First Parent Place Opens at Calabar Primary and Infant School

The first of seven planned Parent Places has been established at the Calabar Primary and Infant School in Kingston.

The 266 square-foot facility, which opened on Friday (June 12), is equipped with three computer stations, a reception area, counselling and general meeting areas and a play area.

An initiative of the National Parenting Support Commission (NPSC) under the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, the centre will serve as a hub for parenting support services in Kingston and St. Andrew (Region One).

These include literacy intervention, parenting education, psychosocial and counselling, and skills building through partnership with the HEART/NSTA Trust.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr. Kasan Troupe, said the Parent Place initiative provides a vehicle to strengthen parenting support to improve the country’s human capital development.

“You can understand why we need to do this. We are trying to transform Jamaica for national development and we rely on education to do that,” she said, noting that parents are a critical partner in this regard.

She noted that the Calabar facility will serve as the model for the other six that will be established.

Chief Executive Officer of the NPSC, Kaysia Kerr, informed that a Parent Place committee is to be established, comprised of representatives of the HEART/NSTA Trust, the Social Development Commission (SDC)) among others.

“These are the persons who will ensure that the programme goes well… . It is an inter-agency committee to ensure that this Parent Place is successful. We also have a Parent Place Facilitator, who will be stationed here every day working with the committee to ensure you get the services,” she said.

Ms. Kerr informed that the centre was established through $10 million in funding from the United Kingdom (UK) Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) under the Violence Prevention Partnership Programme.

The Victoria Mutual (VM) Foundation provided $2.5 million for Parent Place kits.

Principal of Calabar Primary and Infant, Angela Porter, said the opening of the centre marks an important milestone for the school and will strengthen the institution’s partnership with parents and the wider community.

She noted that the services to be provided, including literacy intervention and skills building, will “empower parents to best support their children’s development”.