By Veronica Beltran

child care spaces

42 new child care spaces for Smithers

Mar 10, 2020 | 10:58 AM

SMITHERS–The province announced 42 new child care spaces in Smithers in an attempt at making child care affordable and accessible for families.

The 42 spaces would be added to Walnut Park Elementary School’s grounds through the Childcare BC New Spaces Fund. The child care centre is being added to the school grounds as part of a redesign for the school and will accommodate 42 children ages three to five.

“These new spaces are a win for everyone. They will save parents time by having one central drop-off and pickup location for their kids and give kids quality early learning and a smoother transition from child care into their first years of school.”–Katrine Conroy, Minister of Children and Family Development

School District 54 will work with Coast Mountain College to support early childhood educator training in order to help create new opportunities for recruitment and retention.

The new school along with the child care centre is expected to be open for the 2021-2022 school year. This investment means that 95 new licensed child care spaces have been funded in Smithers since July 2018. This is part of the fastest province-wide creation of child care spaces in B.C.’s history, with support for more than 13,000.

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