Parents were left scrambling to find alternative childcare after the province unexpectedly shut down two daycares in London.
The Kidorable Child Care Centres at 35 Jim Ashton Street and 1697 Trafalgar Street were both closed indefinitely Thursday afternoon. A notice posted to the door of each facility from the Ministry of Education, which licenses Ontario's childcare centres, states the closure is due to "concerns" that have been raised. The two locations have been presented with a protection order to immediately stop providing childcare, the notice concluded.
A protection order can be issued by a provincial inspector when there is "immediate threat to the health or safety of children," according to the ministry's website. "Child care providers who are issued a protection order must immediately stop providing child care until such threat is resolved."
The ministry has offered no additional information into the specifics of the "threat" identified at the two London childcare centres.
“The health and safety of our children are of paramount importance. That is why Protection Orders — the immediate suspension of operations — are issued to ensure the safety and protection of the children in care. We will never waiver from our duty to protect our most vulnerable among us, our children,” an emailed statement from the ministry said.
The Kidorable Child Care Centre on Jim Ashton has been a licensed provider since September 2014, while the location on Trafalgar was licensed in January 2019.
An inspection at the Trafalgar centre in January of this year, showed 17 requirements that had not been met. Those included a fixed play structure in an outdoor play space that didn't meet the required standards, a child under one not fed per the parent's written instructions, and individualized plans for a child with medical needs had not been implemented at each child care premises. The inspector also noted three instances where the ratios of employees to children was not maintained.
The Jim Ashton centre was last inspected in January. It only received two requirements, one being that a copy of the licence was not visibly displayed. The other stated that the outdoor play space was not properly fenced with secured gates.
LondonNewsToday.ca left messages at both Kidorable centres on Friday that were not returned.