Enrichment Programs in Ontario

This guide provides information about enrichment programs in Ontario that offer after school activities for children. It covers licensing and quality indicators for these programs, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of participating in them. The guide also includes important links and websites for further information.

Child care and program
options for school-age
children
how long the caregivers had been working there.
 Policy check and registration check-It the
necessary to check that the organization has
proper registration and accreditation I order to
ensure the credibility of care.
 Reviewing the activities-, The available
activities should be able to provide the child with
a balanced amalgamation of recreation and
homework time. It is necessary to check that the
center offers calm and quite place for the kids
and provide them with homework help (Cartmel
& Hayes,2016).
 It is necessary to review that the group activities
are age appropriate and help in the sensory
development and the gross motor skills
development in the child.
 Referrals from the other parents or the trusted
websites can be helpful, but should always be
assessed personally, like visiting the same
center at different times of the day in order to
keep a watch as how do the staffs interact with
the children.
 If older children also share the same place then
it is necessary to keep a close watch that the
younger ones are not being bullied.
Information about some enrichment program taking place
in Ontario
Exciting enrichment program are conducted in Ontario and the
Northern Inland Empire. This service provides after school
activities such as STEM learning for the children that helps the
kids to explore their creative skills. They also conduct spring and
summer camps for children aged 4- 12 years.
The brain power provides an after school program for children
of age 4-5 years that hosts book clubs. The estimated cost for
each session is about $325 to $2,620/program.
The Pedalheads Bike, Swim and sport provided day camps,
offers swim, bike and sports programs for the families residing in
Canada. The estimated cost is about $109 to $459. The
main aim of the organization is to develop healthy and
independent kids.
The family day care, situated in the city of Ontario, is a non-
profit charitable organisation that provides integrated services to
the families with children having special needs.
Needs for After school child
care services
The time that the children spends after their
school timings influences their development.
Various after school activities can help the
children to develop their social skills,
enhance their performance, and establish a
strong relationship with the families and
other children. The STEM based activities
taking place in many after school activities
helps in developing sense of inquisitiveness
among the child , problem solving skills
among the children , that ultimately helps in
future personality development. The group
activities helps the children to develop
teamwork and the leadership skills.
AIM
The aim of this guide is to guide the parents
to choose suitable before and after school
child care programs and services for their
children, by providing with information about
the licensing and the accreditation of the
child care services, the standard of the
appropriate activities that should take place,
the probable quality indicators for the
childcare services. This guide will also
provide information about the important
links and websites that contained
information about the child care legislation
and the policies and the accreditation
standards.

Fax
programs might include tutoring services in one of
more subjects or participation in the art and crafts
program, museum based program. The enrichment
programs helps in the development of the gross motor
skills, but with active engagement with the family and
fun. Enrichment programs might act as a welcome
breath of fresh air amidst the routine like of the school
children.
The YMCA offers an after school care on the
school premises. The buses shuttle the kids from the
schools to the centre and in times of vacation, these
services offer full day care.
Enrolment in a school based program- These are
provided by the after the school. The usefulness of such
a program is that children remain in the same safe
environment and knows the adults that are providing
the care (Ontario Ministry of Education., 2015).
Ontario After school program-The Ontario ministry
of Tourism, culture and sport provides funding for
helping the sports and the recreation organisations to
provide quality programs for the youth and the
neighbourhood children residing across the province
Information about some enrichment
program taking place in Ontario
Exciting enrichment program are conducted in
Ontario and the Northern Inland Empire. This
service provides after school activities such as
STEM learning for the children that helps the kids
to explore their creative skills. They also conduct
spring and summer camps for children aged 4- 12
years.
Quality indicators for the program
Licensing of the childcare programs
The childcare centers or the organization that provide
before and after school services or programs has to be
licensed by the Ministry of education (Ontario
Ministry of Education, (2017).
An organization would surely need a license if it
provides care for more than two children under 2 years
of age.
The caregivers should meet the provincial health and
the safety standard.
Indicators of the preschool activities
Low child and the teacher ratios – The program
should contain low ratios and low turnover as it assists
to respond to each of the needs of children, to provide
ample attention to each of the child, to create a
stronger bond and of course child security.
Low turnover of the teaching staffs
Positive interaction between the child and the teacher
Accreditation with the minimum standards of
licensing- Licensed organisations generally intent to
provide a high quality of care to the children.
Setting up of age appropriate activities – The
activities should be safe for the child and the activities
should meet the cultural and the emotional needs of
the children. None of the activities should interpret
racial discrimination and should be culturally safe
Cartmel & Hayes, 2016).
Safe and healthy child care practices – All
the activities and the equipment used in the
activities should be non-toxic and safe for the
children (Cartmel & Hayes, 2016).
Family involvement- The organisations should
take frequent feedback from the family
members for a continuous quality improvement.
Advantages:-
 The staffs that are appointed in the school aged care
centres are trained in the child development.
 Variety of age appropriate activities are based on
philosophies and helps in the physical and the
cognitive development of the child.
 It helps to increase the problem solving skills (Cartmel
& Hayes, 2016).
 The rule and the norms helps in the creating a
disciplined life.
 The child care centres are licensed by the government
to provide care to the children.
 The care centres for the children with special care
needs provides individual consultation to the parents,
program consultation, the program adaptations and
the environment assessment and important referral
services.
Disadvantages
 Some of the considerations for the child care program
for the school aged children are that the locations
might not always be comfortable.
 The organisation might not be licensed or monitored
by a state agency in such case it can become difficult
to conduct any lawsuit during any crisis.
 The child care needs would not be met if the child care
educators are not trained.
 Risk of child maltreatment, in case the educators or
the caregivers are not trained or the organisation is
unregistered (Mondale, 2016).
 Due to the larger group size, individual needs of the
students might not be met.
 The after school child care activities might not give
flexible timings, especially for the working parents.
 The age appropriate supply of the equipment might be
restricted.
 The transportation might not be typically available.
Resources
Brochure for The Child Care and Early Years Act,
2014 (CCEYA)
Parent handbook -
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/earlyyears/program-for-
children.html
Important links and websites
https://www.canada.ca
YMCA Canada -
https://ymca.ca/What-We-Offer/Child-Care
Ontario ministry of Tourism, culture and sport.
http://www.mtc.gov.on.ca/en/sport/afterschool/af
ter_school.shtml
 https://www.camps.ca/brain-power-