Parents thrilled with pre-school programme ‘no money can buy’

With additional reporting and video by Kacia Marsh.

A popular and much-needed pre-school programme is expanding, to the delight of parents and toddlers alike.

The Ministry of Education’s ‘Smart Start’ initiative for under-4s, launched in East End and North Side in January last year, has now expanded to Bodden Town and the current cohort as well as 2023’s attendees are keen to sing its praises.

Zula Quinlan, whose son Joseph attended the 30-week programme last year, said, “There is no money that can buy the feeling I have for that programme because of everything it brought me and my son.”

She added, “It was two or three days a week, and he couldn’t wait for those days to come.”

Smart Start was set up to address the need for pre-school provision in parts of the island where existing facilities were either oversubscribed or beyond the price range of many who needed them.

Overseen by the ministry’s early childhood care and education officer Vanessa Cameron and her small team, with support from donations and volunteers from literacy charity LIFE, it provides play time, socialisation, introduction to reading, and advice to parents.

After just a few weeks of this year’s course, Aidan Whittaker, 3, already won’t allow his mother to let him miss a single session.

“I wasn’t feeling very well this morning but he was in the car with the door closed before I could turn around,” Diandra Whittaker told the Compass.

“He told me ‘No mummy, I’m going, we’ve got to go and get a book from Miss Vanessa’.”

Whittaker said she was very pleased with the programme so far, especially seeing how eager and enthusiastic her son is becoming about reading. 

She is also pleased he is socialising with children his own age, becoming particularly firm friends with his 3-year-old classmate Riley Codlyn. 

When the Compass dropped in on a recent Smart Start session, the two of them were enjoying tearing around the room and helping each other build towers out of blocks.

Many parents echoed Whittaker’s sentiments about the importance of socialisation.

Jacqeline Florez, mother of Marley, 3, heard good things about the programme when her sister-in-law’s daughter attended last year’s course.

Of this year’s 17-week programme, which started in late February, she said: “So far I like it, it’s really good.”

She is thrilled her daughter gets the opportunity to socialise. Young Marley also enjoys playing with blocks and listens to story time with rapt attention.

Two-year-old Rory Vernon’s young mother Athena Smith learned about Smart Start through a home visit from the programme director. 

She and her partner Tevine Vernon now enjoy bringing Rory to the free play and family circle sessions at the East End Civic Centre and the alternating ‘book buzz’ sessions at the district library.

“It makes you so happy to see the kids interacting, and you see parents supporting them too. I’m looking forward to seeing my son talk more,” she said.

William Powery told the Compass his young son has really “stepped out of his shell” and begun socialising since their visits began.

He added, “It is quite helpful in socialising and making friends.”

Baby boom has left preschools oversubscribed

The programme was launched to provide early-years stimulation, socialisation and education for children with no access to pre-schools.

Across Cayman access to early-years education is severely limited by space and affordability, and demand has surged in recent years, causing a greater need than ever for programmes like these.

At Little Trotters in George Town, for instance, for children 18 months to 5 years, the waiting list for 80 places now runs to more than 400 children, and annual fees are $14,000. 

And a post-COVID baby boom – between 2019 and 2020 births jumped from 661 to 832 and have remained high since – has only increased pressure on already stretched childcare services.

East End Primary School has this year opened a 20-place nursery, slightly alleviating local pressure and causing the local Smart Start programme to extend its services down to 2-year-old pre-nursery children, but right across the island demand for pre-school places continues to outstrip supply.

Single parent Kizzie Codlyn, who brings her 18-month-old Alorah and rambunctious 3-year-old Riley to the Bodden Town events, said, ‘They can’t go to a pre-school, all the pre-schools and daycares are full – the ones that are affordable. 

“I was trying to get Riley into daycare but everywhere is full to the max.

“I really appreciate that they have this programme available. It’s great because it means they have children beyond their own siblings to play with.”

The numbers are not huge. This year’s cohort so far includes six children in Bodden Town and 12 from the now-combined North Side and East End programmes. But to each of those families it makes a valuable contribution to their child’s early years.

Building a home library

The education ministry is supported in its efforts by Erica Dell’Oglio and her literacy charity LIFE (Literacy Is For Everyone), which last year provided more than $4,000 worth of books for Smart Start children.

Every child chooses and takes home a free book from LIFE at every class they attend, allowing them to build a home book collection just as their Smart Start visits to public libraries teach them about borrowing and caring for publicly-owned books.

Dell’Oglio explained, “There’s so many children who can’t access early childhood care because of the pre-schools not having space.

“So Smart Start really provides a space for children to interact, and for mums and caregivers to come together and support each other.”

LIFE prefers to shop locally where it can, but Dell’Oglio explained books on-island can cost as much as $7 per title, and often supplies are less than ideal, whereas buying from abroad can mean spending half of that for a better selection.

“We really like the children to see themselves represented in the illustrations. And not just visually, but in terms of culture too. It can be hard to find Caribbean books,” she said.

She would love to see Smart Start expand to George Town and West Bay, but at present the ministry team running the programme does not have the personnel to support expansion. There are plans, however, to continue the roll-out.

‘I would recommend it to anybody’

The Smart Start expansion to Bodden Town follows a successful launch last year in East End and North Side.

After a home visit from Vanessa Cameron, Zula Quinlan and her son Joseph were in the inaugural class. 

“It was two or three days a week, and he couldn’t wait for those days to come,” she said.

“He was so fascinated with the books, the blocks, the toys, the balls, oh my gosh, he had such a lovely time. I was so excited to see his reaction, how he took to the programme.

“If I’d wanted to put him in a pre-school I’d have had to drive all the way into town.The closest is in Savannah, and they’re so expensive.”

She said Joseph has made a flying start to his primary school education thanks to Smart Start.

“He’s one of the best students in his class in reading. Smart Start did a wonderful job for my child and for me.

“There is no money that can buy the feeling I have for that programme because of everything it brought me and my son.

“It made us closer, and I saw how he embraced those little moments he had there, and how he has grown. He wanted to learn because of Smart Start.”

She added, “I do encourage other parents to do Smart Start.

“There was one little boy from North Side, he was under 3, when he started going. He was just screaming and throwing toys around, and after coming and coming he was able to say hi to each one of us. 

“He was more sociable, more approachable, I was so amazed. You don’t know what to expect or what will happen but he’s grown so much. 

“It’s an experience I will never forget, I would recommend Smart Start to anybody.”