ANOTHER Nursery school opens

THERE are currently 12 public nursery schools across the island, the newest being the Maria Holder Nursery School Oldbury, which was officially opened yesterday.

The school, which opened its doors in September, currently has a roll of 72 students, but has the capacity for 90.

The Maria Holder Memorial Trust has partnered with the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, by funding the construction of several state-of-the art nursery schools as part of their commitment to produce quality facilities for early childhood education throughout the island.

The first school is located at Sharon, St Thomas; the second at Gall Hill, Christ Church; while Oldbury falls at number three on the list.

Minister of Education Ronald Jones, who delivered the feature address at the opening ceremony, spoke about the importance of early childhood education to the development of the nation.

On behalf of the Government and people of Barbados, Jones expressed profound gratitude to Christopher Holder, the Chairman and Co-Founder of the Trust, as well as the Board of Trustees for their generosity to the nation.

He said it is expected that other schools with a similar name will be constructed in the future.

Giving a brief history lesson, Minister Jones pointed out that the first nursery school opened in Barbados was Erdiston Nursery in the Pine, St Michael, in September 1965.

Subsequently, three others were opened: Government Hill Nursery in 1972; Eden Lodge Nursery in 1975; and St Stephen’s Nursery in 1993, respectively. Two of these early nursery schools were donated by the Jaycees.

In Barbados, access to Early Childhood Education for pupils in the three to four age group is not only provided by the Government in public Nursery Schools. It is also provided in Nursery Units in Primary Schools, commonly referred to as Nursery Classes. A significant number of the island’s primary schools cater to the needs of three to four-year-olds.

“The Maria Holder Memorial Trust has been a dedicated partner to the cause of the early childhood expansion programme, and is contributing to the achievement of the programme’s goals. This contribution has been shown in the provision of state-of-the-art facilities…

“Another dimension of the Trust’s support entails provision for the training and retooling of teachers in the Post-Graduate Certificate in the Early Childhood Education programme, delivered by Wheelock College.

“Teachers also benefit from exposure to the College’s Masters Programme in early childhood education. As a result of this training programme, which began in 2013, another group of 60 teachers graduated from Wheelock College in a ceremony which was held last Saturday,” Jones said.

Trustee of the Maria Holder Memorial Trust, Michael Russell, told the gathering that all of the schools constructed thus far have been built to the highest standard. He said he hopes that the students who attend the institution will enjoy the child-friendly learning environment.

Russell added that the foundation is focussed on promoting high quality education, along with healthy young people.

“For us to do something like this is special, to be a part of it is special. I want you to be aware that this is by far the biggest project that this charity has undertaken anywhere in the world,” Russell said.

The principal at the new nursery school is Sharon Knight. (AH)