3/16/2023 0 Comments Time panic modeStaff at Sprouts pick up children from three nearby schools. Children in the Sprouts program, she said, have access to a variety of classes, including dance, visual arts, robotics, cooking and martial arts. But, "they should be looking at the merits of the businesses out there," she added. Naidoo-Harris said.Įmily Pengelly, co-owner at Sprouts, said she understands the government wants to keep children safe. "We know that parents often rely on before- and after-school care to accommodate their work schedules and we are committed to ensuring that children in care are in a safe and healthy environment," a spokeswoman for Ms. Eva's death brought heightened scrutiny to Ontario's child-care system. The daycare owner pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing death. The Liberals began rolling out changes to the rules around child care after two-year-old Eva Ravikovich died in a hot car in 2013 outside of her unlicensed daycare in Vaughan, Ont. Recreation providers that take all children including those younger than 6, as Sprouts does, believed they were exempt because they teach specific classes, but are now being told by the government to limit their programs to three days a week for two hours a day per child. The government also limited authorized recreation providers, which included Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada, to care for children 6 and older. The Toronto District School Board turned to licensed child-care operators, many of whom were already at capacity with infants, toddlers and kindergartners. New provincial rules this fall expanded the duty of school boards to provide before- and after-school programs for children in kindergarten up to Grade 6 – changes that came with a strict deadline and no financial supports. They just came in with no warning … and it feels like a government that doesn't really understand or support a working family," said Myriam Tawadros, who has a five-year-old daughter in the after-school program at Sprouts. "It feels really wrong to have the government come in and tell you what you are able to choose for your child for an after-school program. The Ministry of Education has so far this fall issued 10 compliance orders to facilities, saying they were in contravention of legislation. One Toronto dance studio said it stopped offering after-school care this fall, unsure what impact the new rules would have on its program. Several after-school-care providers say the new rules, which have been phased in over the past two years and took effect this fall, are confusing and could cause upheaval for hundreds of parents and children already more than two months into the school year. The problem, however, is not limited to Sprouts. But on Tuesday evening, after receiving a letter signed by more than 70 parents, the Ministry of Education said it would extend the compliance deadline and work with Sprouts to find a solution that avoids disrupting families. The Liberal government initially defended its actions, with a spokeswoman for Indira Naidoo-Harris, the minister responsible for child care, saying in a statement that recreation programs are "typically episodic and short in duration." If a program provides after-school care everyday for children as young as four, it would need to be a licensed daycare. They were given a week's notice to find child care to fill the remaining two days. Toronto families are scrambling to secure after-school care in a city that already offers few options as the Ontario government enforces new rules that require recreation programs to limit the number of days they accept students.Ĭlose to 100 families with children attending an after-school program at Sprouts Growing Bodies and Minds, a facility in the city's east-end, were told over the weekend that the government would only allow their children to be there three times a week, not five.
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