MURFAT Home Child Care Licensed Agency Provides  quality child care Programs for children from infancy to 12 years.

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We offer unlimited child care spaces in areas throughout the City of Ottawa both private and subsidized spaces are available upon approval by the City of Ottawa. It gives the parents the benefits of their child being in a family atmosphere and individual attention, combined with legislated standards for quality and safety. Our program is licensed by the Ontario Ministry of Education and governed by the Child Care and Early Year’s Act.

In alignment with the Minister of Education’s Policy Statement on Programming and Pedagogy, Murfat home child care  Programs are guided by “How Does Learning Happen”, Ontario’s Pedagogy for the Early Years and by “Early Learning for Every Child Today (ELECT).

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Program Statement​

MURFAT Home Child Care program views children as competent, capable of complex thinking, curious and rich in potential. We strive to ensure all children receive quality child care which promotes healthy, social, emotional, cognitive and physical development. We do this by:

 

Assisting parents in choosing care for their children in a supervised home environment that respects all cultures and family values.

Established by:

• Valuing diversity and inclusion across the program

• Asking parents questions about values and beliefs

• Sharing information about the caregiver with the parent

• Promoting strong partnerships between the parent and caregiver

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Supporting and endorsing positive and supportive learning environments in a home based setting which fosters children’s exploration, play and inquiry.

Established by:

• Monthly observations at home visits to caregiver homes

• Providing training opportunities and other resources to home visitors and caregivers

• Providing pedagogical leadership to caregivers to arrange their homes as supportive learning environments

 

Encouraging an active partnership between parents, caregivers, children and our program through positive and responsive interactions.

Established by:

• Promoting collaboration between parents, caregivers, children and home visitors

• Promoting collaborative relationships between home visitors and caregivers during home visits and other contacts

• Home visitors available daily for consultation, developing and maintaining positive working relationships

 

Identifying children’s individual needs and strengths and assisting families in accessing community resources.

Established by:

• Seeking ongoing information from the parent and caregiver

• Daily child observations by caregivers, monthly observations by home visitors

       Assisting parents, caregivers and children to access community resources as

      needed

• Promoting and supporting a scaffolding approach to children’s learning where children become more independent as they develop new skills

 

Involving local community partners when appropriate and allow these partners to support children, families and our agency.

Established by:

• Conducting referrals to other agencies as needed in consultation with the parent and caregiver

• Conducting case conferences to foster support

• Organizing joint events with libraries, community centers and other agencies

• Planning and organizing playgroups to encourage caregiver networking and supportive learning environments

 

Encouraging children to interact and communicate in a positive way and supporting their ability to self regulate.

Established by:

• Home visitors and caregivers engaging children in conversations that encourage them to understand their feelings

• Home visitors and caregivers engaging children in problem solving

• Sharing resources about positive communication and self-regulation with caregivers, parents and children

• Promoting a safe environment to engage children in reflective learning

 

Providing indoor and outdoor play as well as active play, rest and quiet time through a blend of child initiated and adult supported experiences.

Established by:

• Caregivers utilizing outdoor spaces daily (e.g. backyards, parks, walks, trails)

• Providing a balance of active play, rest and quiet time

• Engaging children in the planning of activities

• Home visitors exploring options with caregivers to fully utilize their unique home child care space

 

Offering resources and providing consultation to caregivers in child development, behaviour guidance, nutrition, health, safety and other child related topics.

Established by:

• Home visitors reviewing these items with caregivers during monthly visits to their home

• Offering workshops and resources on these topics to both home visitors and caregivers

• Referring caregivers, parents and children to other agencies as needed

 

Facilitating and encouraging continuous professional learning amongst Home Child caregivers and staff.

Established by:

• Encouraging continuous professional learning for home visitors and caregivers, promoting ongoing self reflection

• Providing conferences, workshops and resources for home visitors and caregivers

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Seeking ongoing communication with parents about their children and the program, looking to incorporate feedback into future planning.

 

Established by:

• Caregivers and home visitors communicating with parents on a regular basis regarding their children

• Seeking feedback from parents through conversations and surveys

• Using parent feedback in future planning of the program

 

Supporting caregivers to ensure that they continue to meet Home Child Care policies and the Child Care and Early Years Act.

Established by:

• Ongoing communication between home visitors and caregivers to confirm they understand requirements

• Monthly visits to homes to document compliance

• Quarterly house inspections completed to ensure further compliance

• Developing policies that support children, parents and caregivers

 

This Program Statement is reviewed annually by MURFAT Home Child Care. When reviewing the Program Statement, we take into consideration feedback from parents, caregivers and home visitors. This feedback is received both formally (e.g. surveys) and informally through conversations and observations.

 

PROHIBITED PRACTICES

MURFAT HOME CHILD CARE wants to ensure each child has a safe and positive experience that promotes their healthy growth and development. Home visitors will observe caregiver interactions with children ensuring that they align with our program statement and beliefs in adult-child interactions. The following practices are prohibited at all times in

 

our caregiver’s homes:

• corporal punishment of the child

• physical restraint of the child, such as confining the child to a high chair, car seat, stroller or other device for the purposes of discipline or in lieu of supervision, unless the physical restraint is for the purpose of preventing a child from hurting himself, herself or someone else, and is used only as a last resort and only until the risk of injury is no longer imminent

• locking the exits of the home child care premises for the purpose of confining the child, or confining the child in an area without adult supervision, unless such confinement occurs during an emergency and is required as part of the licensee’s emergency management policies and procedures

• use of harsh or degrading measures or threats or use of derogatory language directed at or used in the presence of a child that would humiliate, shame or frighten the child or undermine his or her self-respect, dignity or self-worth

• depriving the child of basic needs including food, drink, shelter, sleep, toilet use, clothing or bedding; or

• inflicting any bodily harm on children including making children eat or drink against their will.

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Program Philosophy

All MURFAT Home Child Care  programs share a philosophy that is supportive of the right of every child and family to receive the highest quality of early learning and care that we can offer. Families know that we are committed to providing a high quality, multicultural, inclusive, early learning program for all children, in a nurturing environment that is respectful of each individual child’s needs.  

Through play, children learn how to learn. Our programs offer a child-focused curriculum where our teaching teams and children work together to expand and develop a wide range of skills and competencies based on the emergent curriculum philosophy which builds upon the interests of the children. It is often spontaneous and responsive to their immediate interests; topics are driven by the ideas and questions from the children themselves. 

We offer opportunities for growth and development in every area, while recognizing that each child is a unique individual. Parents are an integral part of our inclusive philosophy and we encourage families to be involved in the program as much as possible.