A public elementary school in Dorchester will soon see an addition of six new child care rooms capable of housing 103 spaces.
On Tuesday, Elgin-Middlesex-London MPP Jeff Yurek announced that a $6.6-million investment by the Ontario government will be used to build the addition at River Heights Public School. The funding is part of a program that aims at providing better learning spaces for students, along with safe and affordable child care for parents.
"I am very pleased that families in Dorchester finally have access to additional licensed child care options in their home community," said Yurek. "The addition of these spaces represents a host of new opportunities for both parents and children at a time when access to child care has never been more important."
The addition will be able to accomodate 10 infants, 30 toddlers, and 48 preschoolers according to the Thames Valley District School Board. It will also include an EarlyON room, for 15 children, a program introduced by the province that offers free services to all families in Ontario with children ages zero to six years old.
"Early learning and licensed child care opportunities help give children the best possible start in life. We are so pleased that the River Heights Child Care and Family Centre project has reached this milestone and look forward to seeing this new facility serve the community in Middlesex County," said Trevor Fowler, Service System Manager for London and Middlesex.
If re-elected in the spring, the Ford government said it will spend up to $1-billion over the next five years to create up to 30,000 new child care spaces in schools. An additional $1.4-billion will also be used to renew and maintain existing schools around the province.
