About Us
We believe in high quality child care.
We value collaboration, community involvement, and a commitment to excellence in early childhood education.
We believe in empowering families to create the kind of childcare spaces they want for their children through the co-operative framework.
We value safe spaces where our children can grow and thrive, including a focus on learning through play and an emphasis on outdoor time.
We value the Early Childhood Educators who care for our children and therefore always strive to provide them with fair compensation, benefits, and professional development opportunities.
Read our full Program Statement
What is a Child Care Co-op?
A child care cooperative is organized by parents with similar goals who hire a supervisor and trained teachers (via tuition fees) to provide their children with a quality care experience. The cooperative is administered and maintained by the staff and parents on a non-profit basis.
Parents participate by:
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Completing parent jobs and serving on our board of directors
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Contributing to administrative decisions made at general meetings (two per year)
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Fundraising
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Attending field trips
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Volunteering in the classroom
What is a Directed Growth Plan?
Wellington County may enroll into the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) program only those child care providers that align with their approved Directed Growth allocation and the provincial Access and Inclusion Framework. Now that our Directed Growth Application is approved, we have been approved for 16 discounted child care spaces and will be able to apply for start up grants.
What is CWELCC?
The CWELCC system supports quality, accessibility, affordability, and inclusivity in licensed child care. The CWELCC system is a five-year plan that is being implemented in stages, to make child care more accessible and affordable. Fees will reduce every year, reaching an average fee of $10/day by 2025-2026.
This program also involves start up grants for new child care centres, like ours. These grants can cover renovations to a space so that it meets licensing requirements. In our case, this will include things like fencing in an outdoor play space or adding a window for more natural light.
In order to qualify for CWELCC, we must demonstrate our financial viability to the County of Wellington and maintain that viability to receive funding.
What is involved in Licensing?
Child care centres are licensed through the Ontario Ministry of Education. The process of becoming licensed can be lengthy (4-12 months). It involves writing and submitting several policies for review as well as site inspections by the ministry, local public health unit, local building inspector, and the fire department. We are currently working through this process for our first location.
Our Story
Our group is a community-driven initiative with a paramount goal of providing high-quality childcare services to address the substantial demand within our local families.
The group is comprised of the following incorporating mothers:
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Erin Lind, CHRP, Fergus
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Pauline Frazer, CPA, Belwood
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Holly Sullivan, Fergus
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Jocelyn Alves, RN, Elora
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Brittany McFatridge, RECE, Fergus
The need for licensed childcare in our community is particularly pressing, as evidenced by extensive waitlists at existing centres, often numbering in the hundreds. Centre Wellington currently sustains one of the lower childcare access rates in the County, standing at only 12.6%.
This scarcity of accessible childcare has significant repercussions, especially for parents, primarily women, who find themselves unable to return to work. This limitation not only hampers financial stability in our community but also impedes career growth within this demographic.
Our mission is to create a supportive and stimulating environment that promotes the physical, social, and cognitive development of each child. Composed of dedicated parents, we are committed to fostering a safe, educational, and inclusive space where children can thrive. We value collaboration, community involvement, and a commitment to excellence in early childhood education.
Meet the Team
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Learning Philosophy
We believe children learn best in an environment where they feel loved, cared for, and respected for their individual ideas and abilities. Children are capable and naturally curious to learn about the world around them, and we strive to foster that need. Our inclusive program is built around the children’s interests and abilities, with many opportunities to explore the space around them.
We use, How Does Learning Happen? Ontario’s Pedagogy for the Early Years released by the Ministry of Education in 2014, as a tool for planning and implementing the program. The four foundations from this document will help support our work with the families in our care.
Belonging: We cultivate respectful, caring relationships to create a sense of belonging between children, adults and the world around them.
Well-Being: We nurture children’s healthy development and support their growing sense of self.
Engagement: We provide environments and experiences to engage children in active, creative, and meaningful exploration and play.
Expression: We foster communication and expression in all forms.
