Le Phare C.-B.: a Key Partner in the Development of Francophone Child Care Spaces

The Fédération des parents francophones de C.-B. created, in the fall of 2020, Le Phare C.-B. – an entity within the organization that is entirely dedicated to the development of child care centres offering French-language programming in British Columbia.

Since then, the Phare C.-B. team has been supporting both the start-up of new child care centres and the expansion of existing centres. With the help of several community partners and financially supported by both levels of government, Le Phare C.-B. has already been involved in the creation or expansion of eight child care centres, and is currently working on three new child care centre projects.

Recently, new customizable services have been added to the range of services offered by Le Phare C.-B. So, managers of child care centres already in operation can now benefit from the expertise and support of the Phare C.-B. team in the day-to-day management of their centre.

Whether it’s in the area of human resources management (for example, recruitment, hiring, drafting of employment contracts, compliance with employment regulations and personnel management, etc.), or financial resource management (search for funding, process optimization, etc.), or child care centre governance, the Phare C.-B. team is there to meet the needs of managers and administrators of Franchophone child care centres across the province.

In addition, in order to counter the effects of the shortage of child care centre staff, the Phare C.-B. team also works with child care centre managers to provide practical help so their employees can continue their training or complete their diploma in early childhood education. A total of 19 employees from different child care centres have been supported in this way over the past two years, thanks to various initiatives led by the Fédération des parents for the training of child care centre staff.

Also with Le Phare C.-B., the Fédération des parents has implemented a significant professional development program for employees of Francophone child care centres in British Columbia over the past two years. This effort resulted in more than 40 hours of training for 96 educators and other child care centre workers. And it's not over yet, as a variety of professional development opportunities will roll out over the coming months. To learn more about this, visit https://fpfcb.bc.ca/formations-pour-educatrices-2022-2023/.

The Fédération des parents invites anyone wishing to take advantage from the current development and openings in this field and wanting to work in daycare, pursue early childhood education, or start or expand a child care centre, to contact the team at info@fpfcb.bc.ca.

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The creation of Le Phare C.-B. was made possible by provincial funding for French-language services from the Government of British Columbia; financial support from the Réseau de développement économique et d'employabilité (RDÉE) Canada, mandated by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) to lead the Stratégie nationale en entrepreneuriat pour la Petite enfance, with the collaboration of the Société de développement économique de la C.-B. and the Fédération des parents francophones; as well as the Formation et renforcement des capacités des éducatrices et des éducateurs de la petite enfance project, financed by the Government of Canada and administered by l’Association des collèges et universités de la francophonie canadienne (ACUFC), with the support of the Comité de gestion national en petite enfance. The project also receives financial support from Canadian Heritage.