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The Kamloops-Thompson Board of Education is excited to announce the opening of its second child care centre at Happyvale next to Twin Rivers Education Centre, operated by Inquiring Little Minds (ILM). The grand opening was held at Happyvale Child Care on April 22, 2024.

Support to build the centre included $2.8 million through the ChildCareBC New Spaces Fund.

“This new child care centre in Kamloops will be life-changing for families so children can get rich early learning experiences as well as helping meet community needs,” said Mitzi Dean, Minister of State for Child Care. “Access to reliable, quality and inclusive care is so important for children to thrive.”

“The Board of Education is focused on how to continue to meet child care needs of families in our district. We have had success with our new child care centre at Ralph Bell and look forward to opening up 72 new child care spaces in the ILM-Happyvale Child Care Centre,” stated Board Chair Heather Grieve.

ILM is in the process of obtaining licensing and is currently in the process of interviewing and hiring staff. We anticipate that the centre will open its doors in mid- to late April.

“We are looking forward to serving the children and families of Kamloops and being part of the community,” said Executive Director of ILM, Alisha Neumann.

District Principal of Early Learning and Childcare, Tanya Rogers shared, “ILM offers several programs in Kamloops’ child care centres to meet the needs of children and families. The child care centre located at Happyvale will provide a total of 72 spaces, with 24 designated for infants and toddlers and 48 for 2.5 year olds school age.”

“We have had success working with Inquiring Little Minds staff to ensure that we continue to offer families child care options in Kamloops,” shared Superintendent Dr. Rhonda Nixon.

The 0–5 child care centre provides programming for infant, toddler, and full-day care. The infant program is for children that are 0 to 18 months. It is run on the timetable of the individual infants in care. This allows them to follow the routine they follow at home so they are comfortable during their time away from family. The toddler program is for children 18 months to 3 years of age. The program starts getting the children into a routine and provides confidence for the start of independence. They do this with daily activities, including art, circle time, nature explorations, and social interactions, as well as toilet training. The full-day care builds on children's natural desire to learn new things and become self-reliant.

“The program is focused on integrating principles from the Early Learning Framework into age-appropriate and fun activities, which support child development in social emotional learning, literacy and mathematics,” shared Assistant Superintendent Grant Reilly.

Parents/guardians who are interested in accessing child care may submit their child’s information to the ILM online waitlist form. More information is available on the ILM website:. If you have questions about current space availability, please send an email to inquiringlittleminds@gmail.com.