Brown Bear Daycare

Our child spent her whole daycare journey at BrownBear and we all loved it! Then environment is a really nice blend of a home daycare feel with the structure and education of a daycare centre. Our child loved everyday and truly blossomed and was more than prepared for JK. We felt they were cared for everyday. Staff and management are very approachable and open. Our child was also here for the COVID craziness and the safety protocols and clear communication were so comforting and logical.

After working here for a few months at first it seemed like an amazing family like place to work but things quickly took a turn when during my short month and a half here over 4 staff either quit or were fired with little to no explanation. When being “fired” staff would be handed a letter by the owner told to read it and leave. The owner of this “daycare” isn’t a strong leader and holds staff meetings calling out other staff members by name to berate them. I haven’t met one ECE who enjoyed their time working here. Ratios were not followed at rest time due to being short staffed and ratios were not followed outside as staff would leave 10 toddlers alone with one staff member so they can use the washroom. Ratio for toddlers is 1:5. Staff would spend so much time messaging on the work group chat while they were spoused to be working and would spend 90 percent of the time updating hi mama and not watching the children. The main priority at a child care centre/ daycare should always be to put the children first, I unfortunately didn’t see this take place at all. In my short time I saw them lose many loyal staff members that had been there for years due to them noticing the lack of care and overall drama with staff and the owner.

Our son loves his teachers. They provide great care for him.

Initially, I was very happy but over time issues became apparent. I was perfectly happy with the frontline staff, but I have had issues when dealing with the owner and how she communicates when issues are raised. I noticed that there was a lot of staffing changes/turnover without communication, explanation or warning. My child attends elsewhere now. My last review mysteriously disappeared.