May 29, 2020

Dear families,

On May 27, 2020, the government of Ontario announced that the closure of early childhood education centres has been extended to June 9, 2020.

The province has also announced that child care services could possibly re-open gradually during the second phase of the province’s reopening framework. The province will move forward with reopening child care services across Ontario only if the positive trends reported by the main public health indicators are maintained.

The government of Ontario has not yet given a precise date for this second stage of lockdown lifting. We will learn more in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, Carrefour francophone continues to prepare for all eventualities. The gradual return of our child care services will include rigorous health and safety protocols to protect the children and the staff members who provide their care.

Your Early Learning centre’s supervisor has contacted you or will soon do so to ascertain your needs.

 

Sanitation measures, personal protective equipment and cleaning

A detailed plan and stringent sanitation measures will be put in place by the child care centres’ staff. Staff members will receive training for the implementation of this sanitation plan. All installations will be cleaned regularly and thoroughly. Nothing will be left to chance. We will forward the plan to you once we have received it from Public Health Sudbury and District.

Carrefour francophone will also support families during this transition phase. Some children may be frightened when they see their educators wearing personal protective equipment. We will do everything we can to ensure your family’s emotional well-being.

 

Lower ratios

We already know that to facilitate the transition in our child care centres, the government of Ontario will order a reduction of child-staff ratios in licensed child care centres like ours. Therefore, we expect our capacity to be reduced. We do not have precise numbers at this time because the details have not yet been released.

Please be assured that no family will be obligated to send their children to child care centres immediately upon reopening. Also, you will be able to reserve your spot for a certain period should you decide to wait or return gradually. Your Early Learning centre’s supervisor has contacted you or will soon do so to ascertain your needs.

To summarize…

We will only open our centers if all of these conditions are met:

  • The Ontario government is giving us the green light.
  • The Ministry of Education gives us its guidelines in terms of ratios, facilities to be modified accordingly, etc.
  • Sudbury and District Health Unit gives us the plan and recommendations for a safe reopening.
  • Sudbury and District Health Unit approves our action plan and our health and safety policy for our staff and families.
  • All staff have received the necessary training.

Communications

Over the coming weeks, we will be communicating with you regularly. We will keep you informed on how the situation is evolving and we will forward any information we receive from governments and public health authorities which is relevant to early learning centres.

To help us ensure efficient communications, please keep a close eye on our Early Leaning Centres’ Facebook page, add the Carrefour’s address (info@carrefour.ca) to your email contacts and regularly visit the News section of Carrefour francophone’s website. We thank you for your commitment!