Early Childhood Development

The Childcare and Development Services Regulations were implemented in Guyana on May 4, 2016, making it mandatory for all such facilities to be registered and licensed by the Childcare and Protection Agency (CPA).

Early Childhood Development Services Unit (ECD Unit)

Against this backdrop, the Early Childhood Development Services Unit (ECD Unit) was established and promotes enlightened programmes for children to get opportunity for the “right start”.

Its key responsibilities include:

Registration, licensing and monitoring of all childcare facilities
Monitoring of all childcare facilities by Registration and License Officers (RLO) to ensure said facilities meet and maintain the minimum services Standards outlined in the Regulations
Development and implementation of policies and programmes cratering for the birth to three age group
Raises awareness for parents and stakeholders on the importance of the Early Years of a child’s life and on the implementation of the new Childcare and Development Services Regulations. Parents are educated on what they should look for when choosing a childcare facility for their children

Back To Basics Toddlers’ Reading Programme

Launched on February 6, 2018 in the 10 Administrative Regions at various Maternal Child Health Clinics (MCHC), the programme is a collaborative effort with the Ministry of Public Health and the National Library. The aim of the programme is to encourage parents to spend time reading to their babies and toddlers since this will help the children to develop an interest in books at an early age. RLOs are required to visit MCHCs and encourage parents to utilize the books provided by the Agency and read to their children while waiting to be seen by the Medical Practitioner. RLOs and Officers from the National Library would occasionally conduct demonstrations for parents on how to engage their children with books and distribute books to children and parents. Additionally, through collaboration between the Board of Industrial Training (BIT) and UNICEF; the ECD Unit has embarked on a National Training for Childcare Practitioners who do not have formal training in Early Childhood Development (ECD). The Unit has developed the Training Module for the programme which is certified by BIT. Training was conducted in Regions 3, 4, 6 and 10 with a total of 180 practitioners being trained in 2019.