Sydney daycare offering rare service in Nova Scotia: overnight care

A daycare in Sydney has launched a pilot project to offer overnight care for the children of health-care professionals.

The demonstration project was announced in October and Health Park Early Learning Centre started its Night Owl Program on Monday. The daycare, located near the Cape Breton Regional Hospital, offers evening, overnight, and weekend care for up to 12 children.

Catherine MacKenzie's 22-month-old daughter, Laci, was the first to spend the night. 

"She had snacks, she had everything she needed," said MacKenzie. "She had the girls playing with her. She had the run of the place. It was just like home. It was family."

The introduction of the nighttime care has already been transformational for MacKenzie. She is a continuing care assistant and has been working on a casual basis, but now that she has someone to look after Laci, she can work full time for her employer and take on back shifts where needed.

"I needed a permanent position to be able to have benefits and…. what [the daycare owner] did was exceptional," said MacKenzie.

"I'm sure I'm not the only single mom out there that can benefit from this program."

MacKenzie said her daughter was so keen to spend the night that she walked herself in and simply said "goodbye" to her mother without shedding a tear.

Helen Gamble, owner of Health Park Early Learning Centre, said nights at the daycare are meant to feel like home. 

"We follow what the parents do at home. We try to make it consistent for them. So if they're potty training and they wake them once during the night, we would do that," she said.

Overnight activities are tailored for specific age groups, as they are during the day, but the routine is adjusted as needed to ensure children from the same household can stay together. They might watch a movie and then enjoy a snack as a family before bed.

The daycare can take children from two months to 12 years old in the Night Owl Program.

Opening overnight is something Gamble has been interested in doing for a long time but until recently, there was no way for a licensed daycare to offer the service. Under the pilot project, she has a new licence which provides for unscheduled inspections at night as well as during the day. 

Gamble believes her daycare is the first licensed facility to offer overnight care in the province.

"We're starting off slow, like a soft opening and really it's helping us because you know, the staff are being trained at the same time. It's never been done here before. So we need to make sure we know exactly what we're doing and following protocol."

The provincial government plans to review the pilot project after six months before deciding whether to expand the option for overnight care to other locations in the province.