Finding the right childcare for your family can take time. At the OCDSB we offer before and after school childcare for children in Kindergarten to Grade 6. Registered Early Child Educators and Early Learning Assistants lead this program and offers our students a seamless day of learning at one location. Structured and non-structured activities offer children opportunities to learn through play. Activities will include quiet reading time, gross motor opportunities in the gym and outside plus open play within the classroom. Your child will be in familiar surroundings with staff and friends they have been with during the day.
The Extended Day Program operates from 7 a.m. to the start of school and from the end of school until 6 p.m. Parents may register their child for the morning, afternoon, or for both. The program will run on all instructional teaching days and be available for select professional activity days. Registration for Extended Day Programs on non-instructional days and holidays (select days at the Christmas Break, March Break and summer) is also available and will be done by separate registration, identifying the chosen locations offered for each break. Typically reduced locations across the district are selected for break periods.
Any OCDSB school with Kindergarten will offer an Extended Day Program, before and after school, subject to sufficient enrollment. There are two ways an extended program can be offered. The Board can run its own program or an eligible child care operator can enter into an agreement with the Board to offer programming on the Board’s behalf. Please see the details provided under the "Third Party Operators" title listed on the left hand menu for more information.
If the registrant is looking for a subsidized space, they must indicate that on the registration form and register with the City of Ottawa Child Care Registry and Waitlist (CCRAW). Please see the details provided under the “Subsidy Information” tab for more information.
Extended Day Program - Four Principles
The Extended Day Program is guided by the Ministry of Education’s draft “The Extended Day Program” document, and by the four principles of “How Does Learning Happen? Ontario’s Pedagogy for the Early Years”, listed below:
-
View of the Child: All students are competent, capable of complex thinking, curious and rich in potential. Environments and experiences allow students to exercise choice and responds to individual abilities and interests.
-
Positive Interactions: Programs support students in making connections with their peers and staff in structured and unstructured interactions as well as provide opportunities for students to engage in independent activities. All students, including students with differing abilities feel valued, connected to others, and are able to make positive contributions to the group, community and natural world.
-
Developmentally Responsive: All students are able to participate fully in ways that are most comfortable for them. Programs support physical and mental health and wellness, and are rooted in an understanding of child development and the broader contexts within which this development is happening (e.g. local, social, cultural, economic).
-
Safe, Inclusive Spaces: Programs establish and maintain positive, harassment/discrimination free environments for optimal participant growth so that students, each with differing abilities, interests and perspectives feel that their experiences and strength are valued.