North Hastings Children’s Services has announced they will be opening to full capacity on September 8th.
“We’ll be contacting all parents that were previously enrolled before the closure,” Executive Director Jessica Anderson tells the MyBancroftNow.com newsroom. She says they will have 14 days to decide whether or not they want their children to return. After that, all the families on the waiting list will be contacted.
She says they have been given the approval to open to full capacity, which is 44 spaces. That will not include infants, who Anderson says will not be including in NHCS’ re-opening.
She says all educators will be screened when arriving for work and will be required to wear a mask and face shield during the day. For children, parents will need to do a pre-arrival screening on North Hastings Children’s Services website. When they arrive, their temperature will be checked and if everything is good to go, a screener will usher them to the room that they will spend the day in. Kids will not be allowed to transfer between rooms.
“We’ll have less in each room,” Anderson adds. “There will also be a staff member in each room responsible solely for cleaning.”
Children’s Services is ready to go with before and after school programs, but Anderson says discussions are still on-going with local schools. She says they are waiting for word from Hastings-Prince Edward District School Board. When they are sorted with the school board, Anderson says they need to provide 14 days notice to the Ministry of Education that they intend to run before and after school programs.
Anderson says they will be reaching out to families over the coming weeks to further explain their re-opening plan.