The University of the West Indies St. Augustine Campus is expanding its support for working parents and reaffirming its leadership in early childhood education. A newly repurposed facility will now house an after-school programme and a Montessori-style preschool—both aimed at making quality care more accessible.
The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, has officially launched a revitalized space dedicated to supporting staff and advancing child development. The former Evening University building has been rededicated as The UWI Child Learning and Discovery Facility, housing both an after-school programme and a preschool.
Campus Principal, Professor Rose-Marie Belle Antoine, explained that the initiative represents a concrete step toward work-life balance.
“This idea didn’t really come from me. It came from you guys. It came from the staff, and I was talking about some of the problems that they had. You know, you go and get your children to school, it takes you forever to get them, and then you have to stick them in the part of the office trying to do work and a whole host of things. The children can’t do anything productive. This is what we were hearing. So right away, we said, let us try to do something about it.”
The facility, now officially named the UWI Child Learning and Discovery Facility, offers after-school care for the children of staff members and will soon launch a preschool programme—incorporating Montessori principles at a subsidised cost.
“We wanted to do it for free actually, maybe at some point we would, but at a very, very minimal fee is a step in the right direction, providing top-notch supervision to our colleagues’ children as subsidized staff engagement initiative. And we know it will offer our parents peace of mind.”
Professor Belle Antoine said the campus intends to once again lead in early childhood education nationally, building on its legacy of innovation and inclusion.
“Our facility will be cutting edge, to be cutting edge, to be setting a new standard for both parents and children. We’ll be offering a very secure environment. Who else could have such a secure environment to bring their children? Both the preschool and the aftercare. And the services we offer will be unmatched.”
Republic Bank partnered with UWI to help restructure the preschool—a move Group Vice President Karen Yip-Chuck said supports their vision of nurturing young minds and strengthening communities.
“It has been our privilege to help with the restructuring of this facility. And I got my early walkthrough because we recognize that the transformative effect that it will have that the early childhood education can have on our little ones.”
Both the preschool and after-school components are expected to be fully operational in the coming weeks.