Press Release
NASUWT supports Global Action Week
23 April 2012
NASUWT is supporting Education International's Global Action Week which is seeking a combination of commitments from donor and developing countries in order to realise the rights of children to early childhood care and education. The week takes place between 22 and 28 April
The Global Campaign for Education (GCE) is making demands on the following issues:
Teacher and curriculum development
Governments must ensure higher standards for teacher education in early childhood and ensure that the qualifications of early childhood and childcare professionals are on a par with those of primary school teachers and beyond.
Improve curricula and pedagogy in tune with childhood, valuing play, affection, cooperation, talent and creativity as well as fostering self-esteem and active methods that take into account children's view points.
Encourage education ministries to ensure that adult education as well as all formal school curricula contains messages important to future parents on health and nutrition and the essential need for children to receive stronger cognitive and psycho-social support and stimulation from birth.
Removal of discrimination
Take measures to overcome all forms of discrimination and guarantee quality early childhood care and education provision to boys and girls, children from poor and disadvantaged backgrounds, children with disabilities and those in emergency situations and marginalized communities.
Reducing inequalities with integrated interventions that target the many risks to which vulnerable children are exposed.
Increased investment in early childhood care and education
Governments must promote investment in ECCE and set up the framework for delivery of early childhood programmes that include civil society.
Ensure governments set up an ECCE policy-coordinating mechanism to ensure that the programmes, activities and budgets of the various sectors involved in ECCE work together
Call for a target of a minimum of 8% of education budgets to be allocated to ECCE (prior to school) and for significant increases in resources for early primary.
Donor governments:
Donors must honour commitments to support all countries to achieve Education for All, especially Goal One.
Raise awareness of the long-term national development gains in terms of poverty reduction of investment in ECCE.
Align funding with national needs ensuring that those who lag behind the most get the most help.
Ensure focused attention on early primary is incorporated as a critical piece of education reform to address the equity and learning crisis.
Increase funding to the relevant sectors involved with ECCE to promote comprehensive ECCE programming.
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