The ECCDC supports early childhood education networks through providing meeting facilities, facilitating meetings, sending meeting reminders, posting meeting minutes online at www.eccdc.org as well as arranging and supporting desired speakers and trainers.
The following early childhood education networks currently meet regularly at the ECCDC;
- Supervisors Network
- Francophone Supervisor’s Network
- Coop Teacher’s Network
- Resource Teacher
- Child Care Centre Cooks
- Front Line Staff Network
- Home Child Care Visitors Network
- Home Child Care Network Leaders
The ECCDC supports early childhood education networks because of their value in providing the following benefits:
- Foster collaboration among peers
- Support professional development
- Develop new, responsive, and timely strategies
- Early identification of member needs and sector trends
- Foster progress on important sector issues
Networks gather regularly in a facilitated meeting format. In all cases, the intention of these meetings is one of mutual benefit and, specifically, for:
- networking with colleagues and sharing ideas, strategies, and best practices,
- discussing challenges and brainstorming possible solutions,
- professional development through training opportunities, materials, services, and speakers,
- encouraging informal mentoring arrangements between newer and more experienced staff,
- identifying needs and trends,
- responding to these needs and trends via access to responsive and innovative products and services, and
- gathering feedback on products and services.
Each network generally meets 3 times per year for two hours in length on each occasion. The meeting agendas for all networks are identical, although the actual discussion topics and content will differ.