Child Care Now’s workforce policy table tackles working conditions in the ELCC sector
On October 3-4, Child Care Now’s National Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) Workforce Policy Table convened in person in Ottawa. The meeting addressed the current working conditions of the ELCC workforce and identified ways to improve them.
“Working conditions in early learning and child care settings must improve to make jobs in the sector more attractive and to raise the quality of the learning environments for children,” said Rachel Vickerson, Child Care Now’s Project and Policy Manager.
Twenty one Policy Table members and two observers from the child care program at the Canadian Union of Postal Workers participated in the meeting. The Policy Table includes individuals who are connected to early learning and child care through their positions with Indigenous organizations, early learning and child care programs, ECE professional associations, post-secondary institutions, unions, human resource councils, and child care research organizations.
Left to right: Joanne Morris, Diane Daley, Eric Swanson, Annalise Yuzda, Morna Ballantyne, Jackie Rodler, Patsy McKinney, Christine Massing, Tho Nguyen, Jane Beach, Martha Friendly, Marni Flaherty, Jennifer Nangreaves, Ruth Lindsey-Armstrong, Pascale-Isabelle Pineault, Jodie Kehl, Bernice Cipparrone-Mcleod, Anne Pinkerton, Rachel Vickerson, Julie Cyr, Christopher Smith. Virtual: Nicki Dublenko, Emily Mlieczko.
Over the course of the two days, the Policy Table identified issues that must be addressed to improve working conditions in both child care centres and family child care: qualifications, professional learning, mentorship, scheduling, educator:child ratios, staffing models and pay for non-contact time. The policy table also discussed the impact of the physical design of centres and group space indoors and outdoors on working and learning conditions.
The recommendations on working conditions developed by the Policy Table will be published on the Educators Matter’s project webpage and shared with the broader community for feedback in the new year.
About the project
Educators Matter is a three-year project by Child Care Now, dedicated to advancing collective knowledge on Canada’s early learning and child care (ELCC) workforce. The project aims to develop policy solutions that address the retention and recruitment crisis and support the implementation of a high-quality Canada-wide ELCC system.
About the National ELCC Workforce Policy Table
Through the Policy Table, the Educators Matter project seeks to represent diverse experiences and perspectives of early childhood educators (ECEs), operators, and others committed to policy changes that improve the working conditions of ECEs and child care workers across Canada. The composition of the Policy Table will continue to expand as gaps in collective knowledge are identified and relationships develop between the project and the community.