Our Goals

All staff will promote the health, safety, nutrition and well-being of each child by providing a clean and safe environment. Nutrition will be based on the Canada’s Food Guide. Access to drinking water throughout the day, limited transitions, strive to eliminate any environmental issues that may cause undue stress on children (not going outside when there is a smog alert) unnecessary disruption to play and reducing hazards that may cause injury. Educators will familiarize themselves with all information concerning any medical conditions, exceptionalities, allergies, food restrictions, medication requirements, and parental preferences in respect to diet, exercise and rest time.

All staff will support positive and responsive interactions among the children, parents and child care providers. The Executive Director and Board of Directors will support this through hiring of qualified, responsive and well trained Registered Early Childhood Educators who support families in their role as primary caregivers, and understand the needs of each child as an individual.

All staff will encourage children to interact and communicate in a positive way and support their ability to self-regulate; acknowledging that each child is competent, curious and rich in potential. Staff will support self-regulation in children (defined as the child’s ability to gain control of bodily functions, manage powerful emotions and maintain focus and attention) Self-regulation in early development is influenced by a child’s relationship with the important adults in that child’s life, including the ECEs in the program. All staff will provide the experiences, support and encouragement that help young children learn to self-regulate, which is a crucial component of quality care.

All staff will foster the children’s exploration, play and inquiry by providing a variety of activities and an environment rich in content, that encourages choices and active play, supported by qualified, attentive and interactive Early Childhood Educators.

All staff will provide child-initiated and adult supported experiences. The Early Childhood Educators will observe the children, document their observations and use these observations to plan and create a positive learning environment that is play based while incorporating the children’s interests that is supported by the RECE. Educators will be responsible for introducing new ideas, interests, facts, concepts, skills and experiences to widen the child’s knowledge and life experiences.

All Early Childhood Educators need to be reflective practitioners who learn about children through listening, observation, documentation, and discussion with families and other professionals to understand children as unique individuals. They will observe and listen to learn how children make meaning through their experiences in the world around them and use this to have meaningful interactions and engage children on a daily basis.

Each Child will experience indoor, and two hours’ outdoor play (weather permitting) daily, as well as rest and sleep if needed, quiet and active times, always being mindful of each child’s needs and parental direction. Please note that Full Day Kindergarten Children and School Age children are not included unless it is a PD day.

Regular and ongoing communication with parents is an important component of the day. Communication may be in person, by phone, e-mail or through written and posted communication. Communication needs to come from all members of the organization including the Board of Directors, Director as well as all staff.

Parents will be directed to resources outside of the centre if necessary and community partners such as early year’s services, speech and language therapists, support services that may include occupational therapists, counsellors etc. This will be an important part of the centres support to all children and their families.

As our centre is located in a TDSB building, positive relationships with the principal, faculty, teachers as well as custodians are crucial.

The community is a valuable resource and our educators plan learning opportunities to engage the community in our programs. For example, going to the local super market to pick up ingredients for our cooking activities, inviting a member of the community to participate in the program such as playing an instrument.

Hawthorne on Essex Daycare will provide ongoing opportunities for educators to engage in critical reflection and discussion with others about pedagogy and practices to support continuous professional learning.

The staff will be supported monetarily to attend training, workshops and other opportunities to advance their knowledge and skills in order to meet and exceed quality care.

All staff will build a climate of trust, honesty and respect in the workplace, working collaboratively in order to provide a safe, secure, healthy and inviting environment for all children and their families, building and maintaining healthy professional relationships that encourage growth and offering support and mentorship.

All staff, students and volunteers will read the Program Statement and sign off in the Policy and Procedures Sign off form prior to employment and when the statement has been modified as well as on an annual basis.

The Director will review all sign offs by staff, students and volunteers and sign the review sheet to indicate that the process has been completed. The Director must be confident that the staff, volunteers and students are fully aware and understand the Program Statement and its implementation.

Each classroom will maintain a binder or folder containing observations, plans and documentation to support their understanding of the program statement. Copies of the documentation relevant to their child will be shared with parents or guardians of the children in the program.

The Director from time to time, will meet with each team to establish a clear understanding of the program statement, to support staff in their delivery of the Program Statement and aid the staff in self-reflection to be recorded and added to the binder or folder. The Director will view each staff as competent and able, and give them time to be heard and respected and to reflect their own performance and their contributions to the environment and the development of each child in the centre. The Director will use all observations, program plans, interactions and conversations to monitor all staff. This will be done on going as well as a formal review with staff on an annual basis.

• By working through the reflection exercises in the document
• By reviewing their observations and engaging children in meaningful activities
• By maintaining communication with parents and building trusting relationships with families
• By working with co-workers to create a safe and healthy environment
• By taking the time to engage in self-reflection on a regular basis

The Director or designate will observe staff interactions with children ensuring they align with our program statement and beliefs in adult-child interactions.

The following practices are not supported by our centre

• Locking the exits of our facility from the inside
• Using a lock or lockable room or structure to confine a child that has been removed from the group due to unsafe behavior
• Abusing a child physically, verbally or emotionally
• Depriving a child of basic needs including food, shelter, clothing or bedding
• Using corporal punishment
• Using deliberate harsh or degrading measures that would humiliate the child or undermine his or her self-worth.

In the event the Director or designate is made aware of any practice that is not supported, the situation will be investigated and the steps that are outlined in the personnel handbook will be followed. Additionally, all RECE have made a commitment to abide by the standards of their profession as set out in the College of Early Childhood Educators Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice. All ECE’s hold themselves accountable, and will use the Code of Ethics, the Standards of practice and Hawthorne on Essex Daycare Policies to guide their decisions and practices