Childcare Policies

• 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 / Wednesday / Friday, OR Tuesday /
• Thursday, Sept. through June
• School Age Care: 7:30 am to 5:30 pm Monday to Friday, September through June
  ** Note: SAC is a 10-month program; registrations do NOT carry forward into the following school year
• SunFun: 7:30 am to 5:30 pm Monday to Friday, July & August

Closed weekends Statutory Holidays, Easter Monday and Boxing Day.

We are also closed for Professional Development the last week of summer prior to the start of the new school year. 

All Children’s Programs close at 3:30 pm on the last work day prior to Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

LATE DROP OFF:

• In order for your child to enjoy the Child Care experience fully, they must be at the Centre by 9:30 am. Please inform the Centre if your child is going to be late or absent. Please discuss with your child’s educators any special arrangements for appointments and or therapies before the day of the appointment so that your appointment may be accommodated.
• We review attendance in the morning after 9:30 am if there is a staff shortage and from time to time move the children from class to class to ensure the appropriate ratios. Children arriving after 9:30 may not be able to be accommodated in the program and parents/guardians will need to make alternate arrangements for care.
• The Centre will not accept children during the rest period 12:30-2:00 unless special arrangements have been made with management or caregivers.
• SAC children attending AM (morning) care must be dropped off by 8:15 in order for us to facilitate the transition to school in a timely manner.

LATE PICKUP

• A late fee of $1.00/minute/child will be charged to the parent when the child is not picked up by 5:30 pm (Nursery – 5:00 pm; Preschool – 12:30 pm). Please notify staff through the message function on the Esikids app 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 within 30 minutes of closing time.
• If staff are unable to contact you or any of your Emergency persons within 30 minutes of the end of the program (1:00pm Pre-school, 5:30pm Nursery, 6:00pm all other programs) they 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.
• For more than 2 instances of late pick-up within a 30-day period the charge increases to $2.00/minute.

• The staff-to-child ratio is in keeping with the Community Care Facilities Act (Child Care Regulation). The Daycare and Preschool staff are licensed to practice in BC as Early Childhood Educators, Early Childhood Educator Assistants and as Infant & Toddler Educators where applicable. The School Age Care staff have completed their Responsible Adult training.
  The Centre provides work experience and practicum placements for students including:
  • University of Victoria/UBC and other post secondary institutions
  • Camosun College and other local colleges offering Early Learning and Care training
  • Secondary Schools of Victoria
  • Volunteer Enrichment Personnel
• All staff, students and volunteers must submit to a Criminal Records Review, and all staff must have a current First Aid certificate, as per licensing requirements. All staff are required to wear ID at all times while on duty, and you will be able to identify staff this way.

• Full time Nursery, Day Care and School Aged Care (4 hours or more): $200/month/space
• Part-day Programs of less than 4 hours will be charged at base rate of $7/day:
  • Pre-school – Monday/Wednesday/Friday: $84/month
  • Pre-school -Tuesday/ Thursday: $56/month
• School Aged Care – AM: $140/month
• School Aged Care – PM: $140/month
• SunFun (Kindergarten – 12 years): $50/week + yearly registration fee – $25

The Cridge Child Programs require monthly payments on the 1st working day of each month. All payments must be paid via pre-approved credit card or debit card (PAD). You will be provided with a PAD form upon final registration in the program.

• 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. This deposit is not required for SunFun registration as full payment is required in advance of care* – *see SunFun fees above*
• There will also be a $15 fee/child required for replenishment of our Earthquake supplies.
• Once a 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.
• To hold your child’s place for a 4-week or more vacation period, the space must be paid for in advance.
• If you wish to remove your child for a 4-week or more vacation period and pay no fees, they will be placed on a waitlist for their return date for the next available placement; there will be no guarantee as to which room they will be placed.
• Refunds for organizational disruption of service will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

• ACCB (subsidy) 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 anticipated amount of ACCB, the remaining parent portion, and any other applicable fees.
• You will need to request a Child Care Arrangement form from the centre to complete your application.
• If your application is not approved prior to your child’s start date the applicable monthly fee will be charged to your PAD and fees will be adjusted once ACCB is approved and you will receive a refund of any overpaid fees.

Licensed and Inspected by:

• Island Health Authority Community Care Facilities Licensing
• Provincial Child Care Facilities Licensing Board
• Ministry of Education and Childcare
• Victoria Fire Marshall

• The Centre follows the British Columbia Center for Disease Control (BCCDC) Public Health Guidelines for Child Care Settings including all direction relating to COVID-19 protocols.
• When a child displays any one of the following, parents/guardians are asked to keep their child at home:
  • A persistent fever (38.8 C or higher)
  • Symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, chronic cough, pink eye or unexplainable rashes.
  • Is too ill to enjoy daily activities keeping in mind that we spend at least 60 minutes outdoors each day

If a child becomes ill at the Centre or develops new symptoms parents/guardians will be contacted and asked to pick up their child as soon as possible. If parent/guardian cannot be reached emergency contacts will be contacted.

• The Centre must be contacted within 24 hours if your child contracts a communicable disease (ie: chicken pox).
• Children who are being treated for impetigo or conjunctivitis (pink eye) may return to the centre 48 hours after the start of medication provided lesions are dry(impetigo) or there is no discharge from the eyes (conjunctivitis). Other parents will be made aware of the presence of such disease. After a suspected or confirmed communicable disease a child may only return to The Centre when the communicable period has passed as outlined by https://www.healthlinkbc.ca, the child is symptom free and able to participate in all activities including outdoor play.

• First Aid by the Centre’s staff will be provided without any form of medication. Staff will attempt to contact the parent or an authorized person prior to any medical treatment of a child. The staff will administer prescription medication ONLY at the written request of the parent/guardian and according to the doctor’s orders or current instructions as noted on the original container. All medication must remain in the original pharmacist’s container or packaging and include the original prescription label with the
  child’s name and dosage required. Non-prescription medications will not be administered at the centre.
• All medications must be kept in a secure space in the kitchen closest to your child’s classroom. Your child’s caregiver will be able to assist you.
• Children who are taking prescription medication may return to the Centre 24 hours after the start of the medication, provided the child does not display adverse reactions to the medication. The Centre’s staff will not administer medication that is added to food or beverage of any type unless directed in writing by prescription, the physician, or as part of a pre-approved care plan.

Lice is a common occurrence for children in group situations. The Cridge staff will conduct lice checks on a regular basis. If live lice are found parents/guardian will be called for pick-up. If nits (eggs) are found we will notify parents/guardians at the end of the day. The child will require treatment and parents/guardians should make every effort to remove nits before the child’s return to care.

Children in our programs will be provided with a minimum of 60 minutes per day of outdoor active play (may be indoors in the event of extreme weather). This will include both un-facilitated play initiated by the children themselves (including pick-up games such as soccer, hockey, and building with found materials such as water, sand and blocks) and facilitated activities such as structured games and planned activities (Physical Literacy, dance programs and other educator / leader led games). 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. This includes television, computer and electronic games. Screen time may be accumulated to provide extra time for special movie days in these age groups.

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 address 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. For more detailed information on this subject, please see the Guidance & Discipline Statement.

Care plans will be created in cooperation with parents/guardians and centre staff when a child requires any additional support within the classroom setting. This may include accommodations for a specific diagnosis, changes in behavior and other strategies as deemed necessary to allow for a child’s inclusion in our programs. From time to time this may result in suspension of care should we not have the resources to continue the child’s care in a manner that is safe and healthy for the individual child, the program and the centre staff.

• In Nursery, Daycare, and full-day School Age Care or SunFun programs, parents are required to provide healthy snacks and lunch based on the recommendations of the Canadian Food Guide.
• Preschool parents are required to send a healthy morning snack, and a well-balanced lunch.
• A healthy afternoon snack is provided daily for children registered in our School Age Care and Sun Fun program. At this time we are not able to offer gluten free options for this group snack. You will need to provide your own if you wish this option for the afternoon snack.
• Water is made readily available at all times. Breast milk, formula or milk provided by the parent/guardian will be offered as needed in our programs. For safety reasons we request that no glass beverage containers be used for serving/transporting of foods.
• Due to numerous allergies in the programs, nut products are limited to children registered in the Daycare in Rooms 112 and 117. All other classrooms (Nursery, Preschool, School Age Care/SunFun, and Daycare Rooms 2, 7, and 103) are nut-free. From time to time other food products may be limited due to classroom allergies. For the safety of all children in our programs please watch for notices indicating other allergy concerns.
• Between 7:30am and 9:00am children from multiple classrooms may be in the Daycare opening rooms; to ensure the safety of the children with allergies, only fresh fruit will be allowed for consumption during that time
• From time to time group lunches may be planned. When doing so food choices will be made with healthy eating in mind. We will continue to promote healthy eating at all times with the children in our programs. Please inform us ahead of time of any allergies, health concerns, or specific foods that may be limited for your child.
• As noted in our Medications section, The Centre’s staff will not administer medication that is added to food, milk, or water unless required by prescription and noted as part of a medically pre-approved care plan.

A power outage at the centre poses a health and safety risk for the children.  We will evaluate our ability to remain open safely based on the estimated length of the outage, and other factors including the time of day and temperature.  If it is determined that we will need to close early, staff members will contact parents either through the message portal on EsiKidz or by phone.