Outstanding child care providers honoured at awards ceremony

The Voice of Canada News:

Dedicated, committed and exceptional are only a few of the words used to describe the outstanding child care professionals being honoured with 2018 Child Care Awards of Excellence.

“Today, we honour the hard-working people at the heart of our child care system in B.C.,” said Premier John Horgan. “Early childhood educators bring professionalism, kindness and care to their work every day – and for that we can’t thank them enough. These dedicated workers are essential partners as we continue to make high-quality child care a reality for more families around the province.”

After an open call for nominations and a review by an external selection committee, 10 recipients, including organizations and individual child care providers in British Columbia, have been selected to receive Child Care Awards of Excellence in five categories: provincial, Indigenous, innovation, partnerships and leadership.

“Parents entrust child care providers with their kids each and every day as they head to work or school,” said Katrine Conroy, Minister of Children and Family Development. “The time spent away from their children is made easier by knowing their child care professional is invested in making their child’s day full of fun, learning, exploration, comfort and kindness. This year’s award recipients embody the hallmarks of what parents are looking for and deserve from educators in B.C.’s child care system: innovation, leadership, dedication and caring.”

Examples of award-winning submissions include:

• Helping Iskut children in northern B.C. find their power through the Tahltan language.
• Encouraging kids in the Cariboo to get outside and get messy through an outdoor program that stimulates physical play on their own climbing wall and zip line.
• A child care team in the Lower Mainland that worked with kids, and the aviation and first-responder communities, to build a life-sized aeroplane and ambulance as a result of the kids’ fascination with aeroplanes and anything with a siren on it.

New to the Child Care Awards of Excellence is the Ministers’ Childcare BC Award for outstanding contributions to early care and learning. This award complements the existing child care award categories, which focus on individual child care settings, providers or sectors, to honour a system-wide contribution. The inaugural Childcare BC Award is being given to the Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC in recognition of the volunteer organization’s 20-plus years of work on universal child care policy and advocacy for improving child care in the province.

“Child care in B.C. is finally getting the government attention and support it deserves, and that wouldn’t have been possible without the coalition’s determination and hard work,” said Katrina Chen, Minister of State for Child Care. “Their efforts exemplify what constructive advocacy can achieve, and child care has been renewed and transformed in this province, thanks to them.”

In addition to the Child Care Awards of Excellence, 18 licensed child care facilities with more than 40 years of service will receive a Child Care Legacy Award to recognize their contributions to B.C. children and their families.

“Congratulations to this year’s award recipients. Your passion, talent and dedication are an inspiration to us all,” said Sandra Menzer, chair of the Provincial Child Care Council. “You deserve our thanks for the important work that you do for children and families across B.C.”

Quick Facts:

• Every two years, the Child Care Awards of Excellence recognize the contributions that early childhood educators, licensed child care providers, non-profit and private organizations, businesses and local governments make throughout British Columbia.
• This year’s award recipients were nominated by peers, parents and local governments. The ministry received 66 nominations.