In many cases, the sites will have their own child care personnel but occasionally, one may have to hire child care providers. In this case, you need to find individuals who like working with children and who can work unsupervised. It is suggested that one of the child care providers be an Early Childhood Educator (ECE). Once again, careful screening must be done to protect the safety of the children.
It is necessary to provide a safe and nurturing place for the children while the parents are in class. This is why we suggest having at least 2 child care providers available during GSL. This makes it safe for the other children if one of the child care providers needs to toilet or change diapers of the children (during the parent/child separate time of the program). In every region, there are appropriate child care ratios to staff. An example of an appropriate ratio would be 1 child care provider for every 5 children aged 3 – 5 and 1 child care provider for every 2 infants.
We strongly encourage you to remind parents to not feel stressed when leaving their children with child care providers. The providers are instructed that if the children are experiencing distress without their parents, the child care providers will come and get the parent to help lessen the anxiety the child is facing. Also, in some cases, children will join the class for a couple of times in order to alleviate their fears. We want this to be a positive experience for everyone and some children take longer to adjust to time without their parent in the child care room.
No site is perfect for any program, however, the list in the appendices (see site checklist Appendix 3) gives some ideal points for getting off to a smooth start. You need to decide which of the points you are willing to negotiate and which ones you are not. The points are not in any particular order. Some examples of points to look for in choosing a site include finding a site along a bus route or on an easily accessible intersection. Free parking is helpful for parents who drive to programs. Additionally you will need to look for a stroller accessible site. You will need at least two rooms; one for child care, and one that will accommodate all the parents, children, and activities.
