Region of Durham child care centres to reopen

Whitby, Ontario – Early learning and child care centres operated by The Regional Municipality of Durham will begin to reopen on June 29, following the closure of emergency child care sites.

Staff reached out to families to confirm their current service needs. This feedback will help to inform the reopening plans for Regional centres:

• Ajax Early Learning and Child Care Centre
• Edna Thomson Early Learning and Child Care Centre (Bowmanville)
• Clara Hughes Early Learning and Child Care Centre (Oshawa)
• Lakewoods Early Learning and Child Care Centre (Oshawa)
• Pickering Early Learning and Child Care Centre
• Sunderland Early Learning and Child Care Centre
• Whitby Early Learning and Child Care Centre

For child care centres not operated by the Region of Durham, families should contact their child care centre directly for information regarding reopening of programs.

Sites will reopen in accordance with provincial health and safety guidelines. These stringent policies and procedures are mandated in all early learning and child care centres to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19.

This includes:

• A limit of 10 individuals (staff and children) for each room of the child care centre. Effective July 27, this has been updated to a limit of 15 children plus staff.
• No visitors permitted.
• Active screening of all staff and children.
• Enhanced sanitization practices, and protocols in place if a child or staff member develops symptoms.

The Provincial Government has also provided guidelines to all child care operators to help prioritize child care spaces, including for children who were accessing emergency child care, parents who must return to work and cannot work from home, and special circumstances.

Additionally, the guidelines state that until the enhanced emergency measures are amended:

• Child care operators are not to charge fees or deposits to families for preferred access to spaces.
• Child care operators are not to charge fees if families do not have access to space or decide not to accept a space.
• Licensed home child care providers must give parents 30 days to indicate whether they want to keep their space.

More information can be found on the Ministry of Education website: Operational Guidance During COVID-19 Outbreak.

Additional resources for child care operators are available on the Region’s website: Operating a Child Care Centre.

The Region of Durham’s Social Services Department, Children’s Services Division continues to work closely with the Durham Region Health Department, Provincial Government and other provincial partners to ensure that the health and safety of children, parents, and staff are at the forefront of service delivery.

Updates will continue to be posted on the Region’s Early Learning and Child Care web page. Families with inquiries related to early learning and child care in Durham can contact the Children’s Services Division by email ChildrensServicesReception@durham.ca or by phone 905-666-6238.

Quotes

“We look forward to welcoming back our child care families to our centres. Our priority is ensuring a healthy and safe learning environment for the children in our care. I would like to thank our staff who stepped up when it was needed to deliver emergency child care—this service supported healthcare and frontline workers, so these individuals can provide critical services to the community amid COVID-19.”

- Stella Danos-Papaconstantinou, Commissioner of Social Services

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