Written notice of a protection order posted at the entrance of the Kidorable Child Care Centre at 35 Jim Ashton Street. Photo by Rebecca Chouinard.Written notice of a protection order posted at the entrance of the Kidorable Child Care Centre at 35 Jim Ashton Street. Photo by Rebecca Chouinard.
London

Ministry of Education closes London preschool for the second time

Parents were left high and dry once again after the Kidorable Child Care Centre at 35 Jim Ashton Street was abruptly shut down by the Ministry of Education.

The move comes less than a year after the preschool's two London locations were last closed by the province. The Ministry issued a protection order in June 2022, forcing Kidorable to close its Jim Ashton centre, as well as the facility at 1697 Trafalgar Street. The business is still prohibited from operating at the latter location. However, Kidorable managed to re-open the doors at the Jim Ashton building in December 2022 by complying with requirements laid out by the Ministry of Education.

On February 6, Ministry Regulatory Compliance Officers returned to the centre and once again issued a protection order, citing that "they had reasonable grounds to believe there was an imminent threat to the health, safety and welfare of the children in care."

Similar to what happened last summer, a notice to parents was posted on the front door of the facility saying "concerns" had been raised and the Kidorable Child Care Centre had been ordered to immediately stop providing services. According to the Ministry, the business licence will be suspended until Kidorable complies with the steps outlined in the protection order.

The daycare posted a message to its Facebook page on February 8 notifying clients of the closure.

"Please be advised that Kidorable Child Care Centre is temporarily closed. We apologize for the inconvenience and disruption to service. More information will be available shortly," the message said.

It seems parents could have trouble making alternative plans for child care, as many licenced daycares in the city have a long wait list.

"My 17 months old baby used to go to Kidorable child care and they closed without any notice from yesterday onwards. I tried almost all the day cares at London," a parent posted to Facebook on the day of the shut down.

London News Today reached out to Kidorable Child Centre for comment and is waiting for a response.

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