In view of the new school year and on the occasion of a recent incident, the Cyprus Private Early Childhood Education Association (SIPEC) calls on all parents whose children will attend pre-school education structures (nurseries, kindergartens and kindergartens) to be particularly careful and ensure that these structures have the required certificates of enrolment and operation (from the Social Welfare Services for infants and nurseries). kindergartens and the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth for kindergartens), which must be posted in a prominent position.
Private kindergartens and kindergartens offer high quality services aimed at the safety and quality of children’s learning, as well as extended operating hours, especially during the holiday periods. The services of private nurseries and kindergartens are expanded and adapted according to the needs of the children attending them and their parents, in order to enhance the reconciliation of work and family life and to enable the reintegration, especially of mothers, into the labor market.
To this end, catering services, afternoon care and education are offered, as well as optional activities for learning English, gymnastics, music and dance lessons, speech therapy and a variety of other programs aimed at the proper and all-round development of children.
It should be noted that the establishment and operation of private kindergartens and kindergartens is governed by a particularly strict and demanding legislative and regulatory framework. Private kindergartens and kindergartens are literally inspected and inspected for every aspect of their operation, by various State services in relation to the following:
- The general operation of the nursery/kindergarten.
- The suitability of the facilities (indoor and outdoor), the anti-seismic safety and the suitability of equipment, toys and furniture.
- The academic or other qualifications of the management staff and kindergarten teachers, as well as the qualifications relating to the rest of the staff (childminders, assistant nurses-childminders, etc.).
- The number of children attending kindergartens, the maximum number of children per department and the predicted ratio between kindergarten teacher and children per department and depending on the age group of the children.
- The sanitary condition of the facilities (e.g. kitchen area), water analysis (microbiological tests), food preparation, preservation and service.
- Fire extinguishing systems, their adequacy and suitability for firefighting, their correct placement and marking and their maintenance and restoration (e.g. when the date of the fire extinguishers expires).
- The preparation of a written risk assessment study and the implementation of a risk management system for the premises (indoor and indoors, stairs, yard, and playground especially in relation to the appropriate support of the toys, the maintenance of the toys, the protective floors, etc.), and the taking of preventive measures for the safety and health of children, staff as well as third parties entering the premises (e.g. parents).
- The training of an adequate number of personnel in First Aid and safety and health issues (e.g. firefighting, evacuation of the building and actions in case of earthquake, fire, etc.).
SIPEK recommends that parents visit the premises of the nursery/kindergarten, talk to the Kindergarten Management and ask for the information they deem necessary.
In addition, in case they find that abusive behaviour may be manifested, they should report it immediately to the Directorate of the nursery/kindergarten and in case of failure to take satisfactory measures, they should make a complaint to the Social Welfare Services and/or the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth.
Early childhood education is perhaps the most important level of education, since according to the modern theory of Pedagogy, the first years of a child’s life are of vital importance for his physical, mental and social development and largely determines the school success and the course of each child’s life.
A basic principle for early childhood education is the maintenance of a safe and creative space as well as the satisfaction of the emotional, cognitive and social needs of the child, for the development of skills and the promotion of his creativity, so that he is treated as a multifaceted personality, who not only needs cognitive cultivation, but also has emotions and social needs. that must be satisfied in order to achieve its all-round (physical, emotional, mental, aesthetic, moral, social) development.
Therefore, it is the duty of all institutions to cooperate and operate professionally aiming at the formation of conscious, cultured and educated citizens, which is the fundamental goal of every pedagogical system and every modern society.
