Early childhood development is one of the most important stages in building a connection to one’s self, one’s ancestors and the land. Services like prenatal health programs, Head Start programs and quality childcare are highly effective means of ensuring Métis children’s school readiness and their best possible start in life by addressing their developmental needs and including cultural needs.
LFMO has a number of priorities with respect to Early Childhood Education and Child Care, including:
- Foster culturally appropriate early learning environments and lifelong learning to improve educational outcomes for Métis children, women and all Métis learners, by:
- Ensuring the application of a Métis gendered intersectional lens to the implementation and outcomes of the national Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care (IELCC) framework;
- Integrating Métis culture and tradition into Indigenous early learning and childcare initiatives, to ensure Métis-specific quality improvements in educational initiatives and program activities;
- Supporting programming that helps Métis children and youth succeed in school; and,
- Incorporating innovative approaches to overcome obstacles to education for Métis women.
