This school year hasn’t ended yet, but it’s still important to start looking towards the next school year – especially when it comes to child care before and after school. The City of Ottawa is opening up its registration for Before and After School Care for the 2019-2020 school year for children aged 4-12 years old on Wednesday May 15 at 9:00 pm.

Parents can visit the website HERE to find a program in their area and register. I had some parents direct their questions about the Before and After School Care to me, and then I passed those questions along to the City. Below you will find the questions and their answers.

What kind of activities do they do? Is there homework time?

There are a variety of games, sports, crafts, special seasonal activities, theme days, quiet/homework time, outdoor play and free play.  Most sites offer options for the children to choose what activity they would like to participate in at a given time.  For example, if space permits, a site may have an active game like dodgeball running concurrently with a  craft activity that the children can choose from.

What if my child is currently 3 years old, because they don’t turn 4 until December?

The City follows the same rules as the school board with regards to age, so as long as your child turns 4 prior to the end of December they are welcome to attend.

 Is there a payment plan for the After School Program, or does it all have to be paid upfront?

Clients can choose to pay the entire amount upfront or make scheduled monthly payments via post dated cheques or credit card.  Payments can be scheduled for either the first or the fifteenth of the month.

Why is the school board requiring parents to pay the full month if a child is only going on a by-weekly schedule?

The City runs separately from the school board so I cannot comment on school board policies.  However, the City does not presently offer part time spaces or rates for our programs and would also require that clients register and pay for the full program, even if the child(ren) will only be attending part time.  This reserves the child(ren)’s space in the program and ensures that we have appropriate staffing in place to meet ratios.

For those readers who posed the questions…thank you, and I hope that you found this helpful!