Near-distance public, private, and home daycare centers unified for joint purchasing and field trips... Active support for pre-development of unselected Cheonho and Gangil communities following Myeongil community
[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] The reason why public childcare facilities are preferred over private ones is likely due to abundant childcare resources and reliable childcare services.
To enable high-quality services at private childcare facilities as well, Gangdong-gu (District Mayor Lee Su-hee) has decided to expand the operation of the ‘Moa Childcare Centers,’ which share resources among public, private, and home daycare centers.
The ‘Seoul-type Moa Childcare Center’ is a childcare model that groups 3 to 5 public, private, and home daycare centers located nearby into one unit, jointly operating from child recruitment to the use of teaching materials and tools, childcare programs, and planning and managing field trips as if they were a single childcare center. This project is highly anticipated as it efficiently uses childcare resources and improves the quality of childcare services.
Since March, Gangdong-gu has been jointly operating the ‘Myeongil Community,’ which combines one public daycare center (Youth Center) located in Myeongil-dong, two private daycare centers (Jabin and Pureunsup), and two home daycare centers (Ttuntun and Kkumjaengi).
They hold monthly meetings to jointly handle purchasing supplies, renting spaces, and organizing field trips. Each daycare center shares play materials on a rotating weekly basis, allowing children to experience diverse content, and jointly purchases items for sensory play, which also reduces operating costs.
Parent education is also conducted jointly. On August 31st last month, over 50 parents from the five daycare centers gathered to participate in a session titled ‘A Happy Parenting Journey to Discover Temperament.’ As the range of available programs expands, the ‘Moa Childcare Centers’ have also received positive feedback from parents.
To allow more children to benefit, Gangdong-gu will implement an incubating (pre-development) program for the ‘Cheonho Community’ and ‘Gangil Community,’ which have not yet been selected as Seoul-type Moa Childcare Centers.
To ensure the successful establishment of the ‘Cheonho Community’ and ‘Gangil Community,’ a meeting will be held in September to discuss joint operation plans. Additionally, the already participating ‘Myeongil Community’ will act as a mentor to share best practices and practical advice for Moa Childcare Centers. The district will also actively support these incubating communities by providing assistant teachers and prioritizing their selection as Seoul-type Moa Childcare Centers in the future.
Lee Su-hee, Mayor of Gangdong-gu, stated, “We will support the Moa Childcare Centers in contributing to ‘improving the quality of childcare services through mutual cooperation among childcare centers’ so that more children can grow up in a good childcare environment,” and added, “We will do our best to eliminate the childcare gap between public and private daycare centers.”
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