j42

Does anybody know if there is such a thing as childminders in Canada or particuarly NS? I am a trained childcare provider and wondered if the same type of practice happened over there or wether people just use nurseries/nannies.Thinking ahead to what sort of position I may find:

Ontheboatout

I found these

http://www.gov.ns.ca/coms/families/c...meDayCare.html

http://www.gov.ns.ca/snsmr/paal/comserv/paal055.asp

http://www.nationalchildbenefit.ca/ncb/success-ns.shtml

http://home.istar.ca/~cccns/NSCCA/home.html

There are so many ads on Kijiji Halifax offering/wanting child care I am sure there is a great business opportunity here.

j42

Thankyou so much ONBI will trawl through those later on ,many thanks.

Judy in Calgary

Emma (or4ngecrush), who is a nursery nurse in the UK, is in the process of applying to Nova Scotia's Provincial Nominee Program. She and her OH went to NS on a recce trip, and she was offered a job. So that should give you a sense of the demand for childcare providers.

I'm not British, and I don't know what a nursery is. I'm guessing it's what we call a daycare centre in Calgary. Canadian cities have different names for these facilities. When I recently did a Google search regarding Vancouver, I found that they used a slightly different term there.

Anyway, Canadian parents who need childcare services have the following options:

Daycare centre - A facility, usually run as a business (but occasionally run by a municipality or cooperative) that provides childcare for infants and pre-schoolers. They typically operate from 6 am or 7 am till 6 pm, Monday to Friday. They are run by staff who have some sort of training in the care of children (requirements vary from province to province and municipality to municipality). These facilities often provide breakfast, lunch, and after-school care for elementary school children (kindergarten to grade six, although kids probably only attend until about grade four or so).

Licensed day home - A private residence in which a parent, usually a mother, cares for a few pre-school children, along with her own children. Usually the municipality imposes some minimum requirements for safety, etc., and conducts spot inspections. Standards, frequency of inspections, etc., vary from one jurisdiction to another. These places typically keep the same hours as daycare centres do, that is, they usually operate on weekdays only.

Nanny (live in or live out) - A more expensive option. Usually employed by professional couples who, between them, have a fairly high income. May be an affordable option, even for an "average" couple, if there are, say, three children in the family. That is, if you have to multiply daycare fees by three, then a nanny may be competitive from a price point of view.

Neighbours - Sometimes people enter into relatively informal arrangements with their neighbours. This is a fairly popular option for people who have kids in elementary school and are looking for someone to feed their kids at lunchtime and look after them in the afternoons, after school. When I say "informal," I mean that the caregiver does get paid but, if he/she is looking after only a couple of school aged children, the safety and hygiene regulations usually are less onerous than those for licensed day homes and daycare centres.

Family members - Sometimes people enter into even more informal arrangements with family members (grandparents and the like). Expats, by definition, are less likely to have access to that kind of support.

Babysitting clubs - Stay-at-home parents sometimes join babysitting clubs. In these arrangements, parents take turns minding each others' children. There are at least a couple of benefits. One is that it provides an opportunity for one's toddlers or pre-schoolers to play with other children. Another is that it gives mum/mom a break so that she can get a haircut, go to the dentist, or whatever. This kind of club usually has some sort of system for tracking "credits," so that one parent doesn't carry a disproportionate burden of the childminding duties. A club like this usually operates on a barter system, and no money changes hands.

Playgroups - There are a number of parent and tot playgroups. They usually are inexpensive. The modest fee pays for the rent of a suitably large space (a church basement or something along those lines). The fee can be kept low because parents run the operation. Hence there is no staff to pay (or, at most, only one or two staff members). A playgroup typically operates for half a day, once a week. A playgroup organization that has many local chapters across Canada is Parents and Children Together (PACT).

Activities for tots - Public libraries, the YMCA, munipical swimming pools, etc., offer weekly activities for toddlers and pre-schoolers. These activities take many forms -- swimming lessons, story reading time, etc. Some of these activities, e.g., at the public library, may be free. Sometimes there is a fee, e.g., in the case of swimming lessons. However, municipalities typically charge fairly modest fees.

Summer camps - Canadian kids are on vacation (holiday) for the whole of July and August. There are many organizations that run summer camps during the summer vacation. There are summer camps designed for kids with different interests (gymnastics, music, computers, this, that and the next thing), and there are also general-interest summer camps in which kids do a bit of everything (sports and other fun stuff).

Hmmm ....... I rather suspect that, without knowing it, I've just written a Wiki article.

There is already is a Wiki on Children. I've got an appointment in a few minutes, but when I get a chance, I'll add the above info to the Wiki in some form.

Judy in Calgary

j42, it would help me if you (or someone else) could confirm the meaning of nursery in the UK.

I mean it would help me to know that when I transfer the information from the previous post into a Wiki article on childcare options in Canada.

Giggles2080

I'm also a Nursery Nurse! Kids usually go to nursery before going to school in the UK, it's part of the school itself. Like Kindergarten!

I guess in parts of the UK, a private daycare would be considered a nursery also.

j42

Hi Judy
thankyou for all the informationI would say it must be a day care centre,it's where parents leave their children so they can work.

Judy in Calgary

Thanks for the replies. That helps me to understand what a nursery is.

or4ngecrush

Hello all I thought my ears were burning lol

Yeah I have found an employer willing to go through the application process as daycares in NS are needing qualified staff. I have also been able to speak with the Early Education Officer and after sending my qualifications over they have given me a letter to state I am full qualified Early Childhood Educator which is good.

I had a lot of interest with other employers but they were mostly interested to employ me once I had arrived in NS so theres no shortage of jobs, it is a low paid job in Canada (as well as the UK) but I seem to be getting more benefits in the Canadian job offer.

we have three types of Nurseries in the UK, Private (in partnership), Private and Council run Nurseries. There are all very similar and do the same thing but the staff in private Nurseries are on smaller wages and they do longer hours, and if your in a private (in partnership) Nursery it means you are using the same polices and education standards as you would in the council run nurseries.

People usually use private nurseries when they are in full time employment and need someone to look after their children because the council nurseries only give the child 2 hours a day at the nursery, so it isn't suitable for working parents. This is where childminders can come in as they can drop off the child and pick them up from Nursery (council) and can look after siblings or other children at the same time, this is usually done in the childminders own home.

In Council Nurseries they only take 3-5 aged pre school children (some are now taking children ages 0-5) but whereas private can take babies from 0 up until they go to school at aged 5. The reason why some Nurseries are running along with the council is because the council is providing all children between the ages of 3-5 with free care to get them ready for school, and don't have enough centres for all the children. They are all very similar and are on the same lines as daycares in Canada. Did all that make any sense at all?

britsnake

My OH works in a school Nursery (Council) which is also a childrens centre as a Day Grade Nursery Officer (or senior nursery nurse).

School Nurseries normally only run term time in the UK but as my OHs nursery is a childrens centre aso, she works all year round, and the hours as similar to a private nursery (Just better paid) her role includes not just caring for the children but also educating them.

or4ngecrush

Oh yes I forgot about children's centres.

j42

Thankyou so much for thatwe are hoping to go to NS so good to know there is work out there.

or4ngecrush

Just PM me if you need more advice I'll be more than willing to try and point you in the right direction..x