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Province Reopening Child Care with Strict Protocols to Keep Kids and Staff Safe

By Community, COVID-19, Home Features, News & Events

NEW REOPENING DATE

Dear Parents and Employees of Mini-Skool,

We are working hard to ensure the safety and well-being of our children and staff.

Towards this end, we have rescheduled our reopening date for July 13, 2020.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. We are anxious to serve you and your families but we want to ensure the maximum safety for everyone. Please continue to bear with us. We appreciate your continued support and understanding.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dear Parents and Employees of Mini-Skool,

Please see the news release below pertaining to the announcement of the reopening of child care facilities. It is unrealistic for us to be ready to reopen by June 12, as we just received the operational guidance rules from the Ministry of Education. We will be working with all applicable governing bodies on a plan for reopening. Once we have some more information and work through the requirements, we will be in a better position to decide what timelines are required, to comply with the rules and set a reopening date at that time, with the approval from the applicable governing bodies.

We will keep you informed, as soon as more information becomes available to us.

Thank you for your patience and understanding in regards to this matter.

 


News Release

Ontario Helping Parents Return to Work

Province Reopening Child Care with Strict Protocols to Keep Kids and Staff Safe

Office of the Premier

TORONTO — Today, the Ontario government announced its plan to reopen child care centres across the province to support the next stage of the province’s reopening framework. Developed in consultation with Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health and medical leaders at The Hospital for Sick Children, the plan will require child care operators to follow strict health protocols to ensure the safety of child care staff and children.

Details of the plan were provided today by Premier Doug Ford, Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, and Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education.

“As we prepare to reopen more businesses and services, it is critical that we ensure supports are in place so people can return to work knowing their children will be cared for in a safe and healthy environment,” said Premier Ford. “Our child care plan sets out strict protocols that must be followed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. We have made great progress to contain the virus, but we must be mindful that there is still a public health risk.”

As the province continues to implement its Framework for Reopening the Province, child care centres and home care providers across Ontario will be able to reopen with strict safety and operational requirements in place, similar to the safety guidelines required for emergency child care centres. Centres will be required to adopt specific rules, including:

  • Cohorting ― putting children and staff in groups of 10 or less day over day;
  • COVID-19 response plan ― all child care settings will be required to have a plan in place if a child, parent or staff member/provider is exposed to COVID-19;
  • Screening ― all staff and children must be screened prior to entry to the child care setting.  Anyone feeling unwell must stay home;
  • Daily attendance records ― child care settings must keep daily records of all attendees in order to support contact tracing;
  • Cleaning ― child care settings must be thoroughly cleaned before opening and frequently thereafter;
  • No visitors ― only essential visitors are permitted entry into the child care setting;
  • Implementing drop-off and pick-up protocols in a way that facilitates physical distancing.

Effectively immediately, staff can re-enter child care facilities and begin preparation for reopening. When these operators have met all the strict and stringent guidelines for reopening, they will be permitted to reopen.

“We know the integral role child care plays in the restart of Ontario’s economy, especially when it comes to enabling parents to return to work,” said Minister Lecce. “But parents must have confidence in the child care system at this very difficult time. By imposing specific public health requirements, we are signaling our firm commitment to keeping our children, staff, and our families safe.”

The Ministry of Education has been working with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development to develop these health and safety protocols. They will enable the safe reopening of child care centres across the province and enhance safety through effective contact tracing. This plan imposes strict requirements on operators, including mandatory training and reporting and support from the local medical officer of health before reopening.

“Having children safely re-engage in learning, play and social activities with other children is of great benefit to their mental, emotional and behavioural development,” says Dr. Ronald Cohn, President and CEO of The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids). “Children thrive when they are able to interact with other children. The reopening of child care centres is an important step forward for allowing children to be with their peers and enjoy activities outside of their home environment.”

Based on the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health and with strict health and safety protocols in place, the government is now enabling summer day camp programs across the province to reopen this summer. Strict health and safety guidelines were developed by the Ministry of Health in partnership with public health, the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development, and municipalities, and distributed to local public health teams earlier this month. At this time, overnight camps are not permitted to operate in the summer of 2020.

Quick Facts

  • As the province continues to move forward with its reopening plan, emergency child care will wind down effective June 26, 2020 as all licensed child care centres are permitted to open province-wide. Families served through emergency child care will be supported by service system managers to return to their previous arrangement or finding new space during the transition back to regular childcare.
  • As child care reopens across the province, if families are not offered access to their previous child care arrangement, operators will continue to be prevented from charging fees for these spaces.
  • Ontario is also helping parents pay for the extra costs associated with school and child care closures during the COVID-19 outbreak with the Support for Families program, by providing a one-time payment of $200 per child up to 12 years of age, and $250 for those with special needs up to 21 years of age, including children enrolled in private schools.
  • To date, over 1.5 million families have benefited from the Support for Families program.
  • The existing child care funding formula will be leveraged to support enhanced cleaning costs and the health and safety requirements set out to support the reopening of child care centres, as well as the continued stabilization of the sector.
  • As required by legislation, the Ministry will be seeking input from families and the sector on the Child Care and Early Years Act (CCEYA) over the summer, which will inform child care planning for the province.
  • There are over 5,500 child care centres and 124 licensed home child care agencies across Ontario.

Additional Resources

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COVID-19 Update – Mini-Skool Centres are Closed until March 31st

By Community, COVID-19, News & Events

As you are all now aware the Province mandated closure of all licensed childcare facilities until March 31, therefore, Mini-Skool is closed effective today.

We would like to thank all our parents and staff for their patience, understanding and cooperation in this very challenging time.

As we continue to receive information, we will keep you informed of any changes that arise.

In the interim, please be informed that we will NOT be charging our parents any fees from March 17 to March 31. Rest assured that your space or spaces for your child/children WILL NOT be compromised. Prior to your return, we will have all our centres thoroughly cleaned, disinfected and sanitized, as a precaution moving forward.

In the meantime, keep safe and well out there and know that we are looking forward to your return and the privilege of serving your family again.

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COVID-19 Update – All Mini-Skool Centres are Closed

By Community, COVID-19, News & Events

“Ontario’s Premier Doug Ford has declared a state of emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ford says this order bans public events of over 50 people, including parades, events and services within places of worship until March 31.

Effective immediately, the province has ordered the closure of all facilities providing indoor recreation programs, all public libraries, all private schools, all licensed childcare centres, all theatres, cinemas and concert venues, and all bars and restaurants except to provide takeout food and delivery.”

As per this announcement, all Mini-Skool centres are closed.

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COVID-19 Update

By Community, COVID-19, News & Events

Dear Parent/Guardian,
We recognize this is a time of great uncertainty and stress. Thank you for your continued patience as we ongoingly assess the ever-changing information from various levels of government regarding COVID-19.  Currently, our centres are open and we have implemented stricter measures to ensure the safety and well-being of our children and staff.

Please see below for these measures:

If your child is showing any of the following symptoms:

  • Runny nose

  • Coughing

  • Fever

  • Sore Throat

  • Difficulty Breathing

He/she will NOT be accepted in care.

OTHER INTERNAL PRECAUTIONS

  • No tours until further notice
  • No new enrolments before April 6, 2020
  • Parents MUST wash/sanitize their hands upon entering the centre and exercise proper sneezing etiquette
  • As part of the regular health check, every child’s temperature will be check upon arrival. If it is 101 or over, the child cannot be accepted for care.
  • Every child/staff MUST wash his/her hands upon entering the classroom.
  • Only one individual is allowed to drop off/pick up children
  • Staff will track the names of children who are sent home
  • No neighbourhood walks – please use the playgrounds
  • More frequent daily cleaning of door knobs, tabletops and mouthing toys
  • If your child or anyone in your household is confirmed to have COVID-19, you MUST inform us

Please be advised that we are still in discussion with government agencies regarding COVID-19 and further measures to take. We will be sharing any further decisions as soon as we are able to do so. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we find ourselves in an unprecedented time where information is constantly evolving.

Signed: Mini-Skool Head Office

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COVID-19 info

By Community, COVID-19, News & Events

In light of yesterday’s announcement made by Dr. David Williams, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health and the order issued by Minister of Education Stephen Lecce., closing schools, please be informed that and there are no changes to our services.

Mini-Skool has been diligent in adhering to all directives and recommendations made by the Ministry of Health, which are as follows based on the Federal Government’s guidance on the prevention and management of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in schools and childcare settings:

  • Staff will reinforce regular hand washing and proper hand hygiene.
  • Staff will share reminders with children to be mindful of coughing and sneezing etiquette.
  • Children, staff and volunteers will be reminded to stay home when they are ill.
  • Staff will take extra care to ensure soap dispensers are filled at all times and hand dryers are working.
  • Cleaning routines will be adjusted so that commonly touched surfaces, such as door knobs, panic bars, push plates on doors, etc. are now cleaned twice daily, and all tabletops/surfaces will be cleaned on a daily basis.

Since many families will require childcare in order to remain at work, especially those working in essential services such as first responders and health care staff, in addition to what the Federal Government has proposed, Mini-Skool has also implemented the following:

  • All external March Break excursions have been cancelled.
  • All Student Placements will be cancelled until further notice.
  • Our cleaning company has an Action Plan in place to ensure the health and well-being of the children and our employees.
  • Parents with ill children, children who have travelled in the past 14 days or children who will be travelling are asked to keep their children home for 14 days. The same applies to all Mini-Skool employees.
  • All Mini-Skool staff and families with regard to symptoms and travel history, will be monitored to follow direction as determined by Public Health.

For more information please visit:

Ontario Ministry of Health: http://www.ontario.ca/coronavirus
Public Health Agency of Canada: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection.html
Government of Canada Travel Advice and Advisory: https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/advisories/pneumonia-china