Sixth group of childminders receive training |11 July 2019
The participants in a souvenir photograph with the chief executive of IECD Shirley Choppy after the launch of the training
In Seychelles, childminding is a popular community service. The childminding study conducted by the Institute for Early Childhood Development (IECD) in 2013 established that 1159 children were being cared for by 147 childminders across the country. The same study reported gaps in areas such as health and safety, early learning and support and training for childminders.
The IECD has once again organised a training workshop for childminders across the country. The training, based on the ten standards – early learning, interaction, health, nutrition, safety, children’s rights and protection, staffing, physical environment, family and community engagement and administration – began on Saturday July 6 and will be held every Saturday for 10 weeks.
It is being attended by 26 women who are either planning on becoming a childminder or who are already in the business.
The training will cover hands-on activities aimed at building on the knowledge and experience of childminders to raise the quality of early childhood services.
It is being facilitated by experts from the health, education, social affairs, community development and sports, as well as the Seychelles Fire and Rescue Services Agency (SFRSA).
“We require childminders to go through training before they can register and operate their business,” said Marvel Simeon, the monitoring and evaluation officer for IECD.
The training costs a total of R2500 per participant who are not yet childminders and R500 for those already in the business.
Ms Simeon added that this fee will go towards their training as well as their graduation upon completion.
The first session that was covered on Saturday focused on hygiene within the childminders home and area where the children will be taken care of. The presentation was facilitated by Monia Course, senior officer from the public health department where she gave a detailed overview of how to properly clean and make sure that the child is not exposed to an unsanitary environment.
Caring for other people’s children is a serious responsibility and can be very demanding. It requires a variety of skills and experience; however, many do it with endless passion. A person who chooses to become a childminder must be able to provide a reliable, high quality service that contributes to the development and education of children.