Child nurseries to be publicly rated on standards
By Vivian Nereim
Feb 15, 2012
ABU DHABI// The Ministry of Social Affairs plans to hire an education company to inspect and rate every nursery in the country, assigning a publicly-available grade from A to E.
Parents and nursery directors praised the idea, saying it would spur childcare programmes to raise their standards.
“I think it’s fantastic,” said Vikas Batheja, a Dubai resident from India and father of a 3-year-old boy. “I think people should be able to choose good-quality schools, and right now there’s no information available anywhere where you can differentiate between the different nurseries.”
The rating system is part of the Ministry’s plan to overhaul regulations for the country’s 300 nurseries. Officials distributed a document last year outlining five categories of standards.
“We gave them one year to follow the standard, and they know where they are now,” said Moza Salem Al Shoomi, director of the Ministry’s Child Department. “All the nurseries now, they have read this standard.”
Ms Al Shoomi declined to name the rating company because they have not signed a contract yet. But she said that “inshallah, this year,” staff from the company will start visiting nurseries. They will grade each from a level A (excellent) to a level D (acceptable), with level E reserved for “unacceptable” nurseries that could face correctional action.
“Our work, it must be to close some of the nurseries,” Ms Al Shoomi said. The Ministry closed about eight substandard programmes last year, she said.
The evaluation process will help nurseries improve, said Samia Kazi, chief operating officer for Arabian Child, an early childhood consultancy that works closely with the Ministry.
“When a third party comes in and evaluates you and gives you that clear plan, then you have a chance to change or renew your goals and objectives for the next year,” Ms Kazi said.
“We’re all striving to get to a level A,” said Sue Jones, director of Kids Academy UAE, a nursery that opened in January in Khalifa City A. “By striving to get to a level A it means you really do care about your staff, your children.”
The Ministry plans to post the nursery ratings online.
“I think that’s a good idea, so it’s more transparent,” said Kieny Watts, general manager of Hummingbird Early Learning Centre in Dubai.
“Quality assurance is necessary in whatever industry or company, especially something to do with the caring of children,” said Bernadette King-Turner, director of Beautiful Minds Nurseries, with four locations in Dubai.
Without the ratings, parents choosing a nursery rely on word-of-mouth and marketing campaigns, they said.
“Anybody who’s got money, they can place ads and have these lovely billboards, but we don’t know if they have actual hands-on experience,” said Mr Batheja, 33.
Sonya Edelman read online message boards for frank advice when she was choosing a nursery for her son, now 2 1/2. A government rating would be “something tangible,” said Ms Edelman, 34, an Abu Dhabi resident from the United States.
“It would give me huge peace of mind,” Ms Edelman said.
Staff-to-child ratio should figure highly in the ratings, said Nesrine Khoury, mother of a 14-month-old boy.
“To me, that is one of the most important things, as well as the qualifications of the teachers,” said Ms Khoury, 32, an Abu Dhabi resident from Lebanon.
The company and the Ministry are still devising the rating criteria.
The country’s many cultures will make the process difficult, Mr Batheja said.
“You’ve got the Indian nurseries, Montessori, Early Years Foundation, different syllabi and curriculums,” he said. “How you try and manage that will be a challenge.”
“There are specific criteria or indicators that have to be created for this region, for this context -- and that itself, it’s a humongous job,” Ms Kazi said.
The Ministry also announced yesterday that all nursery workers must attend 30 hours of professional development training per year at an authorized programme. The Ministry of Labor will not renew visas for staff who cannot prove that they met the requirement.
Next, the government must find ways to support struggling nurseries, Ms Kazi said.
“A lot of these nurseries, especially in the rural areas, won’t be able to achieve that category A,” she said. “We need to think about different kinds of support from the government in order to help them develop.”
SIDEBAR:
A document the Ministry of Social Affairs distributed last year sets the following standards for nurseries, among others:
- Develop a plan for training new employees and a system to evaluate staff performance
- Employ a qualified nurse
- Meet minimum staff-to-child ratios: one supervisor for every three children under the age of 2, one teacher and one assistant teacher for every four children ages 2 to 3, one teacher and one assistant teacher for every 13 children ages 3 to 4
- Teach Arabic to children and participate in national programmes and activities
- Send regular reports to parents in a language they understand
- Develop a system for receiving and responding to complaints
- Set a policy for returning fees
A version of this article was published in The National newspaper.
Feb 15, 2012
ABU DHABI// The Ministry of Social Affairs plans to hire an education company to inspect and rate every nursery in the country, assigning a publicly-available grade from A to E.
Parents and nursery directors praised the idea, saying it would spur childcare programmes to raise their standards.
“I think it’s fantastic,” said Vikas Batheja, a Dubai resident from India and father of a 3-year-old boy. “I think people should be able to choose good-quality schools, and right now there’s no information available anywhere where you can differentiate between the different nurseries.”
The rating system is part of the Ministry’s plan to overhaul regulations for the country’s 300 nurseries. Officials distributed a document last year outlining five categories of standards.
“We gave them one year to follow the standard, and they know where they are now,” said Moza Salem Al Shoomi, director of the Ministry’s Child Department. “All the nurseries now, they have read this standard.”
Ms Al Shoomi declined to name the rating company because they have not signed a contract yet. But she said that “inshallah, this year,” staff from the company will start visiting nurseries. They will grade each from a level A (excellent) to a level D (acceptable), with level E reserved for “unacceptable” nurseries that could face correctional action.
“Our work, it must be to close some of the nurseries,” Ms Al Shoomi said. The Ministry closed about eight substandard programmes last year, she said.
The evaluation process will help nurseries improve, said Samia Kazi, chief operating officer for Arabian Child, an early childhood consultancy that works closely with the Ministry.
“When a third party comes in and evaluates you and gives you that clear plan, then you have a chance to change or renew your goals and objectives for the next year,” Ms Kazi said.
“We’re all striving to get to a level A,” said Sue Jones, director of Kids Academy UAE, a nursery that opened in January in Khalifa City A. “By striving to get to a level A it means you really do care about your staff, your children.”
The Ministry plans to post the nursery ratings online.
“I think that’s a good idea, so it’s more transparent,” said Kieny Watts, general manager of Hummingbird Early Learning Centre in Dubai.
“Quality assurance is necessary in whatever industry or company, especially something to do with the caring of children,” said Bernadette King-Turner, director of Beautiful Minds Nurseries, with four locations in Dubai.
Without the ratings, parents choosing a nursery rely on word-of-mouth and marketing campaigns, they said.
“Anybody who’s got money, they can place ads and have these lovely billboards, but we don’t know if they have actual hands-on experience,” said Mr Batheja, 33.
Sonya Edelman read online message boards for frank advice when she was choosing a nursery for her son, now 2 1/2. A government rating would be “something tangible,” said Ms Edelman, 34, an Abu Dhabi resident from the United States.
“It would give me huge peace of mind,” Ms Edelman said.
Staff-to-child ratio should figure highly in the ratings, said Nesrine Khoury, mother of a 14-month-old boy.
“To me, that is one of the most important things, as well as the qualifications of the teachers,” said Ms Khoury, 32, an Abu Dhabi resident from Lebanon.
The company and the Ministry are still devising the rating criteria.
The country’s many cultures will make the process difficult, Mr Batheja said.
“You’ve got the Indian nurseries, Montessori, Early Years Foundation, different syllabi and curriculums,” he said. “How you try and manage that will be a challenge.”
“There are specific criteria or indicators that have to be created for this region, for this context -- and that itself, it’s a humongous job,” Ms Kazi said.
The Ministry also announced yesterday that all nursery workers must attend 30 hours of professional development training per year at an authorized programme. The Ministry of Labor will not renew visas for staff who cannot prove that they met the requirement.
Next, the government must find ways to support struggling nurseries, Ms Kazi said.
“A lot of these nurseries, especially in the rural areas, won’t be able to achieve that category A,” she said. “We need to think about different kinds of support from the government in order to help them develop.”
SIDEBAR:
A document the Ministry of Social Affairs distributed last year sets the following standards for nurseries, among others:
- Develop a plan for training new employees and a system to evaluate staff performance
- Employ a qualified nurse
- Meet minimum staff-to-child ratios: one supervisor for every three children under the age of 2, one teacher and one assistant teacher for every four children ages 2 to 3, one teacher and one assistant teacher for every 13 children ages 3 to 4
- Teach Arabic to children and participate in national programmes and activities
- Send regular reports to parents in a language they understand
- Develop a system for receiving and responding to complaints
- Set a policy for returning fees
A version of this article was published in The National newspaper.