Powers and Advisory Bodies
 The statutory System of Education
 Independent Schools
 Registration and Discipline of Teachers
 General

PRELIMINARY
In this act, unless requires otherwise------
‘Aided education institution’ means any educational institution which the Minister assist in
maintaining.
‘Authorized Teacher’ means a person registered as such under section 36 and employed as
a teacher in a public education institution.
‘Child’ means a person who has not attained the age of fifteen years.
‘Parent’ in relation to any child, includes a guardian and every person who has the actual
custody of the child.
‘School’ where used without qualifications for providing primary and secondary
education.
‘Student’ means a person for whom education is provided under this act.

 Short title
 Interpretation

MINISTER’S POWERS AND ADVISORY BODIES

 It shall be lawful for the Ministers to promote education of the people of Jamaica and the
progress development of institutions devoted to that purpose
 To frame an educational policy designed to provide a varied and comprehensive
educational service in Jamaica.
 To establish a co-ordinated educational system organized in accordance with the
provisions of this act.
 General power of the Minister
 Particular powers
 Establishment and constitution of the teachers service commission
 Special committees

THE STATUTORY SYSTEM OF EDUCATION

The statutory system of public education shall be organized in three(3) stages, that is to
say-----
 Primary school which shall consist of full time education of students not over the age
of twelve
 Secondary school which shall consist of full time education suitable for students
eleven years and not over nineteen
 Tertiary education which consist of
-full-time education
-part-time education
-leisure-time occupation in training and recreative activities
 Educational board
 Ministers power to alter endowment
 (Repeated by Act 19 of 1986)
 Loans to aided educational institutions
 Registration of students
 Duty of parents to secure education of their children
 Schools attendance orders
 Children requiring special educational treatment

INDEPENDENT SCHOOL
The Minister shall appoint an officer of the Ministry of Education to be the Registrar of
Independent schools (in this act referred to as the ‘Registrar) and shall furnish him with a
certificate of appointment. The Registrar shall, as soon as may be after an independent school
has been provisionally registered, cause the schools to be inspected and there after refer to
the Independent Schools Committee
 The application for registration
 The particulars furnished
 The inspection reports
 Registration of Independent school
 Independent schools committee
 Appeal to Minister
 Removal of disqualification

REGISTRATION AND DISCIPLINE OF TEACHERS

The commission shall have power to deal with the registration of teaching personal matter
related thereto the assessment of qualification and any other matter of a professional nature
referred to the commission by the Minister. The commission shall also advise the Minister on
matters relating to the appointment of principals. If requested by the Minister to do so, on
matters relating to the appointment of vice-principals and teachers to post of special
responsibility and on any other matter that the commission may wish to bring to the attention
of the Minister or which the Minister may refer to the commission for its advice and
guidance in the discharge of any of his under the act.
If any teacher is found in a disciplinary proceeding conduct in the prescribed manner by the
Commission, to be guilty of professional misconduct, the commission may------
 Admonish him
 Censure him
 Recommend that he be demoted
 Suspend his registration for a period not exceeding one year
 Cause his name to be struck off the Register of Teachers
If any teacher is found in disciplinary proceedings conducted against such teacher in the
prescribed manner, to have been convicted of a criminal offence of such nature as to render
him, in the opinion of the commission, not a proper person to be a teacher in any school, the
Commission may, if it thinks fit, cause his name to be struck off the Register of Teachers.
 Functions of the teachers service commission
 Persons who may teach in a public educational institution
 Registration of teachers
 Authorized teachers
 GENERAL
The Minister may cause any educational institution to be inspected of such intervals as he
may think fits by persons authorized by him in that behalf and the Minister shall cause a
special inspection of any such institution to be carried out whenever it appears to him that
such special inspection is desirable. A prosecution for an offence under this section shall not
be instructed without the sanction of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Any person aggrieved by the refusal of the Minister to give his approval under subsection
(1) may appeal there from to a Judge in Chambers. The Minister may make ‘regulations’
generally for the proper carrying out of the purposes and provision of this Act and in
particular but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing may Make regulations for
the management and conduct of public educational institution, specifying the powers and
duties of Board of Management of public educational institutions and of Educational Board,
with respect to the purposes for which the premises of the educational institution shall
confirm.
 Inspection of Educational Institution
 Enquiry into the management of endowed institutions
 Certificate of age
 Approval required for disposal of property included in endowment
 Wishes of parents to be considered in education of students
 The History of Early Childhood Development in Jamaica

Early childhood education (ECE; also nursery education) is a branch of education theory which

relates to the teaching of young children (formally and informally) up to the age of nine years.

Infant/toddler education, a subset of early childhood education, denotes the education of children

from birth to age two.

According to an article in the Jamaica Observer dated September 2015, Dudley Ransford Brandyce

Grant has left an indelible mark on the education landscape in Jamaica and is described as the

father of early childhood education. However, it was not until the 1930s’ that an attempt was made

to formalize the system of schools caring for young children. Rev. Henry Ward is credited with

developing community schools that later became known as "basic schools." In 1938 Ward alerted

the Jamaican government to the critical need for a more organized system of care and training for

preschool-age children. Years later, in an interview for the Jamaican newspaper Daily Gleaner,

Ward recalled establishing a school for 3 to 6 year olds who had been "left unprotected, running

about the streets while their parents went to work, a pathetic picture with dangerous possibilities.

The situation was a challenge and we felt that something should be done" (Bernard van Leer

Foundation, 1972, p. 12). The first community organized school for children under 6 was

established in Islington, in the parish of St. Mary in 1938.

Madge Saunders also made a huge contribution to childhood education in Jamaica. She was

instrumental in facilitating the training of basic school teachers, having worked previously for the

Kelly Lawson Training Centre, a tourist industry-training organization. Marjorie

Prentice Saunders was born in 1913 in St Mary, Jamaica and became a lawyer at the age of 23.

Whilst working as a travelling organizer for the United Church in Jamaica, she saw that untrained

people were running several schools for small children. In 1950, she selected six people from six

different parishes and ran a six week basic training course. These six people became the first school

teachers who had been trained in Jamaica.

In 1970 the government of Jamaica adopted and added new dimension to the successful Bernard

Van Leer Foundation project started in 1965 and was completed in 1975.

Over the years the Education Ministry develops the curriculum and trained teachers in regular

workshops.The enrolments rate of 3 - 5 year old age cohort is 91 percent (91%) and is one of the

highest in the Caribbean Region.

Currently, the Jamaican Early Childhood Programming is administered through a unit in the

Ministry of Education, Youth and Culture and encompasses.

 1,921 Recognized Basic Schools.

 147 Unrecognized Basic Schools

 402 Day Care Centers (Government built, private home based)

 29 Government infant schools

  83 Government Infant Departments

 5 Special Education Institutions offering Early Childhood

Over the years the government continues to initiate projects to improve early childhood education

in Jamaica, these includes: transition projects and curriculum reviews.

 Bibliography

Thompson. The Gleaner Jamaica Early-Childhood Education: The Foundation of Knowledge May 23,
2012

Jamaica Observer Dudley Grant remembered as trailblazer in early childhood education

September 21, 2015

Hunter J. (September 16, 2015). Remembering Dudley Grant. Retrieved on April 24, 2017 from

Jamaica Information Service: http://jis.gov.jm/remembering-dudley-grant/