Air-O-Down Child Care Centre officially opened its door on September 1st, 1987. The Centre is located in Downsview Secondary School. There is a capacity of 49 children, our capacity is divided to accommodate 10 infants (newborn to 18 months), 15 toddlers (18months to 2 ½ years) and 24 preschoolers (2 ½ years to 4 years. The Centre operates from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday to Friday on a 12-month basis excluding statutory holidays. The setting includes three spacious rooms and an ideal, enclosed playground.
Air-O-Down is administered by an Executive Director, Assistant Director. Staff in our program include: full-time and part-time Early Childhood Educators (RECE/ECA) and The ECEs, in order to be employed with Air-O-Down must be registered and in good standing with the College of Early Childhood Educators of Ontario and are required to meet the Continuous Learning requirements. All the staff have current Standard First Aid and Infant/Child CPR Certification. All staff complete a Vulnerable Sector Checks prior to their work and on a regular basis.
Ongoing staff training and development opportunities are provided for our staff to ensure that our programs use the most current practices and our programs support the daily learning experiences are developed by all our staff to reflect and support child’s individual stages of development and interests. These learning experiences are based on written observations of each child and on the staff’s knowledge and training regarding child development and learning.
Air-O-Down is non-profit centre operated by a Board of Directors; including representatives of the community, parents involved with the centre, Downsview Secondary School and Bombardier Inc.,. We are affiliated with Boeing through the Partners in Education Program at Downsview Secondary School. The cost of operation of the Centre is covered by parents’ fees. Purchase of Service Agreement is held with Toronto Children’s Services to assist families in subsiding their daycare fees.
Air-O-Down is accountable to the following agencies:
The Ministry of Education is responsible for monitoring the Centre’s program, staff and finance through its Program Advisor. The Ministry issues the annual License that permits Air-O-Down to operate a copy is in the office and posted on the parent board also a license summary report is also posted. The results are posted on the Ministry website at http://www.ontario.ca/ONT/portal61/licensedchildcare. Air-O-Down follows a Play Based Learning Program Model that reflects the Early Learning Framework (ELF) and How Does Learning Happen? Ontario’s Pedagogy for the Early Years. If you are interested in further information regarding this you can refer to the Minister of Education’s Policy Statement on Programming and Pedagogy made under the Child Care and early Years Act, 2014.
The City of Toronto, Children’s Services Division has a purchase agreement a number of subsidized child care spaces from Air-O-Down. Every year, we must submit an operating budget to Children’s Services. The budget determines the revenue and expenses of the Centre and is used to determine the daily fee the City pays to Air-O-Down for each subsidized space. The City, through its Toronto Assessment for Quality Improvement tool monitors the operation of the Centre and measures its quality against accepted best practices. The results are posted on the City of Toronto’s wedsite:www.toronto.ca/children. And a copy is also posted on the parent board.
The Toronto District School Board provides space in Downsview Secondary School for Air-O-Down Child Care Centre through paid rent from the City of Toronto. Air-O-Down has an obligation as a tent to abide by all policies set out by the school board.
Air-O-Down Child Care Centre is community based, with two-thirds of our spaced reserved for the community at large, students and faculty of Downsview Schools and one-third of our space offered to Boeing employees.
The Centre offers a variety of experiences for students from the Family Studies and Cooperative Studies programs from Downsview as well as local Secondary Schools. We also offer placements for community college students involved in Early Childhood Education Program, and the Child Care Program. Our Centre has a policy regarding the supervision of children by volunteers and student. The Centre has always complied with the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014 regulation which stipulates that students and volunteers are not included in the legislated staff to child ratio and must Never be left alone with any of the children in our care. They are supported by a member of staff at all times. All students are required to provide confirmation of a clear Police Vulnerable Sector Checks and medical assessment prior to commencing placement at the centre and review and sign the Air-O-Down annual policy and procedures prior to the start of their placement.
