The B.C. Government says a new 72-space childcare facility at the site of the former Happyvale Elementary school has opened its doors.
It’s the second child care centre developed on school grounds in Kamloops, with the other one at Ralph Bell Elementary in the Valleyview area.
Just like the Ralph Bell daycare, which opened in December, the Province says the Happyvale facility was built with $2.8 million in ChildCareBC New Spaces Funding.
“The board of education is focused on how to continue to meet child care needs of families in our district,” Kamloops-Thompson School Board Chair Heather Grieve said, in a statement.
“We have had success with our new child care centre at Ralph Bell and look forward to opening up 72 new child care spaces in the Happyvale Child Care Centre, both operated by Inquiring Little Minds.”
SD73 says Inquiring Little Minds is in the process of getting its licensing as well as interviewing and hiring staff, with the Happyvale facility expected to be operational by the end of this month.
“We are looking forward to serving the children and families of Kamloops and being part of the community,” said ILM Executive Director Alisha Neumann said.
“We have had success working with Inquiring Little Minds staff to ensure that we continue to offer families child care options in Kamloops,” added SD73 Superintendent Rhonda Nixon.
Both the Ralph Bell and the Happyvale facilities were announced in April 2022. The two facilities have 24 spaces for children under three years of age and 48 for children over three.
“This new child care centre in Kamloops will be life-changing for families so children can get rich early learning experiences as well as helping meet community needs,” Mitzi Dean, B.C.’s Minister of State for Child Care said in a statement.
“This is another important step towards our goal of creating 30,000 new spaces in British Columbia, and 250,000 spaces across Canada,” Jenna Sudds, federal Minister of Families, Children and Social Development added. “Our government will continue to work with the government of British Columbia to ensure access to our Canada-wide early learning and child care system is a reality for all families.”
The province says the ChildCareBC New Spaces Fund has funded more than 34,000 new licensed child care spaces in B.C., with “more than 1,000” in and around Kamloops.