Frequently asked questions

Please label everything with your child’s name. Each day your child needs indoor shoes, a labelled water bottle, at least two complete changes of clothing, and clothing and footwear suited to the season and the forecast.

For rest time, bring a fitted crib or cot sheet and a small blanket when your centre asks for them, and an approved comfort item if it helps your child settle. Toys and treats stay at home unless we ask for them for an activity.

Children play actively, creatively and outdoors, so clothing may get stained or damaged. We take reasonable care of belongings but cannot guarantee against loss, stains or damage.

Morning and afternoon snacks include foods from at least two food groups. The centre provides them for children enrolled in the Essential Services Package. Families who decline the package send their child’s snacks, milk or yogurt and other applicable items.

Families currently send a nutritious, ready-to-eat lunch each day. A separate optional centre-provided lunch service is coming soon, and details will be added once they are confirmed.

Record every allergy, sensitivity, dietary restriction and feeding requirement in the Centre Parent App before care begins, and update the information immediately whenever something changes. Please also speak with the Director so a safe plan can be put in place.

Families provide all formula or expressed breast milk and age-appropriate infant food until each food has been introduced safely at home.

Every family has a key fob for the centre’s controlled doors, and we release a child only to a parent, guardian or authorized pickup person, with identification checked when the person is not known to the educator. Educators pause for a stop and count during transitions.

We keep plans for evacuation, lockdown, hold and secure, shelter in place, severe weather and utility failures, and practise the required drills with children calmly. In an emergency we account for every child and share verified instructions through the Centre Parent App, email, text or telephone.

Incident reports are completed for accidents needing first aid and for anything relevant to a child’s health or safety, and families acknowledge them in the app. Every educator holds current First Aid and CPR and a criminal record check with vulnerable sector screening, and access to camera video is limited to authorized management.

Educators share information with you at pickup and through the Centre Parent App, ChildFriendly. The app is used for enrolment information, agreements, billing, journals and daily updates, absence notices, announcements and messages to centre administration.

Direct messaging with room educators is not enabled. Please telephone the centre when something is urgent or time-sensitive.

Families can also report absences, update important information and review incident reports through the app. A formal progress report is provided each August.

We welcome children with different abilities, cultures, languages, identities and support needs, and we do not discriminate on a protected ground under the Alberta Human Rights Act. Educators adapt environments, materials, routines and communication so children have meaningful ways to take part alongside their peers. When a child needs additional support we work with the family and, with consent where appropriate, community or developmental professionals. The Director will discuss your child’s individual needs before confirming an accommodation.

KCC uses positive guidance rather than punishment. Educators provide clear and developmentally appropriate boundaries, offer meaningful choices, model respectful behaviour, help children understand their feelings and support them in solving problems. Physical punishment, humiliation, isolation and withholding basic needs are never permitted.

From High River we currently serve Spitzee School, Holy Spirit Academy and École Joe Clark School. From Diamond Valley we serve Turner Valley School and C. Ian McLaren School. Travel is on foot or by program bus depending on the school, the route, the weather and road conditions.

Program transportation is part of Essential Services, so a child must be enrolled in Essential Services to use it, and the centre confirms your child’s school, program, schedule and route before it starts.

To cancel a ride, use the RSVP feature in the Centre Parent App at least 30 minutes before the scheduled route, or call the centre if less time remains. Morning and afternoon routes are cancelled separately.

Children must stay home when they have a temperature of 38°C or higher; vomiting or diarrhea; swollen glands or a new or worsening sore throat; a new or unexplained rash; unexplained pain that prevents comfortable participation; a new, persistent or worsening cough; shortness of breath; or a communicable illness requiring exclusion. Children must also stay home whenever their symptoms prevent them from participating comfortably in the full program.

A child may return when they have been fever-free for at least 24 hours without fever-reducing medication, their symptoms have improved, and they are well enough to participate comfortably. At least 48 hours must have passed since the last episode of vomiting or diarrhea. For a rash or communicable illness, any exclusion period required by a physician, nurse practitioner or public health must also be completed.

Bring your child directly into the centre, sign in using the centre’s attendance process, and hand your child to an educator. Our responsibility for your child begins only once those steps are complete, so children must never be left at an entrance or doorway.

If your child will be absent or will arrive after 9:30 am, report it through RSVP in ChildFriendly as soon as possible and no later than 10:00 am, with an approximate arrival time.

Educators stop and count during transitions. Please do not interrupt a stop-and-count or drop off or pick up until the educator confirms it is complete.

We release a child only to a parent or guardian, or to an authorized pickup person who is at least 18. Authorization is given by the parent or guardian in the Centre Parent App or in writing, so keep your pickup list current.

If someone not on the list arrives, we must receive and verify authorization from the parent or guardian first. If it cannot be verified, the child is not released. Anyone not known to the educator will be asked for current government-issued photo identification.

Custody or access arrangements must be on file in writing so we can follow them.

Give the Centre Director written notice of withdrawal at least 30 calendar days in advance. Withdrawal takes effect only on the last day of a calendar month, and tuition remains payable through the end of the month in which the 30-day notice period is completed.

For example, notice received on 16 July means August tuition is still due and registration ends on 31 August.

Requests to change a program, schedule, start date or location must also be in writing. They depend on the options offered, available space, staffing and operational needs, and no change is in effect until we confirm it in writing with its date and any fee impact.

Yes, with your written authorization. Add the medication in ChildFriendly for the Director to approve, and bring it unexpired in its original, labelled container. Educators give it as authorized and record each dose.

If your child develops symptoms of illness at the centre, we notify you immediately and ask that a parent, guardian or authorized person pick your child up within a reasonable time. While waiting, your child is supervised and kept as separate from the other children as practicable.

Your child may return once they have been fever-free for at least 24 hours without fever-reducing medication, their symptoms have improved, and they are well enough to participate comfortably, with at least 48 hours since the last episode of vomiting or diarrhea. For a rash or communicable illness, your child stays away for the period public health or a physician requires, and we may ask for written medical confirmation.

Report an absence or a late arrival through the Centre Parent App, ChildFriendly, using the RSVP feature, with the reason and an approximate arrival time. If your child will be absent or will arrive after 9:30 am, report it as soon as possible and no later than 10:00 am. If the absence or delay arises later in the day, report it as soon as you can.

Yes. Neighbourhood walks and community outings are part of the regular program and can include nearby parks, playgrounds, libraries, recreation spaces and green spaces. Children travel on foot, with wagons or strollers for younger children, and educators keep the required ratios, complete regular headcounts and carry emergency records.

Our school-age children are regulars at the Bob Snodgrass Recreation Complex and the spray park in High River, and at the spray park and the Dr. Lander Memorial Swimming Pool and Spray Park in Diamond Valley, in season. Out of School Care field trips from both centres have included Bar U Ranch National Historic Site and Granary Road. No particular trip is promised; where a year’s trips go depends on the group and the season.

A location-specific Walking Excursion Agreement is signed at enrolment and lists the approved destinations for your centre. Each Out of School Care field trip also needs its own completed Field Trip Agreement for each child, returned by drop-off on the morning of the trip. A child without a completed agreement stays at the centre, and children must arrive before the announced departure time.

Bring any concern to the Centre Director or an educator in person, by telephone, by email or by post; a concern given to an educator is referred to the Director. If the concern involves the Director, or you are not comfortable raising it with the Director, you may contact the Owner directly.

Information is shared only with those who need it to review and respond, or when disclosure is permitted or required by law.

The Director acknowledges a concern within three business days and normally responds within seven business days. If it remains unresolved, you may request a review by the Owner.