Screening Process
Drop-off and pick-up times will be staggered to prevent parents/guardians from gathering or grouping together.
Designate drop-off and pick-up locations will be located outside, near the front entrance of child care. At the drop off and pick up location there will be a designated spot as a screening station for all staff, scholars, and parents/guardians dropping off their child.
Staff and parents/guardians of children attending will actively be informed that they must not attend program when they are ill, and that they should report any symptoms associated with COVID-19 to the child care Director.
Every parent/guardian will be required to complete a form before entry is granted. In this survey parents will be asked if their child or any member of your household have any of the following symptoms:
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fever/feverish, new onset of cough, worsening chronic cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, sore throat, difficulty swallowing, decrease or loss of sense of taste or smell, chills, headaches, unexplained fatigue/malaise/muscle aches, nausea/vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, pink eye (conjunctivitis), runny nose/nasal congestion without other known cause?
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Have you or your child tested positive for COVID-19 or had close contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19 without wearing appropriate PPE?
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Have you or your child travelled outside of Canada, including the United States, within the last 14 days?
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Individuals who answer YES to any of the questions will not be permitted to enter.
New Policies
We will increase space between seating and play areas so that children and staff can practice physical distancing. All extra chairs, tables and furniture will be removed to increase space and allow children to physical distance so they can spread out.
Staff Protective Wear
Divine Care Academy will provide personal protective equipment (PPE) for use by staff when necessary. From recommendations the academy will maintain a one to two week supply of PPE at all times. Staff must wear a surgical mask and eye protection (e.g. goggles, face shield) in the screening area, when screening or escorting children to child care area, when cleaning and disinfecting blood or bodily fluid spills if there is a risk of splashing or droplets and when caring for a sick child or a child showing symptoms of illness.
Staff must wear a mask (medical or non-medical) or face covering at other times when physical distancing cannot be maintained when providing direct care (e.g. feeding, assisting a child with hand hygiene, diapering), consoling an upset child, and assisting a child with dressing or changing clothes.
Gloves must be worn when it is anticipated that hands will come into contact with mucous membranes, broken skin, tissue, blood, bodily fluids, secretions, excretions, contaminated equipment or environmental surfaces. Use blankets over clothing if holding or carrying infants or toddlers. Change the blankets or cloths between children.
Assign Staff and Children into Cohorts
Cohorts of 10 people will be designated to one specific room which will be referred to as their home room. Each group in each designated class will be a maximum cohort size of no more than 10 individuals if available space permits physical distancing. This includes both child care staff and children.
Staffing Procedures
Supply/replacement staff that are assigned to a daycare program will be considered part of the cohort they are assigned to.
Staff on site will be sufficient enough to have multiple staff assigned to one room consistently over the course of the day therefore need to move to other rooms.
Scholar Curriculum Policies
Programming will be planned in a manner that prevents cohorts from mixing throughout the day and over the course of the child care program/session. Stagger/alternative scheduling will be created for each individual attending.
Outdoor playgrounds and play spaces (dedicated to our program) will also have staggered scheduled periods. If cohorts are using the same indoor area (e.g. gymnasium) child care staff must ensure that physical distancing is maintained between the cohorts and that the groups do not mix.
Practice Physical Distancing
Divine Care Academy will practice physical distancing as best as possible between children during activities while still permitting interaction and socializing to occur. Physical distancing must not compromise supervision or a child’s safety, emotional or psychological well-being.
Divine Care Academy will encourage children to greet each other using non-physical gestures (e.g. wave or nod or a verbal “Hello”) and to avoid close greetings (e.g. hugs, handshakes). Divine Care Academy staff will regularly remind children to keep "hands to yourself” and reinforce no sharing policies and procedures. This includes the current practice of not sharing food, water bottles or other personal items.
Divine Care Academy will limit the number and types of personal items that can be brought into the child care setting, and provide individual cubbies or bins for each child’s belongings. Personal items must be clearly labelled with the child’s name to prevent accidental sharing.
Plan activities and games that increase spacing between children while promoting social interaction. Therefore we will avoid activities that involve shared objects or toys, and activities involving singing, shouting, or speaking loudly indoors.
Practice Good Hand Hygiene and Respiratory Etiquette
Divine Care Academy will educate staff on good hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette by informing them daily verbally and through signs to clean hands thoroughly with soap and water or use hand sanitizer, provided hands are not visibly soiled.
Avoid touching your face, nose and mouth with unwashed hands. Covering cough and sneezes with your elbow or a tissue. Immediately throw the tissue in the garbage and wash your hands. To encourage frequent hand washing Divine Care Academy has implemented a “Hand Washing” contest. The winner receives a prize (The Treasure Box) at the end of the week.
Divine Care Academy will provide additional hand sanitizer stations in supervised areas where children cannot access it independently. Child care staff must ensure that proper hand hygiene is practiced often and when necessary
Modify Food Safety Practices for Snacks and Meals
Divine Care Academy has implemented new precautions for a clean and healthy eating environment. Some of our practices to prevent the spread of viruses are all meals must be served in individual portions to the children, utensils must be used to serve food, there will be absolutely no shared utensils or items (e.g. serving spoons, condiments).
Children must not be allowed to prepare nor provide food that will be shared with others. There must be no food provided by the family/outside of the regular meal provision of the program (except where required and special precautions for handling and serving the food are put into place, for example, expressed breast milk).
Enhance Cleaning and Disinfecting Practices
All Divine Care Academy disinfectants must have a Drug Identification Number (DIN). A DIN is an 8-digit number given by Health Canada that confirms it is approved for use in Canada. All disinfectants expiry dates must be checked frequently and staff are required to always follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Fresh bleach solutions will be prepared daily, chlorine bleach solutions may also be used for disinfection if appropriate for the surface with directions for where and how to securely store cleaning and disinfectant supplies.
The Director of Divine Care Academy is responsible for assigning or designating rotating staff to conduct environmental cleaning and disinfecting throughout the day. Caretaking staff must clean and disinfect individual items that may be handled by more than one individual such as electronic devices, toys and balls between users, cots and cribs after each use, blankets/sheets must be laundered daily, and maintain logs to track cleaning and disinfecting activities for each room/area, individual/play items and sleeping equipment such as cots and cribs.
Requirements for Toys, Equipment and Other Materials
Divine Care Academy will supply toys and equipment that are made of materials that can be cleaned and disinfected, assign specific toys and play structures to one cohort at a time. To prevent the sharing of items between cohorts we will implement identification systems to (e.g. colour coding).
Large play structures will only be used by one cohort at a time. Play equipment and large play structures (e.g. indoor play structures, playhouses, climbers) will be cleaned and disinfected between cohorts. Toys must be cleaned and disinfected between users. Mouthed toys must be separated, cleaned and disinfected immediately after the child has finished using it. We will clean and disinfect toys in a three compartment sink. Toys must be washed and rinsed prior to disinfection.
Isolate Children and Staff That Become Ill
Staff and children with symptoms of COVID-19 MUST attend an assessment for testing as soon as possible, and are required to self-isolate at home until their result is available. If a child becomes ill with symptoms while in care, they will be immediately separated from the rest of their group in a designated room and supervise the child until they are picked-up.
Divine Care Academy will notify parents/guardians or emergency contacts to pick up the ill child as soon as possible. The designated room/space must have a handwashing sink or hand sanitizer available at all times. Tissues will always be provided for the ill child to help support respiratory etiquette
Divine Care Academy will open outside doors and windows to increase air circulation in the area if it can be done so safely. Children older than two years should wear a mask (if tolerated) and they are able to use it properly (e.g. donning and doffing carefully, avoiding touching while on). Child care staff supervising the ill child should maintain physical distancing as best as possible, and wear PPE, including surgical mask. If the ill child/staff gets tested for COVID-19 and their test result is negative, they can return after being symptom free for 24 hours and they pass the screening. The area will be cleaned and disinfected immediately after the child with symptoms has been sent home.
Child care staff and children who were exposed to an individual who became ill with symptoms (i.e. suspected COVID-19 case) must continue to be grouped together and monitored for signs and symptoms of illness.
Supervisors must inform parents/guardians of children who were exposed to the ill child, and advise that they should monitor their child for symptoms. Child care staff must not work in other child care settings. They must also be advised to avoid being in contact with vulnerable person or settings where there are vulnerable persons. Child care staff and children exposed to a confirmed case of COVID-19 must be excluded from the child care setting for 14 days. These individuals must self-isolate at home and monitor for symptoms for the next 14 days. Individuals who have been exposed to a confirmed case of COVID-19 should get tested as soon as any symptoms develop. If asymptomatic, individuals who have been exposed are also encouraged to get tested any time within 14 days of the potential exposure. They will need to continue to self-isolate for 14 days even if the test is negative.
Child care staff and children who are being managed by Toronto Public Health (TPH) (e.g. confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19, close contacts of cases) must follow TPH instructions to determine when to return to the child care program/home.
Staff must also report to their occupational health and safety department prior to return to work when applicable. Clearance tests are not required for staff or children to return.
Report Cases and Outbreaks to Toronto Public Health
Child care must immediately report the following to TPH by contacting the surveillance unit at 416-392-7411 during work hours (8:30am to 4:30pm, Monday to Friday) or 3-1-1 after hours.