Expression of Interest to Operate a Child Care Centre
The City of Toronto undertakes an Expression of Interest process when selecting an operator for a newly built or renovated child care space funded by the City.
Deadline
Friday, September 28 by 4 p.m.
Drawings
Site Details
Location
A new 49 space child care centre is opening inside Bendale Acres Long Term Care Facility. Bendale Acres is in Scarborough, near the intersection of Brimley and Lawrence. There is direct TTC access to the facility. It is a joint venture with the City of Toronto, Long Term Care Division.
Bendale Acres Long Term Care Facility, built in 1965 and renovated in 1995, currently has 302 residents. They enjoy the 4 CARE values – Compassion, Accountability, Respect & Excellence with the goal to succeeding in a better quality of life and gain supports for healthy aging all within a safe & friendly environment. The neighbourhood has a large French speaking community.
Local schools include Bendale Public School and St. Rose of Lima Catholic School. Nearby are:
- Rosalie Hall Child Development Centre,
- Friendly Little Campus and
- St. Rose of Lima YMCA Child Care.
Operating Capacity
The centre will have space for 49 children:
- 10 infants
- 15 toddlers
- 24 preschool aged
Facility
Enhancing the facility, the Child Care Centre is being added to the east wing. There will be opportunities to promote joint intergenerational activities between the long term care residents and the children within the child care centre. At Bendale Acres, there is a 37 bed French language services unit and a 17 bed Ismaili unit. French & Ismaili communities connect with the residents and share their culture and language.
Entry
Parents dropping off and picking up their children will have dedicated parking spaces located along the east wing. Families walking to and from the child care centre access a locked, external stroller storage space. Families enter the secured front doors of the Long Term Care facility, walk across the lobby and engage their personal family code to enter the front door of the child care centre.
Main Lobby
Upon entering the child care centre, there is an open Kitchen. The Kitchen has a child height counter along the corridor side, complete with a child height sink. The wet side of the Kitchen has a triple sink, hand sink, a commercial dishwasher and grease trap. The dry side of the Kitchen has space for a residential stove, microwave and range hood. For storing and distributing the daily catered food, there is ample counter surface, with under counter trolley storage, and an adjoining Pantry.
The Centre Supervisor’s office is near the Kitchen, along the east corridor. It is large enough to house the furnishings for desktop & meeting room space. Built-in millwork inside the office allows for extra storage and dedicated printer location. The corridor façade of the office is fully glazed, which has immediate views of the families entering the Long Term Care entry doors.
In inclement weather, the corridor can host gross motor activities. The design is extra wide to accommodate the centre’s triple strollers, which can be stored near the infant playroom.
The east corridor has a secondary exit that opens outside. This could be utilized during a health outbreak.
The laundry/janitorial room has:
- a slop sink,
- a free standing laundry tub,
- a stable washer & dryer and
- space for storage and folding.
A south corridor provides access to:
- a barrier free washroom for staff
- a staff lounge which includes
- lockers,
- cabinetry,
- sink,
- fridge and
- microwave.
A universal washroom is available outside the front entrance.
Infant Playroom
- Separate full cubbies
- seating for each child
- storage above
- dressing table in the infant cubbie space
- Servery
- adult height sink
- child height sink
- cabinet storage
- room for a microwave & a full fridge
- Benches (line the window wall)
- Self-contained washroom
- child-height toilet
- change table
Staff can look into the playroom from the window in the infant sleep-room.
Toddler Playroom
- Separate full cubbies
- seating for each child
- storage above
- dressing table in the infant cubbie space
- Servery
- adult height sink
- child height sink
- cabinet storage
- room for a microwave & a full fridge
- Benches (line the window wall)
- Self-contained washroom
- child-height toilet
- change table
Preschool Playroom
- Self-contained preschool washroom
- built-in bench for as needed diaper changing
- Separate full cubbies with
- seating for each child & storage above
- Servery
- adult height sink
- child height sink
- cabinet storage
- room for a microwave & bar fridge
- Benches (line the window wall)
Playground
All Child Care Playgrounds are immediately outside of the exterior Playroom doors. Staff and children can look onto the playground. The playgrounds’ designs are for the different age groupings. Each playground has:
- a Secure Shed
- attached shade pergolas (much needed since each playground faces south)
- Surfacing Materials (with a naturalized theme)
- sod
- asphalt
- rubber surfacing
- Playground Elements
- sand play
- water play
- areas for trike use
- Vertical Play Panels (hung along fences & the sheds to maximize play opportunities)
- chalkboards and
- acrylic panels to paint on
- Benches
- allow for staff and child story times
- Talking Tubes
- allow residents to engage with the children from outside the perimeter fence line
Lease Agreement
Market rent will be paid to Long Term Care in addition to utilities, custodial services and maintenance of the child care.
Toys and Equipment
Play based material and equipment funding is intended to help operators create enriching environments both indoors and outdoors with open ended materials that promote children’s learning and development through exploration, play and inquiry consistent with the views, four foundations and pedagogical approaches of How Does Learning Happen? Ontario’s Pedagogy for the Early Years. As such the City will be offering onetime funding for play-based material and equipment as part of its ongoing commitment to expand access to quality Child Care.
Funding will be based on a City application process and allocated on a per room basis with an upper limit of $50,000 per room (outdoor spaces are not counted as a room). This funding is intended to include all indoor and outdoor materials and equipment (not structures). Applications will be reviewed by the Children’s Services Consultant to ensure submitted and listed play based materials and equipment are in compliance within pedagogical and AQI requirements. All invoices for materials and equipment must be paid and submitted no later than December 14, 2018. The successful proponent will be required to store all materials until the anticipated opening January 2019.
Deadline
Friday, September 28 by 4 p.m.
Drawings
Site Details
The address of this new child care facility is 30 Sheppard Ave East, suite #313. It is in the Yonge Sheppard Centre, one floor above the mall and overlooking Sheppard Avenue East. This centre will be fully completed, furnished and equipped with toys and equipment. Centre has five playrooms with a capacity for 62 children (10 infants, 20 toddlers and 32 preschoolers). A new EarlyON Child and Family Centre will be on the floor above.
Dedicated parking spaces for drop-off & pick-up are in the underground parking garage at level one. There is an elevator nearby that takes families to the child care. After exiting the elevator, there is a roomy stroller storage area before entering the child care centre.
Inside the secured front entrance of the centre, is a wide lobby with the supervisor’s office on the left and a waiting area on the right. Farther down the corridor is a second office, stroller parking and a storage room.
Preschool Space
Two preschool playrooms are near the main entrance with access to the preschool playground. Cubbies line the corridor and each playroom has a separate storage room and a servery with:
- an adult height sink and a child height sink
- space for a bar fridge & microwave
The preschool playrooms share a washroom that has four toilets, four sinks, and a fold down bench for diaper changes.
Toddler space
Farther down the corridor are the two toddler playrooms with access to the toddler playground. The cubbies are in the main corridor. Each playroom has a separate storage room and a servery with:
- an adult height sink and a child height sink
- space for a bar fridge & microwave
There is a joint toddler washroom with two Totmate change tables, sinks, stairs, and two toddler height toilets and sinks.
Infant space
At the end of the corridor is the infant playroom with cubbies and dressing tables. The playroom has many windows facing south and facing west. The west end of the room has a gated Infant washroom with a Totmate change table and a child height toilet and sink. At the opposite end of the playroom is storage and a servery. The servery has an adult height sink, full fridge and microwave. There is a sleep room for ten cribs with enclosed upper storage. Access to the Infant playground is along the back corridor.
Playgrounds
Behind the child care, on a walk out deck, are three separated playgrounds, surrounded by an 8 foot perimeter fence. To allow staff to move between playgrounds there are gates between them.
Each playground has:
- a metal shed for storing toys and equipment,
- freestanding pots for plants and
- a variety of wooden cedar planter boxes to allow for a greener environment where edible or other suitable plants can be planted.
The infant playground has a rubber surface, plus a cedar deck, including a sandbox with a water spout. A log post fence displays a chalkboard. A roof trellis provides shade for benches located below.
The toddler playground has:
- a trike trail with bumps
- a sandbox and water spout
- vertical play panels, including a general store
- an alarmed secondary exit in case of an emergency
Surfacing varies with rubber, concrete pavers and wood decking.
The preschool playground has a trike trail and a balance beam in the centre. Surfacing varies with wood decking, rubber and concrete pavers. There is a sandbox in one decked area and a stage on the other that includes a shade sail. A play tunnel provides a sheltered area for children. There are also a variety of play panels for painting, drawing and playing music.
Utility space
Across from the preschool rooms is an open centre servery/kitchen. The kitchen includes a long child height counter with a child height sink where small groups of children can take part in food related activities. The servery/kitchen was designed for catered deliveries. The kitchen has plenty of counter surface plus a central island. The kitchen has:
- a commercial dishwasher,
- room for a stand-up fridge and freezer,
- a residential stove,
- range hood
- and microwave.
There is also a triple sink and a handwash sink (with an eye-wash station) on the island. There is also a separate large pantry room accessed from the kitchen.
Past the kitchen is another roomy storage room and a large universal washroom.
The laundry room is at the end of the back corridor and is ready for the installation of a washer and double-stacked dryers. There is a triple sink in the room to assist with toy washing duties. Next to the laundry room is the custodian room where the hot water tank is. There is also a slop sink that includes an industrial style eye-wash station.
Next to the custodian’s room is the staff room and washroom. The staff room has lockers, a servery (complete with room for a full fridge), a microwave, and a double sink. A large window overlooks the infant playground.
Fire escapes
In emergencies, there are two official fire escapes from inside the building. An “area of refuge” is the official route that ushers children and staff into the adjoining building. The fenced-in path has electronic tracing to melt snow and ice. To ensure that the path of travel is safe, the EarlyON Child and Family Centre on the floor above would use the same escape route. The other route begins from the playground across from the rooftop, then heads north into another building. This path of travel is also safely fenced-in to ensure the safety of staff and children.
Lease Agreement
Facility free of all rent and other facility fees and charges for an initial term of 40 years, renewed on the same terms and conditions for no greater than 99 years on turn-key basis lease.
Not for profit child care operators with a current service agreement for fee subsidy are eligible to apply.
The City is looking for operators that are committed to providing integrated services to families through collaboration with school boards and other learning and care services in the community ensuring accessibility to local needs.
Compliance with the following items is required.
- Applicant holds a current Service Agreement for the provision of fee subsidy.
- Applicant meets the requirements of a Not-for-profit Agency
- Applicant meets or exceeds the Assessment for Quality Improvement (AQI) for each site operated by the applicant over the last two year period.
- Applicant’s service agreement has been in good standing for a minimum of the last two years. Note: Good standing will be assessed by the City through a review of Stop Admissions compliance with contract requirements.
- Applicant currently meets Financial and Administration Criteria.
Include the Mandatory Documents and the following with your submission:
- Organization’s program statement
- reflects integrated services that are inclusive and support all children.
- Copies of recent program plans
- show specific program components to support children with special needs as outlined in the City’s Assessment for Quality Improvement (AQI).
- children’s interests reflected must be evident
- Provide two (2) program plan samples for each age group.
- for example, if you program plan weekly, your submission would include two weeks of program plans for each age group
- A plan to offer developmentally appropriate programs for all age groups applied for
- only if the organization has not had previous experience serving one or more age groups
- Total of three (3) letters of support from parents or general membership of the agency.
- A letter of support from a parent who is also a board member is acceptable;
- support letters from parents should not only be from parent members of the Board
- if the organization has general members, please consider including these letters as well.
- Two (2) letters of reference from community partners
- that show community collaboration experiences
- Examples of previous experiences which show community collaboration program and community partnerships.
- A plan to describe how the child care program will develop partnerships with:
- local schools and
- other early learning and care services specific to this new location.
- Financial Viability and Budget Package
- For copies of the budget package, please email childcare@toronto.ca.
- Operators must prove:
- a history of financial viability,
- timely submission of required documents and reports,
- and also compliance with the City’s financial requirements (as outlined in the Service Agreement and the City’s Financial Criteria).
- The budget must be completed using annual revenue and expenses.
- Letter of reference from organization’s current financial institution
- Complete Children’s Services Financial Viability and Budget Package for the new site with all the required documentation attached
Expression of Interest applications for the new child care at 30 Sheppard Ave. East, Suite #313 must be submitted by 4 p.m. on Friday, September 28, 2018. Please submit four original copies of the EOI application. Send the application to:
Kelly O’Gorman,
Toronto Children’s Services
South District Office
214 Wellington St. Ground Floor
Toronto, Ontario
M5V 0L9
For more information please email: childcare@toronto.ca
All Expression of Interest applications will be screened and evaluated by City staff and interviews will be conducted by a Review Panel comprised of a minimum of three members.
Application Evaluation
The EOI applications will be scored as follows:
- Stage 1: The EOI application will be screened on a pass or fail basis. A pass indicates that all fields have been completed and all mandatory documents have been included. If a field is not applicable to your organization, a brief explanation should be provided. A fail indicates that some fields and/or mandatory documents are incomplete or missing.
- Stage 2: This evaluation includes a review of your organizations alignment with TCS Service Plan and includes a review of AQI results over the past two years, a review of age group specific program plans, TCS Business Cycle requirements including Financial and Administration Criteria, Community Collaboration, School Board linkages, Letters of Reference.
Stage 2 also includes a full review of the organizations financial viability. This review will include a review of Business Cycle activities, Compliance with TCS Financial Criteria, review of Auditor’s Report, Start-up Cost plan, Budget submission, Salaries and Public Fees and Current Cash Flow Statement.
- Stage 3: Interviews: Applicants must have achieved a minimum score of 60 points to move on to this stage. Applicants at this stage will be invited to an interview with the Review Panel. Panel members will be determined based on their relevance to each location but may include; school boards, developers, and staff from Children’s Services and other City divisions. The interview will include a set of predetermined questions and the opportunity for the Applicant deliver a presentation.
NOTE: Where the school board is involved, the process will be adapted to include other procedures related to the school boards selection process.
Expression of Interest evaluation results shall be the absolute property of the City. The City does not disclose Expression of Interest evaluation results, before, during or after he evaluation process. However, applicants must be aware that such information may become public as a result of the need for transparency and accountability in decisions made by the City.
NOTE: If the City does not receive an adequate number of satisfactory proposals, we reserve the right to negotiate with any Operator deemed suitable, where necessary.
Service Agreement for Fee Subsidy
The Toronto Child Care Service Plan sets out priorities for Toronto’s child care system. This includes setting geographic and age equity targets that ensure funding for child care fee subsidy is equitably distributed.
There is a waiting list for fee subsidy and eligible applicants will have to access fee subsidy on a first come first served basis, subject to ward and age equity targets. However, new child care operators may be prioritized for placement for the first six months of operation or until they achieve full enrollment, whichever occurs first.
Clients already receiving fee subsidy are able to transfer to a new centre if there is a physical vacancy. Families not requiring a fee subsidy are able to enroll their children in child care with a licensed physical vacancy and pay full fee.
Families may contact 311 or 416-338-8888 for more information on how to apply.
