BC Government: Outstanding child care providers honoured at awards ceremony
Sept. 23, 2018
RICHMOND – Dedicated, committed and exceptional are only a few of the words used to describe the outstanding child care professionals being honoured with 2018 Child Care Awards of Excellence.
“Today, we honour the hard-working people at the heart of our child care system in B.C.,” said Premier John Horgan. “Early childhood educators bring professionalism, kindness and care to their work every day – and for that we can’t thank them enough. These dedicated workers are essential partners as we continue to make high-quality child care a reality for more families around the province.”
After an open call for nominations and a review by an external selection committee, 10 recipients, including organizations and individual child care providers in British Columbia, have been selected to receive Child Care Awards of Excellence in five categories: provincial, Indigenous, innovation, partnerships and leadership.
“Parents entrust child care providers with their kids each and every day as they head to work or school,” said Katrine Conroy, Minister of Children and Family Development. “The time spent away from their children is made easier by knowing their child care professional is invested in making their child’s day full of fun, learning, exploration, comfort and kindness. This year’s award recipients embody the hallmarks of what parents are looking for and deserve from educators in B.C.’s child care system: innovation, leadership, dedication and caring.”
Examples of award-winning submissions include:
- Helping Iskut children in northern B.C. find their power through the Tahltan language.
- Encouraging kids in the Cariboo to get outside and get messy through an outdoor program that stimulates physical play on their own climbing wall and zip line.
- A child care team in the Lower Mainland that worked with kids, and the aviation and first-responder communities, to build a life-sized airplane and ambulance as a result of the kids’ fascination with airplanes and anything with a siren on it.
New to the Child Care Awards of Excellence is the Ministers’ Childcare BC Award for outstanding contributions to early care and learning. This award complements the existing child care award categories, which focus on individual child care settings, providers or sectors, to honour a system-wide contribution. The inaugural Childcare BC Award is being given to the Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC in recognition of the volunteer organization’s 20-plus years of work on universal child care policy and advocacy for improving child care in the province.
“Child care in B.C. is finally getting the government attention and support it deserves, and that wouldn’t have been possible without the coalition’s determination and hard work,” said Katrina Chen, Minister of State for Child Care. “Their efforts exemplify what constructive advocacy can achieve, and child care has been renewed and transformed in this province, thanks to them.”
In addition to the Child Care Awards of Excellence, 18 licensed child care facilities with more than 40 years of service will receive a Child Care Legacy Award to recognize their contributions to B.C. children and their families.
“Congratulations to this year’s award recipients. Your passion, talent and dedication are an inspiration to us all,” said Sandra Menzer, chair of the Provincial Child Care Council. “You deserve our thanks for the important work that you do for children and families across B.C.”
Quick Facts:
- Every two years, the Child Care Awards of Excellence recognize the contributions that early childhood educators, licensed child care providers, non-profit and private organizations, businesses and local governments make throughout British Columbia.
- This year’s award recipients were nominated by peers, parents and local governments. The ministry received 66 nominations.
Learn More:
For more information about child care in British Columbia, visit: www.gov.bc.ca/childcare
For more information about becoming a licensed early childhood educator in B.C., visit: www.gov.bc.ca/earlychildhoodeducator
For more information on the Early Care and Learning Recruitment and Retention Strategy, visit: www.gov.bc.ca/childcare/ecestrategy
For more information on opening a licensed child care facility, visit: www.gov.bc.ca/childcare/startupgrants
A backgrounder follows.
Contact:
Government Communications and Public Engagement
Ministry of Children and Family Development
250 356-2007
BACKGROUNDER
Sept. 23, 2018
2018 Child Care Awards of Excellence recipients
A new Ministers’ Childcare BC Award has been established to recognize contributions to early care and learning that affect the child care sector provincewide. In addition, 10 recipients, including organizations and individual child care providers, are being honoured with 2018 Child Care Awards of Excellence for their outstanding work on behalf of B.C. children and their families. A further 18 licensed child care facilities will receive a Child Care Legacy Award in recognition of more than 40 years of dedicated service to B.C. children and their families.
Child Care Awards of Excellence
There are six nomination categories for the Child Care Awards of Excellence: provincial, innovation, Indigenous, partnerships, leadership and the Ministers’ Childcare BC Award.
Ministers’ Childcare BC Award
The inaugural Ministers’ Childcare BC Award recognizes outstanding contributions to early care and learning. This year’s winner is the Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC, a voluntary organization that has been pushing for change in the child care system for decades.
Provincial
The Provincial Award recognizes early care and learning (ECL) professionals or teams who work in child care settings throughout the province and demonstrate excellence in at least one of the following areas: working collaboratively with others; creating cultural safety through culturally competent practice and inclusion of Indigenous language, culture and traditions; ensuring inclusion/encouraging diversity; supporting community efforts and continuous improvement/excellence in early learning. This year’s winners are:
- Brentwood Preschool – Burnaby
- Cariboo Child Care Society, Thompson Rivers University – Kamloops
- Khalsa Childcare Centre, Satnam Education Society of B.C. – Surrey
- Patricia Louie, Tahltan language and culture co-ordinator at the Tahltan Language and Culture Program – Tatl’ah (Dease Lake)
Indigenous
The Lenora Pritchard Award of Excellence recognizes an Indigenous ECL professional who is an excellent role model and mentor, or who works to promote leadership in an ECL setting. This year’s winner is Vanessa Hickman, facility manager for Awahsuk Aboriginal Head Start Preschool in Surrey.
Innovation
The Innovation Award recognizes an ECL professional, team or organization that puts unique and creative ideas into action. This year’s winner is Little Owl Academy in Kelowna.
Partnerships
The Partnerships Award recognizes a local government or business that demonstrates excellence in working with the ECL sector to ensure the support and/or delivery of services, ensuring inclusion and encouraging diversity, supporting community efforts and continuous improvement. This year’s winner is the Great Canadian Gaming Corporation and Hastings Racecourse in Vancouver.
Leadership
The Leadership Award recognizes professionals who have shown leadership in the field of early learning and care, their communities, with families, or with serving underserved or vulnerable populations. This year’s winner is Donna Chang, executive director of Cedar Cottage Neighbourhood House in Vancouver.
Leadership (Lifetime Achievement)
The Leadership Award for Lifetime Achievement recognizes professionals who have been leaders in their field for more than 20 years. This year’s winner is Tammy Dyer, deputy executive director for Growing Together Child Care and the Young Parent Program in Surrey.
Leadership (Inclusive Practices)
The Leadership Award for Inclusive Practices recognizes ECL professionals who go above and beyond to accommodate children with extra support needs and their families in programming, by finding creative ways to include children of all abilities in their child care setting. This year’s winner is the Teen Education and Motherhood Program (TEAM) Infant and Toddler Care programs, run by Beacon Community Services in Brentwood Bay.
Child Care Legacy Awards
The Child Care Legacy Awards recognize licensed child care facilities and providers that have provided more than 40 years of service in B.C. This year’s honourees are:
- J. Puddleduck Preschool/Day care – Courtenay
- Cowichan Preschool – Duncan
- Little People’s Centre – Grand Forks
- Children’s World Learning Centre – Nelson
- New Denver Nursery School – New Denver
- Cranberry Preschool – Powell River
- Cedars Christian School Pre-School – Prince George
- Le Coin des Petits – Prince George
- Sunset Day Care Centre – Vancouver
- Lord Tennyson Out of School Care – Vancouver
- Franklin Community Preschool – Vancouver
- Shaughnessy Point Grey Out of School Society – Vancouver
- Cedar Cottage Preschool – Vancouver
- Raymur Place Day Care – Vancouver
- Trout Lake Community Centre Preschool – Vancouver
- Killarney Community Centre Preschool – Vancouver
- Tiny Tots Recreation – Vernon
- St. Christopher’s Montessori School – Victoria
Contact:
Government Communications and Public Engagement
Ministry of Children and Family Development
250 356-2007
NT4
This article comes from NationTalk:
https://nationtalk.ca
The permalink for this story is:
https://nationtalk.ca/story/bc-government-outstanding-child-care-providers-honoured-at-awards-ceremony
Comments are closed.