Belonging, Well-Being, Engagement, and Expression
At Kids Haven Community Child Care we’ve thoughtfully designed our program to center on four key principles that support children in their growth and development: Belonging, Well-Being, Engagement, and Expression. We believe these principles are vital for unlocking the potential within every child. Importantly, they are meant to embrace all children and their families, regardless of age, ability, culture, language, location, or circumstances.
History and Organization
Kids Haven Community Child Care was first established in 1988 when a group of parents in the community started a one room centre located in Cresthaven Public School for preschool-aged children given that there was no other child care options in the area. By 1992, the centre was incorporated as a non-profit child care centre and expanded its operating capacity to 64 children which included a Toddler Program, Preschool Program and a School Age Program. In September of 2000, the School Age program expanded to meet the needs of 60 school age children and a Kindergarten Program was created to accommodate 20 JK and SK children while the other programs remained the same. In September 2012, after operating the kindergarten program for 12-year program ceased to operate due to the implementation of Full Day Kindergarten across the province of Ontario. Therefore, Kids Haven entered into a third-party agreement with the Toronto District School Board to operate the Before and After Kindergarten Program with an operating capacity of 26 children.
Kids Haven Community Child Care is a non-profit organization governed by a volunteer Board of Directors which is comprised of parents and community members. Board Members meet monthly to discuss and review the centres activities as presented by the Executive Director to ensure our centre and program statement are being upheld. The Executive Director and Supervisor sit on the board as non-voting members. The officers of the Board include a Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. Board Members are elected at an Annual General Meeting which all parents and staff are invited to attend.
Kids Haven is licensed under the Ministry of Education's Child Care Early Years Act, 2014 (CCEYA). Kids Haven retains a Purchase of Service Agreement with the City of Toronto which enables our programs to offer subsidizes spaces to families who qualify.
Kids Haven Community Child Care is part of the Canada Wide Early Learning Child Care Program (CWELCC), which reduces child care fees for children under the age of 6 years.
Early Childhood Educators
Kids Haven’s dedicated and caring early childhood educators are trained and skilled in the child care field. Almost all our teachers are Registered Early Childhood Educators, in good standing with the College of ECE’s and all our educators have their current Standard First Aid and CPR/AED Level C Training. Each year the staff at Kids Haven Community Child Care attend workshops and other training opportunities to continue to build on their knowledge of child development.
Kids Haven’s staff use child guidance techniques such as labelling emotions, problem solving, giving choice, negotiating, and redirecting to foster a child’s sense of self worth, as well as respect for self, others, and the environment.
The staff at Kids Haven work extremely hard to observe children and program plan accordingly using the emergent curriculum model for each child every week ensuring that all children are provided with experiences that stimulate their learning based on their development. The staff at Kids Haven reference the ELECT document and the foundations of How Does Learning Happen? in their weekly program plans. How Does Learning Happen? is a provincial document used as a resource guide for centres working with children and families.
At Kids Haven we value and appreciate the contributions and commitment provided by our Early Childhood Educators and are proud of our low turnover rate. If you are interested in a position at Kids Haven, please email your cover letter and resume to [email protected].
Let’s Connect
For more information about our center or to schedule a visit, please contact us. We are here to answer any questions you may have about our program and how we can help your child flourish.
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