Parents panic as daycare provider ends before-and-after school program in Huron County

The impending closure of a daycare operator's before-and-after school program in Huron County at the end of this month has left hundreds of parents in the rural communities, north of London, scrambling to find other options.

Parents learned in August that London Bridge Child Care Services will end its programs at three schools in the Municipality of Bluewater on Sept. 26, due to a shortage of early childhood educators (ECE) in the county, and across Ontario.

London Bridge will close more than 200 child care spaces between Bluewater Coast Elementary School, Exeter Elementary School and Precious Blood Catholic School in Exeter.

"Most of us are two-parent working families, we work eight to nine hour shifts, plus our commuting time, so it's nearly impossible for us to accommodate the school day, which goes from 9 a.m. till 3:15 p.m.," said parent Marnie Van Esbroeck, whose eldest child is in Grade 1.

"It's extremely difficult for people to be able to make that work, without having family nearby or having a reliable, equitable before-and-after school program offered directly at the school where kids are already going."

London Bridge is a network of 18 licensed child care programs throughout the City of London, Huron and Lambton counties. The centre could not be reached for comment Monday, ahead of publication, but this story will be updated if that occurs.

Ontario's Education Act requires every school board operate an extended day program at elementary schools that can be contracted to a licensed third-party provider. Van Esbroeck and other parents are calling on the Avon Maitland District School Board (AMDSB) to pilot a program at the board level for schools where third-party operators aren't available.

"There's a huge gap in our community losing this third-party provider because now, a third of our schools in Avon Maitland will not have before-and-after school care," said Van Esbroeck.

She points to other school boards in regions such as Waterloo, Halton and Ottawa-Carleton that have successful extended day programs, the majority of which are run by the boards. CBC News has reached out to AMDSB for comment and will update this story with a response.

Municipal politicians are also concerned about the closure. Officials in Bluewater wrote to Premier Doug Ford and Education Minister Paul Calandra advocating for a core service provided by the province across schools.

"We're asking the province to step up and put pressure on school boards to say this is a required service," said Hensall Coun. Scott Harris. "Maybe the province could help them with funding or even programming for staff shortage. There's probably multiple things the province could do."

Harris said the availability of before-and-after care is very limited in the small town, and having to travel to municipalities nearby can difficult, if students need to catch a bus. He believes a model where ECEs are able to split shifts throughout the day can help with staffing challenges.

Mayor George Finch of South Huron said the lack of child care services will have an impact on the broader community, with parents having to balance their jobs and family responsibilities.

"Let's face it, today's population depends on [child care]. It's become a part of our social fabric and you can imagine many medical personnel like PSWs, nurses and doctors use the program. If it's no longer available, they would have to take more time off providing childcare services for themselves rather than seeing patients for appointments," Finch said.

"Local businesses will also be impacted because their workers are themselves taking time off to look after their children. So it's something that is needed within the community and that we need to advocate to support our families moving forward."

Van Esbroeck said she and her husband are able to find a short-term solution with the help of family members and a flexible work schedule. In the long-run, she's considering switching her daughter to another school nearby, but that's not the case for countless other parents, she said.

Parents are rallying together to advocate to their local school boards through a joint petition, which they will submit at AMDSB's meeting next month.