LAMPMAN — A committee looking to bring a new daycare facility to Lampman recently received some encouraging news.
In a news release, the Little Leaper's Early Learning Centre said that in conjunction with the Government of Saskatchewan's list of approved new child-care facilities and expansions, the board for the learning centre has been given the green light for the start of a new 30-space child-care facility in Lampman.
Little Leaper's will be a non-profit, government-subsidized early child-care facility to serve Lampman, the RM of Browning and nearby areas.
Chairwoman Jodi Werner said they first started discussing the concept in the spring of 2022. An initial survey was completed to see if there was sufficient need in the community. The questionnaire was put together by a couple of members of the community and the family centre in Lampman.
"From the results, it was deemed that there was a need for child-care spaces in the town, including surrounding rurals," said Werner.
A lot of people are looking for child care in the area so they can go back to work. After the initial survey, a meeting was held in the community so anybody could attend and get some more information. Little Leaper's initial board was formed stemming from that meeting.
"We still do have an ongoing list of people who are interested in it, and I only anticipate further interest as we get more and more announcements out to the community," said Werner. "Up until now, we were just working on getting our proposals submitted to the government in order to get approved.
"Now that we've been approved, we can do more community engagement, and I feel that we'll definitely have a lot more involvement as we go along, once we start engaging more with the community."
A second community needs assessment was completed to submit the application to the government, and it again showed people were interested and in need.
"There are a lot of young families in Lampman and the surrounding rurals that will utilize the space," said Werner.
She has no doubt the childcare centre will fill the 30 spaces.
Little Leaper's is independent of the family centre, she said, but the family centre organized the initial survey along with the members of the town council.
Werner stressed they are still in the initial stages of this project and they have a lot to do before they can open. They have moved on to the next task, which is selecting a location. They are working with the Town of Lampman to help determine a suitable spot.
"That's just the first step. There are lots of steps. There's securing the building, there's getting the staff, but those are all further down the road. Our main focus right now is nailing down that location so we can continue with other items," said Werner.
An ideal site would be easily accessible for parents when they drop off their kids. It would also be large enough to accommodate the kids and offer an outdoor play area. The board met regularly to get its application to the provincial government for approval.
Little Leapers hopes to be done before the end of March 2025.
Werner noted that the centre's name pays homage to a piece of the town's history. A brainstorming session was held at a board meeting, and one person suggested naming the facility after Lampman's leapfrog champions from many years ago. There is a sign in the town that notes the community's achievement.
