Our Centre operates under the most stringent guidelines provided by Alberta’s health officials, and we are entirely equipped to provide comprehensive care for your child with heightened awareness. This page is regularly updated as we continue to follow COVID-19 regulations and maintain the strictest measures for the health and safety of both parents and staff.

PRIMARY CHECKS AND SCREENING

• Parents need to check their own as well as the child’s temperature at least an hour before arriving at the Centre.
• Remain vigilant for common flu-like symptoms.
• Mandatory screening is conducted at drop-off and pick-up times.

• Parents must wash their hands in the washroom in the hallway or sanitize their hands at pick-up and drop-off.
• Only one parent is admitted into the Centre at a time during pick-up and drop-off. Others waiting to pick up their children must wait their turn on the main floor or in their vehicles.
• Parents are requested to maintain a minimum distance of six feet, away from the entrance of your child’s room while waiting.

• Payments are right now accepted only with auto-deposit for full or part-time care and e-transfer for drop-in care.

• Children’s accessories must be sanitized and labelled before arrival at the Centre. Some accessories like water bottles and blankets are retained at the Centre and washed and sanitized by staff.

• Alberta Health now allows daycare centers to prepare food but it is still not considered entirely safe as there is a risk of contamination if the chef falls sick. Hence, parents must provide individually wrapped meals and snacks along with appropriate utensils.
• Food and other food-related items like Sippy cups or bottles cannot be shared.

• All the rooms at the Centre undergo thorough cleaning throughout the day.
• Staff wear daycare clothing at the Centre, which is washed before leaving at the end of the day.
• Social and emotional support is provided for children in distress by staff wearing masks and gloves. A cotton sheet over the employee’s shoulder ensures that there is no skin contact with the child.
• Staff use masks during prolonged close interactions with children (e.g. when changing a diaper, assisting with feeding. etc.)
• High-touch surfaces – e.g. tables, doorknobs, play equipment, etc. – are disinfected at least five times a day.
• Low-contact surfaces – e.g. windowsills, doors, furnishings, etc. – are disinfected few times daily.
• Indoor and outdoor play equipment is disinfected before use, and between groups of children.

• The Centre has set up designated health screen areas outside each room equipped with requisite materials like hand sanitizers, screening forms, etc.
• The Centre also has separate entry/exit doors, and rooms are separated completely by walls.
• Staff are trained to adhere to Government health screening guidelines and checklists.
• All staff undergo mandatorily training and obtain the Pandemic Awareness certificate.
• Subsequently, staff ask relevant questions during the screening process every day and evaluate if parents and children have strictly met the requirements.

• The number of people in a room is restricted to 30 individuals including staff.
• Visitors are not allowed during the day.
• Staff schedules are carefully planned and assigned to avoid frequent interaction between staff and cohorts of other rooms.
• Outdoor activities are similarly planned to ensure minimal interaction.
• An additional three members of staff are designated solely to clean the Centre, assist parents with pick-ups and drop-offs, and other administrative duties on a daily basis.

• Group activities like circle times, mealtimes, etc. have been replaced with smaller group activities.
• Group activities, in turn, are broken into smaller groups. For e.g. two or three craft corners instead of one.
• Play schedules are carefully planned to naturally limit the number of participants.
• Educators undergo special training to optimally set up the play environment.
• Invitations are spread across the room to avoid groups of students playing in a specific area.
• Lessons are meticulously planned to help children understand social distancing in an age-appropriate and engaging manner.
• Lesson plans and visual cues are provided to help children understand what physical distancing looks like.
• Show-and-tell sessions have already been replaced with oral storytelling and sharing memorable experiences.
• Outdoor activities and play times are staggered to eliminate waiting and close grouping.

• Close monitoring of daily attendance and of people who need to travel outside Canada.
• The Centre’s Director will immediately inform parents of relevant updates from the Government .
• Sanitary habits and toiletry practices are strictly reviewed periodically to meet the guidelines of the Alberta Health Services.

• Children who develop symptoms while at the Centre will be isolated, and parents will be notified immediately.
  If there is a confirmed or probable case, Alberta Health will be notified, and the Centre will be closed for 72 hours to enable contact tracing.