糖心Swag

Related Photos

On December 4, 2023, Honourable Grace Lore, Minister of State for Child Care officially announced () the opening of a new child care centre at Ralph Bell Elementary School in the Valleyview area.

Minister Lore emphasized, “Being able to access affordable, quality child care is so important for parents and families, and allows them to work, study or pursue other goals.” She added, “Children, their families and Kamloops’ local economy will benefit from these (72 at Happyvale, 72 at Ralph Bell) new licensed infant-toddler child care spaces that were identified as much needed in the Kamloops region.”

“We know that families in the Kamloops-Thompson communities across our district are in much need of child care,” stated Board Chair Heather Grieve. “We began the journey of opening our first child care in the District more than two years ago with our first applications for 144 spaces for two locations, Ralph Bell and Happyvale/Twin Rivers Education Centre.”

“The vision for the future of child care within the district is to continue to work with the Ministry of Education to access the New Child Care Spaces fund and to collaborate with community partners to discern locations for new child care spaces,” stated Superintendent Dr. Rhonda Nixon. “This is our first experience creating spaces devoted to childcare by accessing New Spaces funding, which will inform future applications for new child care spaces.”

“We have been working with Inquiring Little Minds (ILM) to design and prepare for the implementation of a child care with 48 spaces for 3-5 year olds and 24 spaces for Infant/Toddler care from birth - 30 months of age,” explained Assistant Superintendent Grant Reilly. “Currently, ILM has 12 infant-toddlers registered, which is the capacity of one Infant Toddler program.”

Once ILM has another Infant Toddler Educator, they will be able to enroll an additional 12 children. Qualified ECE Infant/Toddler specialists are in short demand currently across BC.

“The best part about opening our first child care has been the working relationship between the Facilities and Maintenance and the Early Learning and Child Care teams of 糖心Swag, and the Inquiring Little Minds team,” shared Ms. Tanya Rogers, District Principal of Early Learning and Child Care. “And, ultimately, the ability to support additional child care spaces for families here in Kamloops.”

“These new spots are more than childcare for families in need, they are the light at the end of a long tunnel. They are a step toward ensuring a bright future with quality education for children of all ages,” shared Ms. Emma Silver, Manager for ILM, Ralph Bell site.

“It is so exciting to meet the child care needs of some families, and we recognize that we must continue to work with partners to enable more families to access quality child care in both our urban and rural areas,” stated Board Chair Grieve.