Research in early learning and child care services over the past 20 years has consistently identified the same core group of ingredients necessary to protect children’s physical and emotional safety and well-being, promote their feeling of self-worth and foster their physical, social and cognitive development. Crucial ingredients include a safe, child-friendly physical environment and service providers who are warm and supportive with children, understand child development, and can translate this understanding into stimulating, enjoyable activities that are appropriate for the children’s abilities.
Standards for children’s services may be basic, such as requirements related to the physical safety of a building, or go beyond the basic to statements of ‘best practices’ that foster children’s development and respect the family’s role as the child’s primary caregiver. Statements of best practices are based on research findings that have identified what is necessary for children’s well-being and development. They tell service providers what is required for a quality program and give families the information they need to judge the quality of a service.
The Alberta accreditation standards for early learning and care services are statements of best practices for services that already meet the basic licensing standards. Their development started with a review of the research findings on best practices and a review of early learning and child care service accreditation standards being used elsewhere. After this preliminary work, draft standards were developed and reviewed by an Advisory Committee of Alberta experts. The draft standards were revised then presented to and discussed at a series of focus groups involving service providers and parents from all parts of the province. After further amendment, the standards were tested in 17 different programs and a final revision done based on the findings of the testing process. The result is made-in-Alberta by Albertans accreditation standards for early learning and care services.