Child Care Analysis

The Town of Sidney partnered with the municipalities of North Saanich, Central Saanich, Saanich, Highlands and Oak Bay to develop a community child care inventory and gap analysis.

The final Child Care Inventory & Action Plan for Sidney was considered by Council at the September 21, 2020 Committee of the Whole meeting. At the September 28, 2020 Council meeting, Council adopted the recommended actions and implementation plan outlined in the Sidney Child Care Inventory & Action Plan Staff Report. Council also tasked Town staff to report back to Council following the adoption of a new Official Community Plan to provide an update on the implementation plan for the 2020 Sidney Child Care Action Plan.

• Review the Sidney Child Care Action Plan
• Review the Sidney Child Care Action Plan Appendices
• Review the Staff Report on the Sidney Child Care Action Plan
  

Background Information

The coalition of municipalities received a $150,000 grant through the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) Community Child Care Planning Program to conduct the analysis. The six municipalities decided to pool their resources and work collectively in order to develop a quality project with results based on a big picture perspective. The regional approach recognizes that while people may live in one municipality, there may be circumstances that lead to securing child care services in another municipality.

Queenswood Consulting Group was hired to lead a series of workshops and public engagement opportunities within the six communities to gather information, create an inventory of existing child care spaces, identify space gaps and space creation targets, and identify actions that can be taken to meet those targets.

The information gathered through these plans will be shared with the BC Ministry of Children and Family Development, and may influence future provincial investments in child care space creation.

Public Input Opportunities

The analysis was developed following a number of public input opportunities from residents of the six partner municipalities.

Click here to view the Project poster.

• An online survey was open to all residents of the six municipalities.

• An open house was held in Sidney at Greenglade Community Centre (2151 Lannon Way) on Saturday, February 22, from 10 am to noon.

• Sidney residents also had the opportunity attend public open houses hosted in the partner municipalities.
  
  • Saturday, February 22 from 2 pm to 4 pm at Commonwealth Place (Saanich)
  • Saturday, February 29 from 10 am to noon at the Central Saanich Cultural Centre
  • Saturday, February 29 from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm at Saanich Neighbourhood Place
  • Tuesday, March 3 from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm at Panorama Recreation Centre (North Saanich)
  • Thursday, March 5 from 6 pm to 8 pm at Oak Bay Neighbourhood Learning Centre
  • Saturday, March 7 from 10 am to 12 pm at Caleb Pike Heritage Park (Highlands)