48 new school childcare spaces announced
Mary Hill and Eagle Ridge elementary schools are each set to get 24 spots for before- and after-school childcare, according to a release issued from the province on Monday.
The childcare spaces are set to open in 2027.
The repurposed rooms at Mary Hill and Eagle Ridge are part of a larger plan to fund approximately 1,200 childcare spaces in schools across B.C., the release stated.
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“By creating more child care on school grounds, we are giving more families access to convenient, high-quality child care, in places they already know and trust,” stated B.C.’s Minister of Education and Child Care Lisa Beare.
Besides $2 million to cover startup costs such as staff training and equipment purchases, the province is set to provide $20 million in operating costs over the next three years.
Other childcare developments
Hampton Park Montessori shut down earlier this year after the Coquitlam School District declined to renew the licence for a long-running childcare provider.
The program, which operated for more than two decades, served approximately 50 children with many more on a waitlist.
Despite concerns from neighbours, Port Coquitlam council approved a 52-space childcare centre at Lincoln Avenue and Coast Meridian Road earlier this year.
Port Moody council is advancing plans for a childcare facility at the city’s civic complex.
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