Code of Ethics for Staff and Families of CPE du Campus
Individuals working in early childhood centers are involved with one of society’s most vulnerable and rewarding groups – young children. The relationships that are fostered in daycares are based on mutual trust, love and respect. Early childhood educators, staff members and families are bound to uphold these precious and valuable relationships with the help of a set of ethical standards. The basic principles help guide everyone while protecting the children. The importance of professionalism creates additional ethical obligations amongst colleagues and to the profession in general. The standards listed below are meant to help everyone involved with CPE du Campus to decide what conduct is worthy and correct.
There may be times when as individuals, we are faced with conflicting ethics. In these difficult situations, we must think carefully about all of the possible consequences before making a final decision. Staff members and family members are encouraged to collaborate with one another in order to gain different insights, objectivity and perhaps clarity.
I. In relation to children, I will:
- Act in the best interest of all children;
- Behave irreproachably toward the children physically, mentally, emotionally and sexually;
- Respect each child’s dignity by avoiding power abuse, humiliations and sarcasms;
- Respect and defend the rights of each child to be happy and healthy, to be physically and emotionally secure, to be different and unique, to be educated and to achieve their full potential;
- Aid each child’s development by encouraging them to trust their own capacities, supporting the growth of their autonomy, resilience and self-esteem;
- Work with children to help them understand that they are global citizens with shared responsibilities to the daycare, their family, the community, the environment and one another;
- Create an atmosphere of affection, confidence, safety, trust, respect and happiness in our daycare;
- Create and maintain safe and healthy environments, spaces and places, which enhancing children’s learning, development, engagement, initiative, self-worth, and dignity, and show respect for their contributions;
- Work to ensure children and their families with additional needs can exercise their rights and are treated as equals;
- Acknowledge the uniqueness and potential of each child;
- Maintain an openness and a respect toward social, physical, ethnic, intellectual, and personal differences;
- Acknowledge that all children are competent learners, and build an active community within the CPE of inclusion, engagement and inquiry;
- Recognize each child’s individual stages of physical, social, emotional, moral and cognitive development;
- Observe, prevent and intervene with difficulties when necessary;
- Provide each child with the necessary tools to become resilient and competent problem-solvers;
- Be proactive rather than reactive when confronted with difficult behaviors;
- Use different methods and materials that are age-appropriate to the developmental stages of the children;
- Honor the children’s’ right to play, as both a process and context for learning.
II. In relation to families, I will:
- Refrain from judging others;
- Listen and learn from families, in order to acknowledge and build upon their strengths and competencies, and support them in their role of nurturing and raising their children;
- Recognize the parents’ primary roles in their children’s lives and education, and respect and support their abilities;
- Assist each family to develop a sense of belonging and inclusion;
- Develop positive relationships with families based on mutual trust and open communication;
- Develop partnerships with families and engage in shared decision making where and when appropriate;
- Acknowledge the rights of families to make decisions about their children;
- Respect and strive to learn about the uniqueness of each family;
- Develop shared planning, monitoring and assessment practices for children’s learning and communicate this in ways that families understand;
- Acknowledge that the community contexts in which they engage affects each family uniquely;
- Be sensitive to the vulnerabilities of families and their children and respond in ways that empower and maintain the dignity of all;
- Maintain confidentially and respect for the family to privacy.
III. In relation to colleagues, I will:
- Encourage my colleagues to adopt and act in accordance with this Code and all of the CPE’s policies and procedures, and take action in the presence of unethical behaviors if necessary;
- Build collaborative relationships based on trust, respect and honesty;
- Acknowledge and support the personal strengths, professional experience and diversity which my colleagues bring to their work;
- Make every effort to use constructive methods to manage differences of opinion in the spirit of cohesiveness;
- Share and build knowledge, experiences and resources with my colleagues;
- Maintain confidentially whenever necessary, unless harm is being done to an individual;
- Collaborate with my colleagues to generate a culture of reflection and renewal of high quality practices in early childhood care.
IV. In relation to my employer, I will:
- Support and follow all workplace policies, standards and procedures. Should a conflict arise, attempt to effect change through constructive action within the organization or seek change through appropriate procedures;
- Promote and support professional development for my co-worker(s) and myself.
V. In relation to myself as a professional, I will:
- Base my work on high quality early childhood practices and my understandings of the children and families with whom I work;
- Regard myself as a student who undertakes self-study, willingly accepts constructive criticism and strives to become better each day;
- Seek and build collaborative professional relationships;
- Work within the limits of my professional role and avoid misrepresentation of my competences and qualifications;
- Act in ways that advance the interests and standing of my profession;
- Mentor other early childhood care professionals and students when opportunities arise;
- Encourage qualities and practice of leadership within the CPE.
VI. As a Parent, in relation to the CPE du Campus staff, other CPE parents and children, I will:
- Treat staff and families with dignity and respect, especially when there is disagreement;
- Read and comply with all CPE du Campus policies and procedures;
- Be responsible for my child’s health as well as protect the health of others in the CPE du Campus family by keeping my child away from the daycare when they are unwell, as well as, make every effort to pick up my child in a timely manner when they become ill while at daycare;
- Ensure that I am on time to pick up my child(ren) so that staff can attend to their own families;
- When faced with a concern or issue, follow CPE du Campus’s policies and protocols;
- Treat staff and families fairly, regardless of race, colour, ethnic origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age or disability;
- Refrain from using abusive actions, words, insults, foul language and sexual harassment of any kind;
- Recognize that when faced with a difficult or upsetting situation that any party may request a “cooling off” period in order to gain perspective and to maintain communication that is respectful.
- Respect that the staff of CPE du Campus are professionals in their field and feedback and recommendations are always based on the best interest of your child;
- Abide by all standard parking and driving legislation when near the CPE.
VII. In relation to Members of the Board, I will:
- Respect that they are volunteer members and appreciate the time and effort that they devote to the CPE;
- Respect that they are parents of children the CPE;
- Refrain from approaching them within the confines of the CPE while they with their children;
- Respect the protocol and chain of command setup in order to maintain harmony with the CPE setting.