Our values
A welcoming child care centre that celebrates diversity, fosters learning, and embraces all abilities.
Encouraging open communication and family involvement for a supportive environment.
Promoting positive behaviour with preventative strategies, guidance and age-appropriate support.
Our philosophy
At UBC Okanagan Child Care Services, we believe that children, families, and Educators are partners in a shared journey of learning, discovery, and growth. Guided by the BC Early Learning Framework and grounded in the emergent curriculum and play-based pedagogy, our programs support each child’s holistic development.
We see every child as competent, capable, curious, and rich in potential. Each child is a unique individual whose development unfolds in their own way and time. By observing and reflecting on children’s interests, Educators design well-balanced, engaging environments that foster learning through play, exploration, and inquiry.
Educators at UBC Okanagan Child Care Services are researchers, collaborators, and co-learners who work alongside children as partners in exploration. Through consistent, responsive care, Educators build trust and positive attachments, which are essential for each child’s sense of security, belonging, and well-being.
We recognize that families are a child’s first and most important teachers. The values, beliefs, and cultural backgrounds that families bring enrich our learning community. We believe that open communication, mutual respect, and collaboration between families and Educators create the strongest foundation for each child’s success.
Every family has the right to a quality early learning program that is loving, nurturing, inclusive, and free from bias. We are committed to creating a welcoming environment where all families feel valued and supported.
Together, children, families, and Educators form a community that celebrates diversity, fosters curiosity, and nurtures a love of learning. Our goal is to provide a safe, inclusive, and inspiring environment where every child feels valued, respected, confident and empowered to explore their world.
Inclusion and Diversity
Our goal is to provide a child care setting that is free from bias and prejudice and that promotes the diversity represented by our community.
The centre is located on the unceded, ancestral and traditional lands of the Syilx Okanagan Nation. Our Educators themselves are learning about our past and how we present it to the children in our care. We are slowly working to promote awareness with the children through conversations, age-appropriate stories and toys, and engagement with local Indigenous peoples or materials.
Differences in backgrounds, culture and ability are valued. Families are encouraged to share their experiences and practices with the Educators, children and other families.
We are an inclusive centre. All children are welcomed in our programs regardless of differing learning needs, level of ability or unique support requirements. For children who require additional support to thrive in our programs we work closely with parents and outside professionals as needed to provide an environment that meets each child’s unique needs.
Relationships with families
We believe that open communication and mutual respect between parents and early childhood educators result in high-quality child care. We aim to create spaces where children’s parents and families feel welcome. We do our best to engage with parents frequently and hope they will ask questions, offer ideas and make suggestions. Parents are welcome to request a meeting with staff for a more detailed discussion about any issue. Some situations may be further explored with the Child Care Services Associate Director.
We welcome parents in the programs throughout the day while also asking that they consider the impact of their presence on the program and children. For example, a very young child may have difficulty saying goodbye twice in one day or, for some children, a drop-in just before nap time may make the transition to nap time more difficult. However, we believe that parents’ time spent in the centre can benefit children, families and the program, and we encourage parents to discuss their involvement with their centre’s early childhood educators.
Behavioural guidance
Guidance of a child’s behaviour shall be an extension of all programming for the child. The emphasis will be on preventative strategies, in accordance with the child’s evolving emotional and social development.
Some examples of preventative strategies include careful arrangement of the room and schedule, use of developmentally appropriate programming, establishment of clear, consistent, and age-appropriate limits, stating limits in a positive way, focusing on behaviours, allowing sufficient time for children to respond, reinforcing positive, appropriate behaviours, ignoring minor incidents, and supervising the children carefully.
Some examples of intervention strategies include redirection, distraction or diversion, respectful interactions, using proximity and touch to gain a child’s attention, reminders, acknowledging feelings, setting limits, modeling problem solving skills, offering appropriate choices, using natural and logical consequences, and providing opportunities for children to make amends.
During the orientation to the program, staff will review the particulars of the child care behavioural guidance policy with you. All parents/guardians and staff will be given a copy of the BC Ministry of Health booklet “Guiding Children’s Behaviour” upon registration.