Parents are facing uncertainty after a private centre in Leslieville that offers kids classes like ballet, toddler gym and cooking was accused by the province of operating as an unlicensed daycare.
Sprouts, which runs classes seven days a week for infants, toddlers, and kids, was issued a compliance order last week that gave them two options, says co-founder Emily Pengelly: get a child-care licence, or cut the amount of time children are allowed to spend at the centre.
"We've never been unlicensed childcare, that's never been our intent. Our intent has always been to offer high-level programming," she told CBC Toronto.
Pengelly broke the news to parents on Sunday, explaining that beginning Nov. 24, children would only be able to spend a maximum of three days a week for two hours at a time at Sprouts.
Late Tuesday, however, the province showed signs of backtracking, writing to Pengelly that officials with the Ministry of Education will meet with her on Wednesday to "extend the compliance deadline."
'We are all scrambling'
Sunday's email from Pengelly put parents like Myriam Tawadros on high alert.
"We are all scrambling," said Tawadros. "To find care for those two alternate days is a challenge and a problem."
According to provincial rules, parents would be able to keep their kids in Sprouts five days a week only if a parent or caregiver is present for the extra two days, something Tawadros says she would consider paying for.
Sprouts parents came together on Sunday, after getting the news from Pengelly, and wrote a letter to the minister and to their local MPP, Peter Tabuns.
'We know they are providing a valuable service, we’re going to help them with the options and try to help them become compliant,' said Indira Naidoo-Harris, the associate minister of education responsible for early years and child care, on Tuesday. (CBC)
The requirement that kids spent less than two hours per visit also led to anxiety and distress, said parent Guy Nicholson.
If the compliance deadline isn't changed, classes that used to end at 6 p.m. will end at 5:30 p.m., and though Nicholson is able to adjust his pickup time since he works from home, he said he's in the minority.
"That's not the case for so many parents who have to fight their way across the city," he said.
Act aimed to get tough on unlicensed care
The compliance order came as part of an effort to enforce the The Ontario Child Care and Early Years Act, which came into effect on Sept. 1, 2015.
The act brought about a host of changes for licensed and unlicensed daycares (both of which are legal in Ontario), including cutting down the number of kids that home daycares can take care of and requiring staff to get police record checks.
Though Sprouts runs an after-school walking program for three nearby elementary schools, and provides a snack to children when they arrive, Pengelly insists they are not a daycare.
'I was amazed at the quality of programs that they offer,' says parent Myriam Tawadros. 'I would pick this over the childcare program at the school any day.' (Chris Dunseith/CBC News)
"We teach over 60 classes a week," she said. "We want the kids to want to be here and to want to learn, not just babysitting. That to us is the difference"
Pengelly says Sprouts has always fallen under a special exemption in the act for children's activities that are geared at promoting "recreational, artistic, musical or athletic skills" and whose main purpose are not to provide childcare. She said they'd never had an issue with inspections in the past.
To determine if a program is in fact recreational, the act stipulates that the province is allowed to look at the ages of the kids involved, the days and hours it runs, and whether the program provides transportation for participants.
3 days vs. 5 days
"The bottom line is, this is about our children, this is about keeping them safe," said Indira Naidoo-Harris, the associate minister of education responsible for early years and child care, on Tuesday.
Naidoo-Harris spoke several hours before her office promised in an email to "provide support to Sprouts to implement the best solution quickly to avoid disruption for parents" and delay the Nov. 24 deadline.
Pengelly and the parents who rely on Sprouts had spent the last few days questioning what difference how many days the children are present makes.
"If the program is good three days a week, it should be good five days a week," said Tawadros. "They're playing with the very best option parents have."
Sprouts co-founder Emily Pengelly says Sprouts offers 60 classes a week, including classes for babies and toddlers at which parents are required to be present. (Chris Dunseith/CBC News)
Pengelly points out that other after-school options for sports and art programs also offer pick-up services similar to hers.
The only difference, she says, is that Sprouts offers a wide range of options for kids under one roof that can keep them coming back all week long.
"We're being penalized because we just happen to offer more than one type of programming. And that doesn't seem fair," she said.
