D e s i g n i n g E a r ly C h i l d h o o d S ta n da r d s
2.4.3. Strong Evidence Base The availability of the data on the existing situation that had been generated by the quality surveys, provided a strong evidence-base of the need for improving the service provision through the establishment of standards. The availability and use of the data made it possible to keep the discussions focused on the factual situation and made it difficult for opponents to challenge the need to respond.
2.4.4. Complementary National Programming Some aspects of the standards deal with matters that are addressed by general child protection programming e.g. child abuse and other types of national programming e.g. health and safety, disaster management.
Some aspects of the
The standards initiative was able to harness the support of these different stakeholders, who also saw that there were benefits to their programming from contributing to the development of these standards.
that are addressed by
2.4.5. Regional Initiatives
programming e.g. child
The standards process was able to draw on initiatives happening in the region both during the development phase and subsequently, in preparing for implementation.
abuse and other types of
standards deal with matters general child protection
national programming...
During the development stage, significant support was received from UNICEF and The University of the West Indies Caribbean Child Development Centre. These organisations were working on a wider regional initiative aimed at developing early childhood standards and were able to draw upon lessons from work done in St. Lucia and in St. Kitts and Nevis, for providing guidance to the Grenada process. Subsequent to this, the countries that had drafted standards began working on implementation processes, while awaiting formal adoption at home. They produced, inter alia, a monitoring tool The Early Childhood Development Minimum Service Standard in the Caribbean: Monitoring Checklist for Centres (2010). This tool was developed collaboratively by the nine countries of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and the Turks and Caicos Islands and is now being used by all the OECS countries to monitor the implementation of the standards in their respective countries.
39