Kirkfield-area families will have more access to child care when a new centre opens in 2025.
Compass Early Learning & Care (Compass ELC) has announced it is expanding its child care services in the Kawartha Lakes with the purchase of a building at 1047 Portage Rd.
Previously owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Peterborough and before that the site of St. John Catholic Elementary School, Compass ELC said it intends to open a child care program with 49 spaces for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers in the area.
Renovations will begin shortly, a media release noted, with a request for proposals being tendered this fall and an anticipated opening in 2025.
Compass ELC, in partnership with the City of Kawartha Lakes, said the Kirkfield community was identified as the number-one priority area based on lack of access to licensed child care, and the needs in the surrounding area.
“We are so fortunate to have such strong and capable partners willing and able to bring forward this project and we already know that the children will receive the highest quality and excellent care while in the hands of the Compass family,” said Janine Mitchell, manager of human services, in a media release.
Compass ELC will offer 10 spaces for infants (0 to 18 months), 15 spaces for toddlers (18 to 30 months), and 24 spaces for preschoolers (30 months to six years) for a total of 49 spots.
The project has so far received “enthusiastic support” from the City of Kawartha Lakes, the media release noted.
“We couldn’t have done it without the support from our community partners, such as the wonderful children services team and other city staff such as the planning and building department staff,” said Jill Wickins, organizational link for operations with Compass ELC.
Compass ELC is giving a shout-out to Cheyenne Weatherall, a Kirkfield resident and Compass ELC team member, who sensed a need for child care in the community and initiated a proposal when she saw the property was put up for sale.
“We believe that all communities deserve access to high-quality, affordable early learning and care and, as a not-for-profit enrolled in the Canada-wide early learning and child care $10/day child care plan, we are excited to expand access to Kirkfield and the surrounding communities,” said Ashley Collins, co-CEO of Compass ELC.
“We are grateful to work collaboratively with so many caring team members, including our board of directors, and the City of Kawartha Lakes staff to support the communities we serve.”
With the upcoming expansion of child care services, Compass ELC is recruiting area early childhood educators and support staff to join its team. Those interested in applying can contact careers@compasselc.com.
For families, Compass ELC will release details about a waitlist and registration information in 2025 when a projected opening date is in sight.
Compass ELC is a network of more than 700 employees and 80 home child care providers who serve more than 5,000 families in Peterborough County, City of Kawartha Lakes, Haliburton County, Durham Region and Northumberland County.
In Budget 2021, the federal government set out to establish the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care System, which involves working with provincial, territorial, and Indigenous partners to build a Canada-wide, community-based system of quality child care.
“This will be a transformative project on a scale with the work of previous generations of Canadians, who built a public school system and public health care,” the federal government noted in a backgrounder about the initiative.
The government said the COVID-19 pandemic “shifted the public understanding” around how access to child care supports children, their families, and the economy. “The clear benefits of early learning and child care should not be a luxury for only the Canadian families that can afford it. Lack of access is not a choice, nor are unaffordable fees. The current system is leaving too many children and families behind, particularly low-income and racialized families.”
Investing in early learning and child care provides jobs for workers (the majority of whom are women), enables parents (particularly mothers) to reach their full economic potential, and “it creates a generation of engaged and well prepared young learners,” the document noted.
