Parents urged to send children to regulated early-childhood institutions

Chair of the Early Childhood Commission (ECC), Trisha Williams-Singh, is urging parents and guardians of young children to ensure that they choose early-childhood institutions (ECIs) that have received permits from the commission to operate.

An ECI is any place that cares for four or more children under the age of six years, for up to six hours per day.

They include nurseries, centres or homes that offer day care, basic schools, kindergartens, preschools, infant schools and infant departments.

Under the Early Childhood Act and Regulations (2005), all ECIs must be registered with the commission to receive a permit to operate.

“If the institution does not have a permit to operate, then do not send your child to the institution,” Williams-Singh advised parents in an interview with JIS News on Thursday.

She emphasised that ECIs are encouraged to physically display their permits in areas where they are visible to parents.

“This should be something that is displayed for the comfort of parents, so they can see that there is no threat to the health and safety of their children,” Williams-Singh said.

She pointed out that ECIs that receive a permit have been assessed by inspectors from the commission and have met the minimum criteria for operation stipulated by the Government.

“So, all institutions are to work towards having a certificate of registration, but presently… we give you a permit to operate once there's no threat to safety and health, and then you work towards attaining the 12 operating standards,” the ECC chair explained.

The 12 standards for the operation, management and administration of ECIs in Jamaica encompass staffing; development and educational programmes; physical environment; interactions and relationships with children; indoor and outdoor equipment; health; nutrition; safety; child rights, child protection and equality; interactions with parents and community; administration; and finance.

As at March 2026, the ECC reported that there were 2,428 ECIs in operation across the island.

Williams-Singh said that only about four per cent of those institutions are non-compliant with the ECC’s standards, while the remaining 96 per cent are either fully compliant or at various stages of achieving compliance.

The ECC is an agency of the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth & Information, established in 2003, with the aim of improving the quality of early-childhood care, education and development in Jamaica.

It also coordinates the curriculum for early-childhood education, which encompasses birth to eight years old.

- JIS

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