Our Story

The organization is operated by a professional and dedicated management team, under the direction of a volunteer Board of Directors which is composed of parents and community representatives. As a co-operative childcare, parents are actively involved in their child’s care and education. All parents are members of the co-operative and together with the staff, they have input into the business and programme interests of the organization through the Board of Directors.

S.E.E.D.S (Raggedy Ann) is highly respected in the child care community as a leader in high quality early education and child care programmes for young children and has repeatedly been awarded the Reader’s Choice Award for favourite Day Care since 1996. For comments and feedback from our families go to Parent Page.

Our organization is well-known and highly respected for its continued commitment to building strong, quality programmes that support the early development of young children. The quality of our programmes is based on our commitment to hiring qualified and experienced Educators; ensuring that they receive ongoing training and education; developing strong partnerships with parents; and working collaboratively with community partners. S.E.E.D.S Childcare is recognized as...

S.E.E.D.S Childcare has been a pioneer in providing innovative programmes based on the most current and relevant research. In 2000, S.E.E.D.S Childcare identified the Reggio Emilio and Emergent Curriculum approaches (child-centred approaches based on the interests of children) as the most successful approaches for children's learning. We adapted our programmes and curriculum approach accordingly and have shared our experiences successes with other agencies.

Additionally, S.E.E.D.S Childcare adopted the Incredible Years and the Dinosaur School Social Skills programme when the programme was first introduced in the County. We have provided several training opportunities for other community members to share the success of this programme and we continue to implement the programme in conjunction with the Triple P approach.

For comments and feedback from our families go to the Parent Page.

S.E.E.D.S – THE CO-OPERATIVE

In most co-operative preschools, parents are expected to give of their time to the operation of the centre and/or the teaching of the children. We realize that it is difficult for a working parent or student to be involved directly in the programme; however, all parents are required to participate. At S.E.E.D.S, we require participation in fundraising activities, maintenance projects and attendance at general parent meetings.

FUNDRAISING: Parent fees do not cover all of the operating expenses of the child care centre. Fees only contribute to salaries, food, maintenance costs, programme supplies etc. The rest of the centre’s expenses (i.e. toys and equipment) must be met through fundraising efforts. All fundraising activities require parent participation. Our only alternative to fundraising is increasing fees.

GENERAL PARENT MEETINGS: Parent meetings are held throughout the year and keep families informed about what is happening in the organization. This is a great opportunity to ask questions and offer suggestions.

SERVING ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS: The Board of Directors consists of parents from all of our programmes and community members. The Board meets once a month and conducts all business related to the operation of the organization.
We invite parents to serve on the Board of Directors. Elections are held once a year and Board members are voted in for a two-year term by the parents at the Annual General Meeting held in June. It is a great opportunity to serve a worthy cause and no experience is necessary!