FIFTEEN women have completed the Guyana Association of Professional Social Workers (GAPSW)’s Childcare Management course.During an address to graduates, Programme Officer of UNICEF, Audrey Rodrigues indicated that early childcare is pivotal in the development of a child and as such graduates must seek to exert what they have learnt in a professional manner.

In doing so, she added that they must seek to elevate their knowledge in the profession by utilising the resources offered to them by institutions such as the University of Guyana and UNICEF.

She explained to the graduates that the more education and training they acquire, the better their chances are at offering their services on a higher level.

According to facilitator, Christine King at some stage of the programme a number of trained social workers came together and produced a manual which they felt would be a useful reference tool for the work of the participants after they would have concluded their training. The manual was also recommended for use on the course.

“Over the years, the Childcare Management course has produced over 500 graduates. Like many of the care professions — teaching, nursing, and social work -– the majority of participants are women,” King said.

She said that a number of graduates have either established their own play schools or day care centers, or are caregivers at such facilities.

The duration of the course was approximately three months, with ninety-minute lectures on Mondays and Fridays. Some sessions were held on Wednesdays to ensure that all the areas were fully covered.

The main focus of the course was to enable students to gain an understanding of various aspects of Child Care. Problems encountered in the child care environment were examined, and students were exposed to developing the skills needed to deal with those problems.

“Many of the students are employed and were not allowed more than one day’s release from work. Thus they were only exposed to a half-day observation visit at the Gifted Hands learning center for special needs children and Green Acres play school, while other students visited both facilities and were very impressed with the services offered and experience shared,” the facilitator said.

The graduates are now equipped at an elementary level to practice the skills and techniques to act as child care workers, and identify causal factors for the emotional and behavioural problems of children in their care.

The Childcare Management course, like the Care for the Elderly programme, was launched as a co-ordinated effort between GAPSW and the Women’s Outreach Programme of the Adult Education Association in 1996. The course came at a time when the GAPSW saw the need to launch a programme for child caregivers.