The Vancouver School Board (VSB) currently offers space on school grounds for licensed child care programs, all operated by non-profit organizations. On 73 school sites before and after school care is offered with program sizes ranging from 24 to 176 spaces. The total number of licensed child care spaces is distributed as follows: 349 for children aged 30 months to school age, 3,798 for school age child care, and 456 for preschool. As of September 2023, VSB enrolled twenty-one thousand students from Kindergarten to Grade 5. With 3,718 available before and after school care spaces offered by 45 licensees, the District’s coverage for K-5 students is approximately 17 per cent.

VSB applied and received funding under the provincial child care capital fund in the past. Also, the City of Vancouver applied and received funding under the provincial child care capital fund for the creation of child care spaces on school grounds.

In 2020, VSB secured $4 million from the Childcare BC New Spaces Fund to aid in the creation of child care spaces at several sites including Coal Harbour, Weir Elementary, Mount Pleasant, Grandview, Fleming, and Vancouver Hebrew Academy (Shannon Park Annex).

In 2019, the City of Vancouver received $33 million from the Childcare BC New Spaces Fund to fund new licensed child care spaces in schools, community centres and other public facilities across Vancouver. With funding from the City of Vancouver, VSB added roof top child care facilities to the following new schools: Nelson Elementary, Tennyson Elementary, Fleming Elementary, David Loyd George Elementary, and the soon to be completed Eric Hamber Secondary, Henry Hudson Elementary.

Also, in January 2023, the Board passed a motion requesting that staff explore strategies and make recommendations to increase child care spaces on VSB sites, including the consideration of outdoor childcare and portable buildings. This work is informing future applications for child care capital funding.

The creation of child care spaces on school grounds has been a priority for VSB for decades and remains so. Our staff continue to identify opportunities for the development of new child care spaces on school grounds. New spaces are being funded through applications for child care capital funding from the province, funding from the City of Vancouver or use of neighbourhood learning space dedicated for child care in new schools. 

Child Care Resource and Referral (CCRR) centres are funded by the Ministry of Education and Child Care, make it easier for families to find and access responsive and inclusive quality licensed and registered child care by providing information, support, resources and referral services to parents and child care providers across the province.

Below is the link to Vancouver’s CCRR that all families have access to for information and support:

Westcoast Child Care Family Resource Center