A child spends more than half of their day in daycare, perhaps more if both parents work full time, which shows how important the quality element is in the care they receive.
In addition, there's a direct link between quality care and child development which shows that high-quality care using the latest methodologies and by experienced professionals promotes better child development.
At first glance, ensuring the health, safety, and well-being of the children who attend your daycare may seem simple. But it requires establishing specific conditions, both in terms of the environment, and behaviors to be adopted.
Here’s what quality care is and some golden rules to ensure high-quality care at your daycare:
What is High-Quality Care?
When it comes to daycare services, it's quality that matters. Although there is plenty of research on the effects of preschool or daycare center attendance, we know very little about how differences in service quality affect child development.
But one thing is sure the effect of care on child development depends fundamentally on the quality of care of daycare services. We also know that the aspect that matters most is the quality of the processes, that is, the frequency, type, and nature of the interactions between children and their caregivers.
Evidence shows that children exposed to caregivers who offer higher-quality interactions show better cognitive, language, and fine motor development.
5 Golden Rules to Ensure High-Quality Care at Your Daycare
Offer the Best Learning Environment
Another rule to ensure high-quality care at your daycare is to offer the children an environment conducive to the development of healthy lifestyles and healthy eating habits.
● Provide safe and clean premises with classrooms equipped with play materials, books, and other activities adapted to the age of the children;
● Plan and lead activities that teach healthy lifestyle habits (e.g. diet, hand washing, tooth brushing, etc.);
● Plan relaxation periods that respect the needs of each child;
● Incorporate outdoor activities, unless the weather does not allow it;
● Offer physical activities daily.
Provide Constant Training and Support to Daycare Professionals
A daycare teacher must be trained in early childhood development and awareness of the skills and know-how of the daycare programs and methodologies.
As daycare providers, you must provide your teachers with the relevant material, coaching, and assistance to provide the best care to children. It includes training and providing materials, such as holistic curriculums for preschool, toddlers, and children of different age groups.
Curriculums play a huge role in driving more and more parents towards your daycare and in your success. Therefore, your priority should be to choose the best curriculum for your daycare that is holistic, flexible, and according to the children’s age and the early learning standards.
The daycare educators must be attentive, warm, and sensitive, understand their role as caregivers, and offer stimulating activities according to the toddlers' needs.
Create Inclusive Learning Environment in Your Daycare to Make Quality Care Accessible to Every Child
Daycare professionals must focus on the children closely, and adopt a personalized care approach tailored to the needs of each child. Studies show that socioeconomic gradients between children belonging to high and low-income families appear at a very young age.
Therefore, a golden rule to provide quality care is to create an inclusive learning environment in your daycare and provide all learners equal access to quality care regardless of class or race.
Work in Collaboration with the Parents, staff, and the Community
Daycares must ensure close and healthy collaboration between caregivers and parents to provide quality care.
Parents also prefer daycares that keep them informed and up-to-date about their teaching methodologies and the activities they offer to their children. Daycares that interact with parents through social media, emails, local parents groups and other platforms, succeed in providing quality care.
Focus on continuous Quality Improvement
Given the evidence in the US on the importance of quality care for child development, daycare providers must make quality improvement a continuous process and focus on emotional, behavioral, and motivational support for learning.
For the improvement system to work, daycare providers must constantly evaluate their daycare performance, the required changes, and the adjustment of the learning and innovation cycle. Only then a constant improvement in the quality of care can be achieved.
Daycare providers must also focus on the feedback and reviews parents give them. It enables them to make the required changes and improve accordingly and promotes their daycare organically, satisfying more and more parents.
Conclusion!
These were the five golden rules to ensure high-quality care at your daycare. To train your staff in the latest methodologies that are personalized and up to the early learning standards and guidelines, and to get the best materials for preschool children and toddlers, become a member of Standout Daycare.
The mission of the Standout Daycare team is to assist and support every daycare passionate about children and committed to providing high-quality care at their daycare.
To learn more about our services, contact Standout Daycare.
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