Early Childhood Care and Education

Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) though considered as critical element for child development and lifelong learning, it never has been universalised and considered as rights for the children in India. The only recognised program for ensuring ECCE in India is Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and Balwadi which are regularly suffering from budget cut and still remain as schemes. The NEW Education Policy adopted in the year 2020 raised hope towards universalisation of ECCE which positively dealt with the issue of health, nutrition, safety, development and education of children of age group of 0-6 years. SPAN’s intervention in relation to Early Childhood Care and Development includes strengthening the institutional services for ECCE at local level through capacity building of local leadership of Youth and women as well as facilitating model Creche/Balwadi services in partnership with local government/employers for the children of working mothers. SPAN also takes on research based advocacy at policy level through networking with civil society groups towards universalisation of ECCE as the rights for the children.

Crèche support for unserved babies: Gender based division of work assigns mothers, and in her absence other female members of the household, the responsibility of childcare. As a result, women, especially the poor and marginalized ones, bear the triple burden of housework, care work and paid work. Towards operationalizing the women led development SPAN runs two (2) crèches in its operational area particularly in Jalpaiguri Tea Garden at Kilkote and Newtown Rajarhat, Kolkata.

Services provided at crecheCreche at Kilkote Tea Garden (coverage 0-3 Yrs)Creche at Rajarhat New Town
(Coverage 0-6 Yrs)
Out reach Services6462
Malnourished209
Improved (Malnourished to normal146
Health Check up6462
Total children admitted to primary schoolNA16

This Program continue with the partnership of Tea Garden Management at Kilkote and New Town Development Authority at Rajarhat Kolkata. The technical support is being provided by Mobile Creche, New Delhi.

Strengthening the Institutional Services for ECCE through Local Leadership: Youth and women councils are oriented and capacitated on the different aspects of ECCE and the ICDS and Balwari services as the entitlements for their children. Women leaders particularly who belong to the mothers committee of local Anganwai Centre (of ICDS), is capacitated on the different aspects of nutrition and early education to supplement the services of local anganwadi centre as well as to monitor the functioning of Anganwadi Centre.

Research, Networking and Advocacy on ECCE: SPAN takes on research at the local level on the implementation of NEP in relation to it's commitments of ECCE as well as budget Budget analysis on ECCE provisions and spending. The issues and research findings are shared at different levels, particularly on Civil society networks to strengthen advocacy on the issue of universalisation of ECCE.