FOR: February 26, 2024 VSB Meeting
TO: Board of Education Trustees
FROM: Jennifer Reddy, Trustee
RE: Notice of Motion – Childcare Capital 2024
The VSB acknowledges that there is a well-documented city-wide need for additional licensed childcare spaces, that the VSB has land and facilities designed to serve children, and that the Ministry of Education and Child Care has childcare capital funding available for school districts;
And therefore that the VSB investigate with the Ministry of Education and Child Care how the VSB can access new, additional capital funds in order to increase on-site childcare space creation including the possibility of prefabricated (modular) childcare buildings;
And further that the VSB investigate specific school board locations of possible childcare sites across the District with a focus on the south-east and north-east quadrants of Vancouver where there is currently a significant lack of childcare spaces;
And further that these enquiries be completed as soon as possible, that the information gathered is shared at a public VSB Board Meeting and shared with the City of Vancouver in alignment with COV recent direction regarding prefabricated (modular) childcare facilities.
RATIONALE
- The Ministry of Education and Child Care has earmarked capital funds for childcare space creation, improvement, and increase specifically for school districts;
- The Vancouver School Board holds public land and assets in trust for Vancouver’s children which can be used to expand access to and options for childcare on Board property;
- Vancouver’s childcare needs continue to be significantly unmet, with a total estimated shortfall of approximately 15,000 childcare spaces for 0-12 year olds. Some communities in Vancouver face over 70% of unmet need for licensed childcare spaces, with the highest need for childcare in the south-east and north-east quadrants (https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/childcare-needs-maps.pdf);
- Unmet childcare need disproportionately affects households with lower income, single-parent/caregiver households, women-identifying and gender non-binary parents/caregivers, therefore compromising their ability to access opportunities such as education and employment and reduce long-term inequities (Centre for Family Equity, 2023);
- Providing access to affordable childcare correlates positively with women’s increased labour force participation and a reduced gender employment gap (Current State Analysis for Vancouver’s Childcare Strategy (2022);
- Participation in high-quality early care and learning programs enhance children’s cognitive, social, emotional, and physical literacy thereby improving school readiness and providing a strong foundation for future success (VSB: https://media.vsb.bc.ca/media/Default/medialib/22-policy22-child-care-services-in-district-facilities.aabd8664214.pdf);
- The City of Vancouver has given policy direction to create prefabricated childcare spaces as a way to significantly expedite design and construction timelines and specifically to explore with the Vancouver School Board available school sites where new childcare spaces could be located (https://council.vancouver.ca/20231004/documents/a3.pdf);
- Other Metro Vancouver and BC municipalities have successfully delivered prefabricated childcare on school lands (examples include Burnaby,Richmond and Victoria School Districts) https://burnabyschools.ca/services/childcare/; https://sd38.bc.ca/sites/default/files/2022-05/Agenda%20Jun%201%202022%20Public%20Facilities%20and%20Building%20Committee%20Meeting.pdf; https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/victoria-school-district-looks-to-create-more-space-for-child-care-1.4756177;
- Prefabricated construction can accommodate a variety of childcare programs for different age groups.
