New space at Ralph Bell (image credit - CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

CHILD CARE SPACES

New childcare spaces open at Ralph Bell Elementary

Dec 4, 2023 | 6:00 PM

KAMLOOPS — Thanks to $2.8 million in funding from the province, 72 childcare spaces have officially opened at Ralph Bell Elementary School. The centre will offer full-day care to children up to 5 years old as they prepare to enter the public school system.

“The more they have the opportunity to go to preschool, the more they are involved, the more days per week they have, the more chance there is they will go to university. By giving them the early start, it may not seem like to much of a big of a deal but it actually helps them to gain a joy for learning at all,” said Alisha Neumann, executive director of Inquiring Little Minds.

This is the first childcare centre developed on school grounds in SD73. Another centre is currently under construction at Happyvale Elementary and is expected to open in the new year.

“A lot of gratitude to the Ministry of Education and Child Care as well for this initiative,” said SD73 Board Chair Heather Grieve. “We are going to continue to look at how the board of education can continue to take advantage of opportunities to apply for future spaces as well, knowing that the need is not going anywhere.”

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The new site in Kamloops is Inquiring Little Minds’ first venture off Vancouver Island, where the company has 12 facilities. In total, it will be opening four locations in the community to help fill a big need for more child care.

For the team members at the centre, they work to find a way to break through the new world age distractions.

“We meet the children where the children’s interests are at. And we really try to put those into their everyday, and we engage the children. Because we are having to deal with TV and YouTube and social media and it’s hard to be that interesting all the time, we want to make sure we’re just as interesting without all the feedback in play that social media gives to them,” added Neumann.