What does Quality Early Learning and Care consist of? Quality Care consists of many components which come together to form a safe and nurturing environment. Some of these components include:

• Programs which are Accredited - when a program is accredited it meets a higher standard of excellence in care and safety. A typical Accredited program will have stronger policies, staff with higher education levels, smaller staff / child ratios and overall better outcomes for children.

• Programs which have well trained and educated staff members - programs with staff members who are educated and mentored directly in the field of early learning and care, are highly knowledgable in the areas of child safety, nutrition, development and learning outcomes. With the proper training staff members can help children develop more to their potential.

• Programs that involve parents - when a program establishes a connection with parents and works with them to care for and educate their children, the benefits are enourmous. Early Learning and Care professionals value a partnership with parents in meeting the needs of the developing child.  Programs that ensure that this partnership is a part of their daily practice, ensure the best possible outcomes for children.

• Professional Practice - staff and programs who take their professional responsibilites seriously will:  regularly take part in professional development opportunites, encourage and value the upgrading of skills and education, be members of professional groups that espouse the highest level of practice and adhere to a code of ethics. When these elements of professionalism are practiced, positive outcomes for children and families result .

Are You Searching for Child Care?

Government of Alberta: Child Care Lookup - A Government site that allows you to search for child care by postal code location, type of child care facility, and by what age the child care facility is lisenced for. 

Choosing Child Care - A guide to lisenced and approved child care in Alberta put out by the government of Alberta.

Government of Alberta: Finding Quality Child Care - Government site with information and links about finding quality child care around Alberta.

Links

For information that will help further educate you on what Quality Child Care is, please visit the following.

The Alberta Association for Early Learning and Care Services (AELCS) - The Alberta Association for the Accreditation of Early Learning and Care Services (AELCS) is a non-profit organization, funded and contracted by Alberta Children and Youth Services to deliver accreditation services to child care and school age programs that have engaged in an intensive self-study of their practices. Our role is to assess child care and school age programs against quality standards of care.

ARCQE - ARCQE is an agency dedicated to providing technical assistance to the Early Learning and Care Service sector through provision of supporting quality and building capacity to those it serves.  As a provincial organization, ARCQE is unique in designing support and resources specific to the needs of the Alberta child care community.  ARCQE was established in November 2004.

Canadian Child Care Federation - The Canadian Child Care Federation is a bilingual, non-profit, member-based organization established in 1987. The CCCF is commited to excellence in early learning and child care through:

• best and promising practice
• capacity building
• collaborations, networks and partnerships

Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada - The Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada (CCAAC) is dedicated to promoting a publicly funded, inclusive, quality, non-profit child care system.  The CCAAC organization is non-profit, membership-based and regionally representative.