The Ontario Early Childhood Sector Decent Work Taskforce’s Decent Work Charter states that “fair and transparent policies and procedures” and “open and transparent communication” are essential for a Quality Work Environment, one of the four principles of Decent Work.
Inspired by the defunct Human Resources Sector Council’s HR Toolkit, we adapted existing organizational policies to create the HR Innovation Toolkit, including accessible templates and guides that advance decent work. We know every centre and community is unique, and we wanted to inspire change while also making the tools flexible for different early learning and child care environments. As noted on each resource, these documents are provided as reference only and we recommend that you always consult current legislation and licensing in your jurisdiction to ensure your policies are compliant.
Special Journal Issue
The Winter 2020 issue of the AECEO‘s ECE Link features a special bilingual section of articles about our HR Innovation and Decent Work project, with articles including: mentorship and coaching; decent work case studies; an interview with ECEBC’s Emily Gawlick; what decent work means for students; and the executive director as leader and partner.
Recruitment
Job descriptions and promotional materials create the first impression a prospective employee has of your organization and its values. The language and hiring strategies used will affect whether an early childhood professional choose to apply or not to your organization. Strong recruitment practices support finding early childhood professionals who share your values in early learning and child care and will provide excellent care.
- Wise Practice: Developing Detailed Job Descriptions
- Wise Practice: Creating a Referral Policy at your Centre
- Wise Practice: Using Social Media to Promote your Centre to Potential Staff
- ECE Credentials across Canada
- ECE Job Posting Boards
On-boarding and Orienting New Staff
Professional Development and Learning
Staff retention is key to creating consistent, quality programs for children and their families, and to reduce the administrative burden of frequent recruitment and on-boarding. Employees are motivated to stay in workplaces where they feel valued, well-compensated and supported to grow in their career. Supporting ongoing professional learning as an organization leads to engaged early childhood professionals who will stay long-term and continue to develop their practice in program.
- Wise Practice: Centre Book Study
- Wise Practice: Creating a Career Map
- Distributed Leadership: Shared Decision Making
- Sample Training and Professional Development Policy
- Sample Education Assistance and Professional Learning Policy
For Early Childhood Educators, Child Care Workers and ECE Students
Additional tools and resources will be added over time, and we are also looking for resources from the community to share. If you would like to submit an innovative tool, guide or policy please contact info@childcareontario.org.
External Resources
The Child Care Human Resources Sector Council (CCHRSC) operated from 2003 – 2013. The organization was dedicated to moving forward on human resources (HR) issues in Canada’s early learning and care (ELCC) sector. The CCHRSC dissolved in 2013 following changes to HRSDC’s Sector Council Program, however, it leaves an extensive legacy of research and resources. For more information, visit the archived CCHRSC HR Toolkit.
The Manitoba Child Care Association (MCCA) has produced a Human Resource Management Guide for Early Learning and Child Care Programs. This guide is designed for child care organizations and board of directors to have current, professional, and effective human resource management practices. For more information, visit the MCCA website.
