Supporting Children’s Learning and Development

Supporting young children’s learning and development is a key part of OEC’s mission and is at the heart of that work that early childhood providers do every day. OEC has many resources to help you partner with families and plan a strong early childhood program.

• The Connecticut Early Learning and Development Standards (CT ELDS) outline what children birth to five should know and be able to do. The CT ELDS can serve as a helpful reference regarding child development, can be used to plan curriculum, or can be used as a tool to create learning goals with families.
• The Supporting All Children Using the CT ELDS webpage includes guidance documents and videos that can help you plan how to support children to develop the skills in the CT ELDS. 
• The early childhood screening and assessment webpage includes guidance and tools to assess children’s current skills so that you can support their next steps in learning and development.
• Standards, curriculum, and assessment are coordinated parts of a high quality early childhood programs. For more information on the relationship between these components you can review OEC’s Standards, Curriculum, and Assessment guidance.
• Our Focus On pages highlight topics such as inclusion, challenging behavior, and supporting dual language learners.
• Visit the Support Social Emotional Learning page to learn strategies and find resources that help children manage emotions and interact with others.  
• Find free trainings on topics such as the CT ELDS, using data to inform your teaching, supporting diverse learners, and building meaningful curriculum. This support is offered in collaboration with the RESC (Regional Education Service Centers) Alliance.

The Relationship Between Standards, Curriculum, and Assessment