Next year parents and caregivers will have access to 67 new child care spaces in Sechelt.
The new facility will be located in the Sechelt Family Resource Centre at 5538 Shorncliffe Ave. – formerly the Sechelt Elementary School – and will have capacity for 12 infants and toddlers, 25 three-year-old to kindergarten-age children and 30 school-age children, with $2.66 million from Childcare BC’s New Spaces Fund, according to a July 27 Ministry of Children and Family Development announcement.
Sechelt YMCA Child Care and School District No. 46 (SD46) will be creating the spaces at the centre, and will collaborate with shíshálh Nation and the Indigenous education team “to provide inclusive and culturally enriched child care and resources to benefit local families,” according to the announcement.
The project is expected to be completed by summer 2021, though the release notes unexpected delays may arise because of COVID-19.
SD46 board chair Pammila Ruth said in the release the board “is committed to ensuring that each child and their family is supported and inspired to experience joy and fulfilment in our community and our schools. We are so pleased that the province is providing this funding to accomplish this important goal.”
Recent changes to the province’s School Act require school boards to prioritize space for child care if it’s not being used for students in kindergarten to Grade 12. It also encourages school boards “to adopt an inclusive child care policy,” the release said.
“By integrating new child care spaces with other family resources in our community, this new facility at the Sechelt Family Resource Centre will be able to support families with their child care needs and more,” said Nicholas Simons, MLA for Powell River-Sunshine Coast. “We know that access to quality child care for families is important for a healthy, vibrant community overall. By supporting this centre, we are supporting a stronger Sunshine Coast.”
The province’s New Spaces Fund has been operational since 2018. In Sechelt, 99 new licensed child care spaces have been created over the past two years.
Construction on another SD46 childcare facility is underway as part of the West Sechelt Elementary School expansion. That 28-space facility will be located at an on-site neighbourhood learning centre.
Superintendent Patrick Bocking acknowledged the Sunshine Coast “is in dire need of child care spaces” and that the school district “is thrilled that the provincial government is supporting our community in this critical area of need.”
