Bermuda Parent Bermuda Parent Spring 2020 | Page 8

Family LIFE
The Child Care
Regulation Programme
O
ne of the most difficult
questions a new parent may
have is: “who will watch
their child when they have to return
to work?” A parent has spent nine
months waiting for the baby’s arrival
and helping them through their first
months in the world. Now trust must
be placed in someone else for their
baby’s care, safety and growth for hours
a day. Who can meet this considerable
responsibility?
The Child Care Regulation
Programme (CCRP), is tasked with
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BERMUDA PARENT MAGAZINE
licencing Day Care Centres and reg-
istering Day Care Providers (persons
who care for children in the home) as
per the Children Act 1998 and the Day
Care Centre Regulations 1999. The
process for receiving a licence or reg-
istration certificate requires vetting of
the staff/provider, review of the safety
of facilities and ensuring policies and
procedures are in place.
The ultimate goal of every stake-
holder – parent, provider and the child
care programme, is to have happy,
health and safe child care in Bermuda.
We know parents have questions
about the quality of the child care set-
ting they choose. Right now there really
is no way to differentiate beyond a visit
and word of mouth. Starting in 2021,
the Child Care Regulation Programme
will be implementing a star rating sys-
tem that will review the Day Care Cen-
tre and Providers on 14 different areas
including: activities for the children,
management of the home or facility,
policies and procedures, vetting docu-
ments and children’s documentation.
Right now, oversight of the child