Resources for Child Care Professionals
The Regional Municipality of Durham, Children's Services Division is committed to providing resources and learning opportunities for new and existing early learning and child care (ELCC) educators to improve their knowledge, understanding, and use of ELCC best practices.
The Children’s Services Division Quality Assurance team continues to support pandemic recovery and follow Ministry of Education Guidelines for Operating a Child Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic and, as such, will continue to suspend in-person classroom inspection visits for the remainder of 2021. As always, your Quality Assurance Advisor continues to be available for questions and support.
While the Quality Assurance Team will not be completing regular in-person Durham Region Operating Criteria (DROC) – Assessments for Quality Improvement (AQI) inspections this fall, we are excited to introduce a new voluntary self-assessment program, “Partners in Quality.” This pilot program will occur in conjunction with the current DROC supports and virtual inspections, and give operators a way to intentionally re-connect with the DROC criteria as we plan for the resumption of indoor, in-person visits. The Quality Assurance Team will support you and your staff through the process to complete the self-assessment and create a quality improvement plan, and will provide coaching and resources as required. Please watch the following video for more details.
Professional learning opportunities
The Fall 2021 GROW Newsletter is now available. Check out the online opportunities and resources for professional learning.
Visit the College of Early Childhood Educators Continuous Professional Learning (CPL) website for additional early learning and child care professional resources.
Important notice from the College of Early Childhood Educators: Effective April 2020 to August 2021, all members will have the option to defer compliance with their program requirements for one membership year due to COVID-19. The option to defer compliance will be available to members on their next annual renewal. Member may only select this deferral option once.
To order Heath Department resources for your daily practice, please visit the Health Care Provider Resource Order Form.
Professional Resource Library
Important Update: While the Resource Library remains closed for in-person visits, it is open for curbside drop-off and pick-up every Wednesday by appointment only, between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., with a minimum of 24-hours' notice. Please contact Tracy Barclay by email at Tracy.Barclay@durham.ca to make an appointment.
The Region of Durham's Professional Resource Library for early learning and child care professionals is funded by the Ministry of Education's Capacity Building funding. Contact us to book an appointment at the Professional Resource Library.
The resource library has many free resources, including new curriculum and inquiry-based kits.
The Children's Services Division, Early Learning Training Specialist Team has developed two new resources for the child care community.
S is for sensory is a thoughtfully developed resource guide on how to implement sensory in your programs during COVID-19. It includes connections to How Does Learning Happen?, benefits of sensory play, considerations for classroom set up, and sensory ideas you can implement in your program.
Outdoor learning everyday is an outdoor resource guide developed to enhance the outdoor learning experiences in your program. It includes the benefits of outdoor play, natural loose parts, natural play spaces, Indigenous outdoor education, and outdoor programming ideas.
Membership and Networking Opportunities
Durham's Best Start Network
Durham’s Best Start Network started in 2005 with funds from the Government of Ontario. With more than 85 members from 45 organizations, the Network creates a space for creating resources, establishing partnerships, and sharing best practices.
The Network is open to all representatives from organizations who work with children from birth to 6 years of age. To join one of our quarterly meetings, please contact us at beststart@durham.ca.
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Child Care Sub-Committee |
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Providing members of the early learning and child care community with an avenue to:
Participants can attend with a goal of becoming informed, networking, and/or taking on a role in a working group. For more information on the Child Care Sub-Committee, connect with us at beststart@durham.ca. |
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Infant Mental Health Sub-Committee |
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Working to improve infant mental health experiences for children and families across Durham by integrating the science of mental health into professional practice. For more information on the Infant Mental Health Sub-Committee, contact us at beststart@durham.ca. |
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| Research and Knowledge Mobilization Sub-Committee | ||
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Our vision is to build a community where research informs practice, and practice informs research. The goal of the community is to build capacity for research and knowledge exchange in post-secondary institutions and agencies serving children and families in Durham Region. The Sub-Committee welcomes new members on a regular basis. Our existing members represent The Regional Municipality of Durham, Durham College, OntarioTech University, Trent University, local special needs resourcing agencies, EarlyON Child and Family Centres, and licensed child care agencies. Our valued members come from various backgrounds including early childhood education, research, social work, policy, and behavioural science. If you’re interested in joining one of our bi-monthly meetings, please contact us at beststart@durham.ca.
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Durham Region Child Care Forum
The Durham Region Child Care Forum (DRCCF) looks after the training needs of Durham Region's Early Learning and Child Care Community including the Annual DRCCF Conference held in the fall.
Professional Education and Training (PET) Committee
The PET Committee’s purpose is to provide educational opportunities for child care professionals to network with colleagues, as well as access professional development opportunities that provide relevant up-to-date information on current issues within the child care profession. The PET Committee coordinates and implements educational and training opportunities such as professional development workshops and supervisors' network opportunities. If you have a topic of interest that you are willing to share, please contact Lauren.Goldsmith@edukids.ca or Janine.Keith@durham.ca.
How Does Learning Happen?
In Fall 2020, the Ministry of Education released Building on How Does Learning Happen? Pedagogical approaches to Re-opening Early Years and Child Care Programs in Ontario. This resource shares ideas, reflective questions, and lessons learned from emergency child care to help support child care and early years settings to continue to meet quality and curriculum requirements as they work to provide healthy physical, social, and emotional spaces for children and their families during the reopening phase.
In 2014, the Ministry of Education launched How Does Learning Happen? Ontario's Pedagogy for the Early Years. The pedagogy recognizes children as competent, capable of complex thinking, curious and rich in potential.
How Does Learning Happen? (HDLH) is organized around four key concepts: belonging, engagement, expression, and well-being. These concepts are the foundation of high-quality care, supporting children's future potential. Early learning and child care centres and licensed home child care agencies follow this pedagogy.
Printable posters of the four foundations of HDLH can be found in the links below:
Pedagogical Inquiry Tool
This tool supports continued pedagogical reflection. The activities will support deeper exploration of the four foundations of How Does Learning Happen?, a pedagogical leadership, inclusion, cultural identity, and bullying, etc.
Requests for USB sticks containing the original Pedagogical Inquiry and its extensions in both English and French can be made to Tracy.Barclay@durham.ca.
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