Spring break is finally over for the children of essential service workers as they are allowed into schools while their parents fight the COVID-19 pandemic on the front lines.
School District 43 spokesperson Ken Hoff confirmed that 100 children of essential service workers will receive child care at local schools starting tomorrow, Thursday.
“The first step in the process involved schools reaching out to their families and gathering information via a survey. School-based administrators then followed up with families that indicated support may be needed,” Hoff stated in an email.
Frontline health care workers and emergency responders — one of a handful of professions the Ministry of Education designates as Tier 1 workers — are the first to get these child care services, while other essential Tier 2 workers, such as supply chain workers, could be added soon.
“It is important that families realize that this service is for situations where there are no other alternatives for their children,” Hoff added.
To maintain physical distancing, class sizes will be smaller than usual and children will be encouraged to bring their own “comforts,” such as a stuffy toy, for example.
Three schools that already offered child care are providing this service, and youngsters will be given opportunities for play despite the need to keep their physical distance from each other.
There will be gym class and active time to allow kids some physical exercise, according to Hoff, and the school-based program will be overseen by childcare workers, not teachers.
Those who are school-aged will, however, continue to do their learning via virtual technology with their regular classroom teacher, and, while the schools have been deep-cleaned to permit entry, Hoff stressed that children will be taught “safe behaviours,” including daily hand-washing.
The transition to virtual learning and child care for essential service workers has been in the works for several weeks after Minister of Education Rob Fleming confirmed that classrooms would not re-open for most B.C. students after spring break.
Web-based communication tools, such as Zoom, FreshGrade and Office 365 are among the ways teachers are communicating with students.
But with thousands of B.C. workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, finding childcare for essential service workers was deemed a priority for the provincial government.
Some districts, such as North Vancouver, already have space in schools ready for these kids, while in other districts, school officials are still working out the details.
