Information Gathering
Before you begin to meet, talk and plan, it will be useful to collect as much information as possible specific to your region. Find out about:
- Any local/regional ELCC planning committees
- Provincial/territorial child care policies and early learning plans
- Initiatives in early learning and child care within education departments
- Child care in schools policies
- Provincial/municipal policies about operational funding for new services, or available capital grants
- Any policies on integration of services/hubs, etc.
- Recent provincial/territorial ELCC initiatives or directions, such as
- An expansion plan
- Priorities for service development (in particular geographic areas, for particular age groups, for specific populations, such as rural families, children with special needs, etc.)
- Any policies regarding integration of child care and education
- Relevant policy documents, research reports or evaluations
Be sure you are familiar with the child care regulations, requirements for indoor and outdoor space, the zoning requirements, and the approval processes. Are you aware of anyone who has gone through a similar development project and who may be willing to offer the benefit of her/his experience? Would s/he be willing to be on your planning committee?
At the outset of your project you will also need to familiarize yourself with the provincial/territorial framework and requirements for ELCC, such as:
Resources
Child care regulations and standards. An overview of the physical requirements in each province and territory can be found in Child care centre physical environments on the Childcare Resource and Research Unit website. List of provincial/territorial government ELCC websites
Also, some jurisdictions have best practice operating manuals that set out their requirements in detail and also helps you to understand what you need. Check with your provincial licensing office. For example: