Frequently Asked Questions

• Nursery: 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday to Friday, year-round.
• Daycare: 7:30 am to 5:30 pm Monday to Friday, year-round.
• Preschool: 9:00 am to 12:30 pm on Monday to Friday, September through June
• School-Age Care: 7:30 am to 5:30 pm Monday to Friday, September through June
  Please Note: SAC is a 10-month program. Therefore, re-registration is required for the following years/ summer programs.
• SunFun: 7:30 am to 5:30 pm Monday to Friday, July & August

The Cridge childcare programs are closed on weekends and Statutory Holidays.

All childcare programs close at 3:30 pm on the last workday prior to Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

The Cridge childcare programs are closed for two Professional Development days at the end of the summer programs and before the beginning of the new school year. These days may fall in either August or September, depending on the calendar, and parents will be notified.

For your child to enjoy the childcare experience fully, they must be at the Centre by 9:30 am. Please inform the Centre by 9:30 am if your child is going to be late or absent. Most planned learning activities start shortly after 9:30 am. The Centre may not be able to accommodate your child in another room when they arrive if the class has left for an outing.

A late fee is charged to the parent when the child is not picked up by 5:30 pm (Nursery – 5:00 pm; Preschool – 12:30 pm). The late pick-up charge is $1 per minute per child. For more than 2 instances of late pick-up within a 30-day period, the charge increases to $2 per minute per child.

Please call the appropriate program as soon as possible when you are going to be later than your usual pick-up time. You will still be charged a late fee, but it will avoid involving Social Services, who are notified if a child is not picked up by closing time.

If staff are unable to contact you or any of your Emergency contacts within 30 minutes of the program closing time (Pre-school:12:30pm, Nursery – 5:00 pm, all other programs 5:30 pm), staff will phone the Social Worker on duty to collect the child. A note on the front door will inform you where to pick up your child.

Please refer to our policies for our rates.

You can pay using cash, cheque, debit card, credit card, or e-transfer.

Please note: All fees are due by the 1st of each month. More information about the payment options will be provided upon registration.

When a Child Care space is offered and accepted, we require a $100 deposit which will be held in trust to be applied to your final month’s fees, provided we are given four weeks’ notice of departure. The space will not be confirmed until the deposit is received.

• Once space has been accepted by the parent or guardian and the child is subsequently withdrawn prior to starting in the Centre, a 15% administration fee will be withheld from the original deposit (the balance will be refunded).
• Spaces are prepaid on a monthly basis; there are no refunds for sick or vacation days.
• Refunds for organizational disruption of service will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

We do. ACCB is available from the BC government. For more information, check the ACCB website or contact the ACCB Service Centre at 1.888.338.6622. Whether eligible or not, the parent is responsible for all amounts payable to The Cridge Centre. This includes the expected amount of ACCB, the remaining parent portion, and any other applicable fees.

At this time, part-time care is NOT available for The Cridge Child Care programs.

The Centre is committed to providing a safe and healthy environment. All children must be immunized prior to enrollment in The Cridge Child Care programs. For more information about health and safety regulations, please refer to our policies.

According to Island Health recommendations, all COVID-19 protocols are strictly followed to prevent exposure to our students and staff. All COVID-19 protocols are posted at The Cridge Child Care building.

The Centre recognizes and respects each child’s uniqueness and individuality. Therefore, the Centre’s staff will provide the child with the freedom to explore, experience, problem-solve and learn through play. The staff will focus on the behaviour rather than the child when assisting the child in finding appropriate ways of expressing feelings. All children are on a 1-month-probation to assess our ability to meet the child’s needs. Parents also have the right to discontinue the care. For more detailed information on this subject, please see the Guidance & Discipline Statement.

The Cridge Child Care programs are able to accommodate most of the children’s needs. However, please inform us ahead of time of any allergies, health concerns, or specific foods that may be limited for your child. For more information, please refer to our policies.

Children in our programs will be provided with regular outdoor active play (could be indoors in the event of extreme weather). Children will be provided with daily opportunities to climb, run, jump and play cooperatively to the best of their abilities both in our playground and on our surrounding property in a safe and healthy manner.

There will be no screen time provided in our Nursery (6 mos-3 yrs.) program. Screen time in all other programs with children 2.5 yrs and older will be limited to no more than 30 minutes/day. However, screen time may be accumulated to provide extra time for special movie days in these age groups.