We all want the best for our children. Ensuring that their kids get off to the best possible start in life is especially important to parents. That’s where Kinark’s Child Care Centres come in.
Our four licensed facilities – all in Keswick, Ontario – strive to provide an environment that supports all aspects of a child’s development and enables children aged 2 to 13 years of age, to engage, explore, inquire and interact with others in a safe, healthy and nurturing space. Our early childhood educators encourage families, who they view as co-learners in their children’s learning, to actively participate in the program. Last year, we provided child care for 261 children and youth.
These centres are inspected annually to ensure that they meet stringent quality standards set out by the Ministry of Education. Last year, for the first time, reviewers from the Canadian Centre for Accreditation (CCA) included our child care sites as part of Kinark’s on-site Accreditation review process. They were impressed with what they saw: “staff were found to be dedicated and providing great services to clients.”
Over the past three years, the Ministry of Education has been phasing in its new Child Care and Early Years Act (2014), monitoring implementation of the new legislation which is designed to optimize children’s inherent curiosity and capacity to learn in the formative years. Each phase of the Act comes with extensive policies and procedures to which child care facilities must adhere to maintain their licences. On one of their visits to Kinark child care centres, representatives from the Ministry of Education noted our centres’ strong program statement, saying it was amongst the best they’d ever seen.
Parents and guardians, too, sing the praises of Kinark child care centres. In a November 2017 survey, they gave Kinark child care centres high marks for the quality of their introduction to our child care program and services, staff communication with parents/guardians, and the program’s ability to stimulate child learning and development.
While Kinark child care centres are not treatment based, our highly skilled staff of early childhood educators are well equipped to identify children and youth in their care who could benefit from other services available in the communities we serve, and often facilitate referrals to these specialized services.