Impact
The Ministry of Education adopted the Early Learning and Development Standards and is currently finalizing the new curriculum for the education of children from birth to age 7. ELDS represent a set of statements that reflect the expectations concerning what children should know and should be able to do. These are defined to support the child’s growth and development from birth to the time it starts school.
Early Learning Development Standards assist caregivers and teachers to organize and plan activities in early education centers. The standards can provide information about the children’s levels of development in the five major areas:
- Physical Development, Health, Personal Care and Hygiene;
- Socio-Emotional Development;
- Approaches to Learning;
- Language, Communication, Pre-Reading and Pre-Writing Skills;
- Cognitive Development, World Knowledge and Understanding.
These standards have an impact on:
- the educational process in crèches and kindergartens;
- early childhood education curriculum for children from birth to age 7;
- pre-service and in-service teacher training;
- parental education programmes;
- evaluation of educational programmes;
- public knowledge and awareness about the importance of early childhood;
- the continuum of learning which integrates early development and care with later school and life success, by linking the standards with the following stages of the child’s development.
