Pioneer | EARLY CHILDHOOD COMMISSION

Black History Month Early Childhood Pioneer – Part 2

Posted on February 25, 2020 by The ECC Blog Spot

For Black History Month, we continue our celebration of early childhood pioneers. Today, we celebrate Professor Maureen Samms-Vaughan.

Prof. Samms-Vaughan was born in St. Thomas, August 15, 1957 and grew up in Harbour View. She attended Vaz Preparatory School and later, Excelsior High School. Prof. Samms-Vaughan pursued her tertiary education at the University of the West Indies graduating from the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MB,BS) programme where she completed her Doctor of Medicine in paediatrics in 1988 and was recognised by the Paediatric Association of Jamaica as the most outstanding graduate. She was one of the researchers on Jamaica’s first birth cohort study, the Jamaican Perinatal Morbidity and Mortality Survey (1988). Following her role in that ground-breaking study, Prof. Samms-Vaughan went on to pursue her PhD in Epidemiology at the University of Bristol, United Kingdom.[1]

In 1993, Prof. Samms-Vaughan was appointed Lecturer of Child Health at the University of the West Indies, Consultant Developmental and Behavioural Paediatrician at the University Hospital of the West Indies and Director of Child and Family Clinic for children with developmental and behavioural disorders. Further in 2001, having been promoted to Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department of Child Health at the University of the West Indies, she was invited by the Caribbean Child Development Centre to do research on a group of six-year-olds called the Profiles Project. Her work from the Profiles Projects was published in 2005 through funding from the Planning Institute of Jamaica in a book titled Profiles – The Jamaica Pre-School Child, The Status of Early Childhood Development in Jamaica.[2] In 2006, Prof. Samms-Vaughan was appointed as UWI’s first Professor of Child Health.[3] She has over 50 publications, including three books, several book chapters and peer-reviewed papers, on a range of child development and behaviour related topics.

In 2003, Prof. Samms-Vaughan was appointed Chairwoman of the newly established Early Childhood Commission, the agency was mandated by the Jamaican government to regulate and coordinate early childhood services. Under her leadership, the agency developed its first National Strategic Plan 2008-2013 (NSP) for Early Childhood Development, which was recognised as an international model by the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and through which, resulted in funding from the IDB under the Jamaica Early Childhood Development Project for both the NSP 2008-2013 and 2013-2018. Additionally, she oversaw the development of the Child Health and Development Passport and the 12 Standards for the Operations, Management and Administration of Early Childhood Institutions. Since its development and implementation in 2010, the Child Health and Development Passport has seen a 100% rate of usage nationally.

Continuing in her dedication to early childhood, child health and using research to improve the lives of children, Prof. Samms-Vaughan launched the second birth cohort study in Jamaica. The Jamaica Birth Cohort Study, also known as, JA KIDS, began in 2011 and followed every child born between July and September of that year. In total, the study followed approximately 11,000 children and their families from birth through to their fourth year. The study was designed to collect data that will improve the lives and outcomes of children in Jamaica.[4] She is also active in research for children with developmental disabilities and manages children diagnosed with autism in her clinical practice.

Prof. Samms-Vaughan was recognised for her contribution to national development in the area of child health and early childhood development and was invested with the Order of Distinction, Commander class. She was also recognised by the Early Childhood Commission at their first Professional Development Institute in 2019 for her work in the sector. Professor Samms-Vaughan continues to work in the early childhood sector. She currently lives in Jamaica with her husband and is the proud mother of three children.

[1] http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/all-woman/professor-maureen-samms-vaughan_135889?profile=1259

[2] http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/all-woman/professor-maureen-samms-vaughan_135889?profile=1259

[3] https://www.mona.uwi.edu/fms/jakids/staff/maureen-samms-vaugn

[4] https://www.mona.uwi.edu/fms/jakids/about-the-study/background

Black History Month Early Childhood Pioneer

Posted on February 12, 2020 by The ECC Blog Spot

To celebrate Black History Month, we would like to celebrate an early childhood pioneer.

Rev. Henry Ward was truly an early childhood pioneer. Henry Ward was born on the 28th of May, 1879 in the district of Golden Grove, St. Ann. He was a Presbyterian Minister, teacher and headmaster. Having attended Clapham Primary School and St. Georges Primary School, in 1899, Rev. Ward further pursued his studies a Mico Teacher’s College where he was named ‘Honours Man of the Year’ in the graduating class of 1900. Rev. Ward held several leadership roles in education, including, headmaster of Ebenezer Primary School in Manchester and later in 1915, Head of the Teacher Training College Department at the Hope Wadell Institute in Calabar, Nigeria where he was also ordained as a Presbyterian Minister. He returned to Jamaica from Nigeria in 1923 and settled in Islington, St. Mary, where he served as pastor of the Presbyterian Church for forty-four (44) years.[1]

As an early childhood pioneer, Rev. Ward is responsible for the establishment of the first basic school in Jamaica in Islington, St. Mary in 1938. The “play centre” as it was then called, was Rev. Ward’s response to the great demand for child care for working mothers. The play centre, the first established community pre-school, catered to the needs of children under six years old and started the basic school movement in Jamaica. In 1941, Rev. Ward and associates presented to the Jamaican Board of Education recommendations for the establishment of “play centres” as part of the Jamaican education system. These recommendations related to teacher qualifications, facility requirements, and administrative procedures. To facilitate children’s development, the centres were to include organized play/stories, actions songs, and foundations for the development reading, writing and numeracy skills. Later, the term “play centre” was dropped and replaced with “basic school” as parents believed the name suggested less emphasis on education and more on play.[2] As envisioned by Rev. Ward and now evident in our approaches in early childhood development, play is a major element for fostering children’s development.

In 2003, the Islington Basic School was selected for a Labour Day project by the government which allocated JA $2 million for its renovation.[3] The Islington Basic School is still in operation today, catering to needs of children at the early childhood level.

Rev. Ward’s contribution to early childhood in Jamaica is truly commendable and his legacy lives on today. There are now over 1600 basic schools in operation in Jamaica with approximately 80,000 children enrolled. As the agency with responsibility for regulating and supporting early childhood institutions in Jamaica, the Early Childhood Commission, has developed standards to guide ECI operations in areas of teacher qualifications, facility requirements and administrative procedures which are a reflection of Rev. Ward’s early recommendations to the Jamaican Board of Education.

To find out more about the 12 Standards for the Operation, Management and Administration of Early Childhood Institutions, you can visit our website at https://ecc.gov.jm/

[1] https://nlj.gov.jm/biographies/rev-henry-ward-1879-1981/

[2] Jones, J., Brown, A., Brown, J. (2011). Caring and Learning Together: A Case Study of Jamaica

[3] https://jis.gov.jm/islington-basic-school-national-labour-day-project/