MHPSD to offer subsidized child care this fall

By BRENDAN MILLER on January 31, 2025.

Next school year, families with kindergarten-aged children will be able to access affordable childcare grants and subsidies that will significantly reduce the cost to enrol their child in the Medicine Hat Public School Division’s Play and Learn program, allowing the student to stay at school throughout the entire day.

The MHPSD Play and Learn program is led by early childhood development staff who work with kindergarten educators to offer play-based activities to develop literacy, social skills and physical well-being, running outside the half-day curriculum of kindergarten.

This means kindergarten parents can drop their kids off at school for an entire day of supervision while accessing school amenities like playgrounds, gymnasiums and learning tools, instead of seeking child care for half a day at another location.

“I think as a parent, we really want to know that when we’re dropping our kids off for the day, we’re dropping them off somewhere where there are people who are wrapping around them and caring for them,” says Joanne Stockman, director of learner support and services. “We want to be able to do that for families and not have any barriers in place, so they can take their tightly stretched dollars in their budget right now and put that where they feel they need to and not have to worry about child care as much.”

Beginning next school year the division will be able to offer a substantial discount of the cost of the Play and Learn program by licensing the childcare program and accessing automatic cost dedication grants and subsidies to reduce program fees for parents and, in some cases, eliminate fees entirely.

Stockman says all families enrolled in the Play and Learn program will benefit from these changes that will be introduced next school year.

“By licensing the program, we will be able to access the affordability grant for families, as well as families who qualify for subsidy. We’ll be able to access that which will create a low- to no-cost option for our families in our division.”

Play and Learn is designed to enhance a child’s kindergarten experience by allowing them to engage in long sessions of play-based activities shown to build confidence and independence in children.

“We know that children benefit from uninterrupted play,” explains Stockman. “With a robust curriculum in kindergarten, we don’t always have time to provide those large chunks of time, like 45-60 minutes of time, where kids can just play and engage in wonder and curiosity.”

Along with extra play, the program allows students to spend more time in the school they will most likely be attending in Grade 1 and allows children to learn routines and navigate the building.

“They get to learn the routines of the school, how to get around the building, how to navigate the playground prior to that more formal education that they encounter in Grades 1-6,” says Stockman. “Kindergarten prepares children for the challenges of later schooling, and the Learn and Play program expands on that and gives those kids the opportunity to continue to learn and develop through play and build confidence and independence in a supportive environment.”

Families planning to enrol their children in Kindergarten can register for the Play and Learn program online beginning Feb. 4 at mhpsd.ca.

Currently, monthly enrolment in the Play and Learn programs offered at all division elementary schools costs families $285, but an updated enrolment fee schedule will be posted as soon as it is finalized.

The Play and Learn program is available to all kindergarten-aged students, meaning the child is five years old or turns five before Dec. 31, 2025.