By Paid Partnership

Blooms and Buds, École Arthur Pechey partner to provide much needed child care spaces in West Hill

May 14, 2020 | 2:08 PM

A sense of community and connection will be an added value to new child care spaces announced for Prince Albert.

École Arthur Pechey Public School and Blooms and Buds Child Care Centre are set to offer 46 licensed child care spaces in September, including infants. There will also be 20 preschool spaces within the centre. Those preschool spaces will operate the same way that the child care does – a full-day child care program that follows the Early Learning Curriculum.

Principal Brandi Sparboe said they recognized a need in the community – especially in the West Hill area, which lacked licensed child care options.

“In my time at Arthur Pechey, I have heard over and over from families that they are struggling to find licensed child care for their children. They ask us for help and there’s been nothing we can do. Often, these families end up having to register at schools outside of our school community because they aren’t able to access the child care that they need. It isn’t a good solution for families or for the school when children could be staying in their own community, creating lasting friendships and a sense of stability. Families also struggled with the future implications of later needing to transition their children from other schools back to our school when they no longer needed the child care,” Sparboe said.

She added transition can be difficult for children, so there’s a very positive impact when children can attend Blooms and Bud’s, connected to the school, and potentially stay in the same building until they leave for high school.

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“That’s one less transition for our students; we get to build those relationships and comfort levels at a very early age with their peers as well as Arthur Pechey students and staff,” she said. Sparboe went on to add, “It feels especially great knowing what an excellent reputation Blooms and Buds already has in the Prince Albert community. We are so excited to partner with them and build on the intergenerational work both partners have established in working closely with Mont. St. Joseph’s over the years; connection from infant to elders!”

Blooms and Buds currently operates an intergenerational child care centre within Mont. St. Joseph long term care home. (submitted photo)

Director of Child Care, Samantha Simmonds agreed transition is important and the environment Blooms and Buds provides will make that transition seamless.

“The staff at Blooms and Buds are enrolled or certified in Early Childhood Education. Our program follows the Early Learning Program guide, which is curriculum set out by the Ministry of Education,” Simmonds explained.

The curriculum is based on play and exploration and is structured similarly to what a child would experience in a prekindergarten or kindergarten class.

“It’s a perfect way to provide readiness skills for a seamless transition from our care to the Kindergarten classroom” Simmonds said.

Kathleen Schwartzenberger – Early Learning Consultant with the Saskatchewan River’s Public School Division agrees. “Research has shown us, time and again, that high quality early learning programs, have a significantly positive impact on the development of young children. The brain is developing rapidly from birth to age 5 and early childhood educators nurture this development by providing opportunities to play and learn in a wide variety of settings. These opportunities are the foundational building blocks of life long learning.”

Students and staff at École Arthur Pechey Public School will welcome the new Blooms and Buds daycare centre in September. (submitted photo)

Since École Arthur Pechey Public School has recently added a French Immersion program, Simmonds said they look forward to unofficially incorporating the language in the preschool class.

The spaces are open to all children, however, Simmonds said priority would be given to Arthur Pechey staff and families.

“There is a huge need for child care spaces in Prince Albert. It’s one of the main reasons for our expansion – the endless phone calls from families looking for care. In the past, we’ve had well over 300 people on our waiting list; this is a huge need and we’re happy to be able to provide it,” Simmonds said.

Sparboe added, “Having a strong sense of community and connection is so important to us at Arthur Pechey. As our school has grown and changed so much in recent years, with the addition of the French Immersion program, for example, we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to better serve our families and establish a sense of community from an even earlier age.”

Applications for the new Blooms and Buds Child Care Centre attached to École Arthur Pechey Public School are currently being accepted as is registration for English and French Immersion Kindergarten spaces at École Arthur Pechey Public School.

Construction on the new space is scheduled to be completed late summer, with the centre fully operational by Sept. 1, 2020.

To register for École Arthur Pechey Public School please go to ap.srsd119.ca.

To apply for a space at the new Blooms and Buds Child Care Centre contact Samantha at bloomsandbudsdirector@sasktel.net.

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*This content was created by paNOW’s commercial content division.