Produced in 2023, The Merrily podcast was supported by Better Together with the goal of changing the way we talk about early years education by taking an upstream-downstream approach, Merrily puts early years educators in conversation with thought leaders in the field (upstream) and encourages those outside the early years to think about how the learning in these earliest stages of life is critical for all citizens today and tomorrow (downstream.)
Better Together for Early Learning and Child Care is an Ontario-based coalition that convenes early learning and child care system leaders to support collaboration and shared approaches to sector priorities.
Welcoming the Rainbow is an inclusive resource from City-Wide Training designed to support early childhood educators in creating affirming, respectful, and celebratory environments for all children and families, including those who are 2SLGBTQ+ (Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer and sexual and gender diverse). This learning resource focuses on equity, diversity, and inclusion in early years settings, helping educators reflect on their own practices and build the skills to support diverse family structures with dignity and understanding.
This resource provides a clear, accessible overview of the College of Early Childhood Educators - Ontario’s professional regulatory body for early childhood educators. It explains the College’s mandate to protect the public interest, outlines its key responsibilities, and clarifies what it means for RECEs to be part of a self-governing profession. The guide also describes how membership fees are used and highlights the role of professional standards, continuous learning, and accountability in supporting both educators and the families they serve.
Learn Through Active Play (LTAP) is a professional development program that empowers early childhood educators and child care professionals with the skills to build confident, meaningful active play habits that fit naturally into every part of your day. You’ll learn how to create inclusive environments that invite movement, support smooth transitions, and strengthen relationships with children and colleagues. LTAP is delivered to the entire early learning and child care workforce, as well as to ECE students in post-secondary programs, ensuring everyone has access to this shared foundation. LTAP provides ongoing support and mentoring to increase pedagogical capacity in early learning environments, access to additional fully funded workshop opportunities, and a range of resources available on our website. LTAP brings together simple, consistent shifts and practical strategies that make active play accessible, joyful, and sustainable so active play doesn’t interrupt your day, it enhances it.
Produced by the Mowat Centre in partnership with the Ontario Nonprofit Network, Change Work examines how the concept of decent work can strengthen stability, equity, and effectiveness across the nonprofit sector. The report identifies seven dimensions of decent work including fair income, stable employment, access to benefits, opportunities for advancement, and inclusive workplace culture, and shows how each contributes to stronger organizations and better outcomes for communities. The report calls on nonprofits, funders, and policymakers to change work by improving compensation, benefits, and development opportunities, and by embedding workforce well being into funding and governance models that support long term sustainability.
Developed by SHARE and the Atkinson Foundation, this guide positions decent work as a core investment consideration and offers a practical roadmap for integrating workforce well-being into responsible investment strategies. Aimed at trustees, fund managers, and institutional investors, it outlines seven steps to embed decent work principles from board governance and asset manager oversight to shareholder engagement and proxy voting. Through case studies and practical tools, the guide shows how fair wages, stable employment, and safe workplaces strengthen long term value creation. For the early learning and care workforce, it demonstrates how decent work standards can inform funding, procurement, and investment decisions that build a sustainable and high quality system.
Gordon Cleveland is an economist and Associate Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto Scarborough who has spent more than thirty years studying early childhood education and policy design. His writings, featured on his blog at ChildcarePolicy.net, examine the economics of early learning and care, with a focus on workforce compensation, service quality, and the balance between for profit and non profit models. Cleveland brings an accessible, evidence informed perspective to issues such as universal low fee child care, tax credit models, and workforce challenges in Canada and internationally. His work offers valuable insights for policymakers, advocates, and practitioners working to build a high quality, accessible early learning and child care system.
The Halton Resource Connection (THRC) partners with individuals and organizations in the Halton community to support children and youth. It provides curriculum resources, services, equipment, and professional learning opportunities to improve the quality of care in early learning and childcare settings.
The Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice outlines the professional expectations, skills, and values for Registered Early Childhood Educators (RECEs). It defines the scope of the profession and informs both RECEs and the public about their responsibilities. As regulated professionals, RECEs are expected to uphold integrity and adhere to these standards both in their workplace and within the community.
