The City of Cornwall's Children’s Services would like to congratulate Carly Guildchrist (below) from Happy Face Nursery School–Morrisburg on submitting the winning slogan for our Workforce Retention and Recruitment Campaign: "Profession in Play: Feeding the Minds of Tomorrow!"

Early Years Professional of the year!

Every year, the Children's Services department celebrates one of our own as Early Years Professional of the Year.

This award is to honour an outstanding and innovative Early Years Professional for their leadership, exemplary early childhood education practices, and their commitment to help build the foundation children need to make the best possible start in life, in particular focusing on the inclusion of all children.

Know of someone who should be recognized for the passionate work they do in the Early Years field in Cornwall and/or SD&G? Then nominate them by clicking here!

Below are the previous Early Years Professionals of the year!

 

Important Resources for ECEs

Here are resources and links we deem to be important for any Early Years Professional. If you don't see something you think we should add, feel free to reach out to the Children's Services Operations Coordinator at fracine@cornwall.ca.

• Duty to Report: If you have reasonable grounds to suspect a child is in need of help, you need to make the call. It isn’t up to you to prove or investigate the abuse, but it is up to you to reach out and help protect the child.
• Red Flags for infant, toddler and preschool children (Early Identification in the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry.
• How to report suspected child abuse.
• Yes, You Can: Dispelling the Myths About Sharing Information with Children’s Aid Societies: A booklet created by the Provincial Advocate for Children 
• College of ECEs: The College of Early Childhood Educators regulates and governs Ontario’s Registered Early Childhood Educators (RECEs) in the public interest. 

  The College regulates the profession of early childhood education by establishing and enforcing:

  • Registration requirements;
  • Ethical and professional standards for RECEs;
  • Requirements for continuous professional learning; and
  • Complaints and discipline process for professional misconduct, incompetence and incapacity.
• ECE Qualifications Upgrade Program:  Are you currently working in licensed child care and want to obtain your Early Childhood Education diploma while you are working? There is financial help available through the Early Childhood Educators Qualifications Upgrade Program. 
• The Association of Early Childhood Educators of Ontario: Advocates for respect, recognition, and appropriate wages and working conditions for all ECEs. 
• The Canadian Child Care Federation: Improves quality of Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) services by implementing services and information for the community.
• The Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children: The Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children (CCRC) brings together organizations and individuals to promote respect for the rights of children.

Survey Results

To better understand its diverse and dedicated workforce, the Children's Services department provides annual and bilingual surveys to local members of the Early Years workforce. You can find a summary of the surveys undertaken by clicking below:

• 2024 Workforce Survey Report

Early Years Newsletter

The City of Cornwall's Children's Services publishes Nurture, a Profession in Play Newsletter quarterly. You can find past issues of Nurture.

• Nurture — September 2024
• Nurture — January 2025