About Us
Our History
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The Friendly Port Childcare Centre was established in 2018 at the Union Bay Community Hall offering care to 16 children ages 3-5 years. We took ownership of the facility in 2019 and began working on expanding our program to offer spaces to infants and toddlers which we achieved with the support from the Union Bay Community Club and the Comox Valley Regional District in January 2021 with an Infant Toddler space built to accommodate 8 children 0-36 months. In the spring of 2025, due to an ongoing shortage of qualified Early Childhood Educators here in the Comox Valley, we amended our license to provide a multi-age program in place of our Infant Toddler program so we could continue to offer much needed care. We look forward to many years of providing high-quality care to the children and families in our centre.
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Acknowledgement
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The Friendly Port Childcare Centre respectfully acknowledges that we live and work on the Unceded Traditional Territory of the K’ómoks First Nation. As settlers to this land, we recognize the importance of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and commit to the important work of reconciliation and decolonization through continual education and reflection and using these to guide us in the work we do caring for all children and families who participate in our programs.
In accordance with Article 29 (d) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, we further acknowledge that it is our responsibility to provide care and education in, “the preparation of the child for responsible life in a free society, in the spirit of understanding, peace, tolerance, equality of sexes, and friendship among all peoples, ethnic, national and religious groups and persons of indigenous origin.”
Mission Statement
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Our mission is to provide highest quality, inclusive childcare to families in the Comox Valley. Our centre focuses on the whole child and acts as an extension of the families we serve. We offer an early care and learning environment that provides children continuous opportunities for optimal physical, cognitive, emotional, and social growth. These opportunities reflect the needs and interests of all children within the group and are provided in a safe and nurturing environment that fosters healthy relationships between children, families, and Early Childhood Educators and caregivers.
Philosophy
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At the Friendly Port Childcare Centre, we believe that providing and modeling care to children and their families is of critical importance. We center our philosophy on the work of Carol Garboden Murray in her book Illuminating Care: The Pedagogy and Practice of Care and that of Dr. Jean Clinton which can be found in her book titled Love Builds Brains. Our team has participated in several workshops on the Circle of Security and we include the key concepts of this training in our team reflections and daily practice. We believe that care is education and that it is our duty to provide an environment that engages the children in our care and promotes the belief that children are capable, competent, and inherently motivated to learn. Our role as caregivers and educators is to care for, support, and nurture children as they explore this environment, giving them ample space and time to play freely while welcoming their coming to us. We believe that it is our duty to provide inclusive care that acknowledges each child’s unique combination of strengths, interests, and needs. We also recognize the immense importance of family in a child’s life and we believe that it is essential for early child care professionals to work in harmony with families, respecting and valuing their cultural and linguistic identities and welcoming their involvement in our early learning programs.
Inclusion
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The Friendly Port Childcare is committed to providing inclusive, culturally safe care for all children regardless of abilities, needs, gender, race, ethnic origin, cultural identity, and economic status. We strive to provide an environment that allows all children and families to meaningfully participate in all areas of our program and feel a sense of safety and belonging.
To assist in maintaining this standard of care, we make every reasonable effort to reduce and remove barriers to access, participation and care such as modifying the physical environment, including, but not limited to the following: providing wheelchair access to and within play areas (indoors and outside) and washrooms, improving access to toilets and sinks, and creating areas for movement as well as calming/quiet spaces using softer lighting and soundproofing. We strive to ensure that each child feels a sense of belonging in our program by respectfully adding elements (books, play materials, visual displays, etc.) reflective of the diverse identities of the children and families we serve.
We also support families in accessing our care by participating in the government’s Child Care Fee Reduction Program and the Affordable Child Care Benefit both of which reduce parent fees. We make our best effort to ensure our hours of operation align with community needs.
We maintain close communication with the Comox Valley Child Development Association (CVCDA), allowing us to access resources and program support as well as connect families that have children with support needs to the CVCDA. We welcome a variety of community service providers as needed and respectfully collaborate with them to develop individual care plans and provide coordinated and complimentary care.
All caregivers and educators in our program are asked to review the British Columbia Inclusive Child Care Tool Kit as well as our centre’s inclusion policy upon hiring and annually thereafter and are continually engaged in further training/education and reflective practices to ensure that we are upholding and modelling inclusion and inclusive child care practices.
Discrimination, harassment, or abuse of any kind is not tolerated at our centre. Persons engaging in such behaviour will be required to leave the centre immediately.