As demand continues to grow for child care in Penticton, City Council has given the green light to study the possibility of expanding Bugaboo University to add licenced child care spaces.
“Parents have made clear the desperate situation many families face as they seek out licenced child care and we’ve seen some much needed progress on the Penticton Child Care Action Plan,” says Mayor John Vassilaki. “The idea of expanding the services at Bugaboo U is one that can help us meet our goals of more than 700 net spaces by 2030. “
Currently, Bugaboo University operates as a recreation program on weekday mornings for pre-school aged children. It operates on the lower level of the Community Centre and currently provides 40 childcare spaces. The findings of the evaluation will be used to determine if the City and a partner organization will apply to the next round of provincial child care capital funding to help cover the costs with the expansion. Parents of children currently enrolled in Bugaboo U’s program will be invited to participate in engagement session to share their feedback on the opportunity.
The decision to explore the expansion of Bugaboo U was part of a larger update on the Penticton’s Child Care Action Plan received by Council on May 3. Highlights include:
- Proclaiming May as Child Care Month in Penticton to recognize the important contributions that child care professionals make to the community and to highlight the role child care plays in a safe and healthy community,
- The urgent demand for more child care professionals in Penticton and actions local partners are coordinating to try to encourage more individuals to consider a career in child care,
- The Province’s new investments in $10 a day child care at Little Learners Academy and Queen’s Park YMCA Child Care and Preschool, and
- The recent announcements of 110 new child care spaces being constructed by School District 67 and Interior Health Authority.
To find out more about the City’s support for child care in Penticton, visit www.penticton.ca/childcare.