Raising the Bar in Peel

St. Hilary’s Day Care Centre participates in “RAISING THE BAR IN PEEL”

a voluntary community standards program for licensed, centre based child care in Peel”

RAISING THE BAR IN PEEL – Video

Raising the Bar in Peel

Raising the Bar is a process designed to enhance quality care in early learning and child care programs.  The presence of a Raising the Bar certificate is a sign that the program is committed to maintaining provincial regulatory standards as well as local community standards.  Raising the Barwas developed and introduced in Hamilton, Ontario to promote and support observance of community standards.

Raising the Bar is endorsed and financially supported by the Region of Peel and Child Development Resource Connection Peel.

The Raising the Bar model was designed to work with and to build upon community capacity.  Guiding principles were developed to guide this ongoing process;

• Achievable for a variety of programs
• Sustainable in a community over time
• Fair and objective review process
• Recognized locally as a community standard;  research based and evaluated
• Engagement and mentorship
• Annual and ongoing process
• Three Categories of Standards

Quality Monitoring

Quality is monitored through frequent on-site observations.

• Parent and/or Caretaker feedback is collected each year.
• Action plans are developed to address areas of need and to plan for improvement.
• In addition to annual licensing reviews and local public health inspections, Raising the Barprograms undergo site visits by Third Party Consultants. (insert Third Party Brochure)

Best Practices

The process offers information for parents and promotes opportunities for community involvement.

• There are detailed policies, procedures and management practices to guide day-to-day operations.
• Specific strategies are in place to support optimal child health and development.  Resources and information about child development are provided to parents.

Professional Education

Raising the Bar in Peel programs commit to additional professional education each year.

First aid and CPR are kept current.

• Cooks have Food Handlers’ Certificate training
• All directors and staff attend workshops and conferences to enhance their understanding of early childhood education and care.
• Raising the Bar  programs support teacher professional education through mentorship and by providing practical training opportunities for cooperative education students.

Raising the Bar Certificate Levels

Through the annual peer review process, a level of achievement is determined for each of the three categories.

Bronze level  programs follow fundamental quality indicators and are also in full compliance with Ontario’s Day Nurseries Act.

Silver level  programs have additional strategies to enhance quality.

Gold, Gold Maintenance and Evergreen level  programs demonstrate a long-term commitment to high quality in early learning and care.

Peer Review Day

Peer reviewers are volunteers from RTBP participating programs who commit to 1 or 2 days for reviewing the RTBP program profile binders.  These peer reviewers sign a Code of Ethics and Confidentiality form at each peer review.

Peer review is seen as a mentoring opportunity and experienced peer reviewers are paired with first timers. A peer review committee reviews the applications and confirmation letters are sent out to successful applicants.

Master Binder Submission  

Master binder submissions are used for multi-site programs and agencies.  Each section in the program profile binder states whether or not that section can be submitted as part of a master binder submission.  For example – Section 8:  Policies and Procedures.