SURREY – A new 18,000-square-foot childcare facility has opened its doors in Clayton Hills, offering parents a variety of options for infant, toddler, and out of school care.
The latest and largest of eight BrightPath centres in the province, on Sept. 2 the Clayton Hills site began offering year-round care for children aged six weeks to five years, and before-and-after school care from Kindergarten to 12 years old.
Liz Bradbeer, chief operating officer for BrightPath Kids, said the teachers' strike resulted in 25 additional school-age children on a full-time basis.
Bradbeer said BrightPath analyzed numerous demographic research before settling on Clayton Heights, looking for families with the most need for childcare in the infant to four years of age category.
"We were also looking to work with a municipality who would be appreciative of the childcare and would consent to this size of a facility," she said.
Surrey-Panorama MLA Marvin Hunt, who was on hand Tuesday (Sept. 16) for a tour of the facility, said the site is a good fit for the neighbourhood.
"This whole area of Clayton Heights is predominantly going to be two-income families with children," he said. "This type of facility is absolutely ideal for them because it gives them something close to home."
Hunt said he was impressed by the philosophy of BrightPath offering childcare that's complementary to parenting, while leaving the core parental roles to "mom and dad."
"There's that recognition that, no, we're not here to replace parents, we're here to work with them in order to see these children have good, healthy relationships both at home and socially."
According to Bradbeer the facility cost between $6-8 million, including the building construction, materials in the classrooms, and technological investments.
She said that staff begin working with children at the toddler age to introduce a program that aligns with the province's Early Learning Framework. BrightPath uses Hatch Early Learning computer technology to encourage children toward educational achievements.
"So, they think they're playing video games but they're actually word games and number games and all kinds of different programs," she said. "The information is recorded and we can share that with the parents."
Full-time infant and toddler childcare costs $1,375 a month. The three to five-year-old program costs $1,170 a month, and the Out of School Care Program costs $650 a month.
For more information visit brightpathkids.com.