Westcoast Wave Newsletter - June 2026
Welcome to the June 2026 Newsletter!
As we welcome the warmer days and fresh energy of June, we’re excited to share this month’s highlights from across our Westcoast community. This edition brings together opportunities for learning and connection—from professional development through the EYPD Portal and Westcoast workshops, to stories of our library advisors engaging with the broader early childhood education community at recent conferences.
We’re also spotlighting resources that support both educators and families, including the Feelings First campaign, which encourages reflection on social and emotional development and strengthens connections between home and learning environments. In addition, you’ll find updates from government on important policy changes and upcoming requirements for child care providers.
As the city comes alive with the FIFA World Cup activities this month, we encourage you to plan and be mindful of potential road closures that may impact travel to and from your centre, and to help keep families informed.
With warmer weather approaching, we also encourage extra attention to seasonal safety considerations to help keep children safe and well.
As always, thank you for being part of this work. We hope this month’s newsletter informs, inspires, and supports you in your ongoing efforts with children, families, and communities.
Regards
The WCCRC Team
BC's Path to Universal Child Care Podcast
Help us spread the word about our podcast, BC’s Path to Universal Child Care, and become a listener if you are not one already. Listen now to this month's episode of BC's Path to Universal Child Care Podcast which is Season 5, Episode 8: Summer Break.
Child care and early childhood education in BC continue to evolve, and we’re here to help you stay informed. Each edition, we gather insights and timely updates for families, early years educators, ECE students and service providers. We invite you to listen together with colleagues and share your own experiences and perspectives as part of this ongoing conversation.
Give our podcast episodes a listen as we enter the summer break season (with a return to season 6 in September), wherever you get your podcasts, and on our website under News & Articles.
Westcoast Training
Early Years Professional Development Portal
Do you know about the Early Years Professional Development Portal?
The EYPD Portal is a collection of professional development opportunities offered by all the Child Care Resource and Referral locations in BC. You can see which workshops are available online or in person near you from their calendar, and there is also a job board for open positions in the ECE field throughout BC. Just sign in or create an account on the EYPD Portal to find a workshop or course that interests you.
Professional Development Courses
Looking for a way to stay engaged with your peers and learn new skills? Check out the professional development courses happening at Westcoast!
Our courses and workshops support the implementation of the BC Early Learning Framework, Schedule G of the BC Child Care Licensing Regulation and the Early Childhood Educators of BC Code of Ethics.
Create a free WCCRC account to register for our courses, workshops, access certificates and view your transaction receipts. Sign in or create a free WCCRC account to get started.
To view previous and upcoming workshops, visit our calendar page. Before registering, check out our Workshop FAQ's, Policies and Online Workshop Basics.
ExchangeEveryDay
An ExchangeEveryDay article released on May 1st, 2026 titled What if Self-Care Became a Respected Leadership Skill? explores wonderings by author Heather V. McArthur by posing the question, "What if a demonstrated level of self-care was viewed as a requirement for the job?", highlighted in a Forbes article posted last year. This sets out a provocation for us to think about the role of early childhood educators as leaders and about leading by example.
💥Also, our podcast BC's Path to Universal Child Care Podcast Season 5, Episode 7 with Nicky Byres was featured in the ExchangeEveryDay newsletter in an article called ‘A Glimpse into Universal Child Care in Canada’. Listen to the podcast on our website and wherever you listen.
Subscribe to ExchangeEveryDay to receive inspiring articles straight to your inbox and become part of the exchange of ideas among leaders in early childhood programs worldwide.
Westcoast Family Centres offers engaging workshops and groups that provide resources for parents and families in the Lower Mainland. Our programs range from parent education to parent support groups to activity programs for children. Our evidence-based programs and workshops are focused on strengthening your connection with your child and family, and foster connections with other families in your community.
Learn more about our upcoming groups offered this Spring on our events calendar, from Empowering Mom's Group in Farsi, Successful Co-Parenting, and other drop-in programs such as Baby & Me, Power of Play, Little Explorers and more!
WELL News
WELL & CCRC Representation at Local Conferences
Our ECE library advisors had the opportunity to help represent the Westcoast CCRC and the WELL at a couple of conferences, one at Capilano University (theme: “Unruly Childhoods”). Untethering Praxis”), and at ECEBC Conference (theme: “Kinship: Inspire, Uplift”), along with other members of the WCCRC. It was a great experience for our library advisors to practice their outreach skills, and to get to meet and network with their peers in the world of early childhood education, as well as of course getting to proudly showcase some of the materials available at the WELL. On our table, you can spot some resources from our loose parts emporium, as well as a couple of books.
This time we featured “Circle of Love,” by Monique Gray Smith, “My Family, Your Family,” by Lisa Bullard, and “Mommy, Mama, and Me,” by Leslea Newman. And if you’ve ever wondered how you could support the library, we now have a wish list you can access to donate resources!
Support our library!
The WELL has a wish list! Support our library by helping us grow our collection. Scan this QR code to purchase items for our WELL for everyone to enjoy.
Support our library!
The WELL has a wish list! Support our library by helping us grow our collection. Scan this QR code to purchase items for our WELL for everyone to enjoy.
For Parents & Guardians
Feelings First Campaign
Feelings First is a campaign to introduce important concepts around Social and Emotional Development in the early years, to parents and caregivers across British Columbia. It is brought to you by the BC Healthy Child Development Alliance – a partnership of organizations that share a common interest in supporting healthy child development in the province. We encourage you to learn more about the many organizations that are here to support you and contact us with any questions you may have. We are all in this together. Feelings First
Invitation to Educators
We invite educators to share this resource with parents and caregivers as a meaningful way to strengthen the connection between home and learning environments. By introducing families to Chapter 1: The Inner World of the Parent, you can help them reflect on the importance of being present, practicing self-care, and creating calming routines that support both their well-being and their child’s development.
Encouraging parents to engage with this material fosters a shared understanding and partnership, empowering families and educators to work together in nurturing confident, resilient children. Here is where they can sign up to get started Sign Up - Feelings First
Community Partner News
FIFA 2026
Don’t forget that the City will be a buzz this month with Fifa World Cup activities. Make sure to be aware of and inform parents of any road closures that may impact them coming and going to your centre. You can find information here about road closures. Additionally, the Fifa Fan Festival has lots of free and accessible activities for all.
Warm Weather Safety
During the summer months, BC Children’s Hospital typically records an increase in children and youth presenting to the emergency department with warm-weather related injuries.
Here are some tips for parents and caregivers to keep infants, children, and youth safe during warm weather. We remind families and caregivers to be particularly cautious near windows and balconies, and bodies of water. For more information on keeping children safe in the heat and sun, visit Warm Weather Safety | BC Children's Hospital and Sun safety for children | HealthLink BC
Government News
Amendments to the Child Care Ministerial Order
The Child Care Ministerial Order sets the requirements for what public boards of education must include in their child care policies. The order has been removed and replaced with an updated version. Boards are now required to update their child care policies to include an annual process for identifying available space in elementary schools in their district to determine when and how space could be used for new or expanded child care programs. Boards are also required to engage with Indigenous Education Councils, in addition to board employees, families, and child care providers, when considering changes to child care on school grounds. This is part of the ministry's effort to work with our partners to use every tool in the toolbox to expand access to child care for families and fill a gap in before- and after-school care throughout the province.
ChildCare BC - Survey
Public engagement now open to gather input on the future of child care in B.C.
Since the launch of ChildCareBC in 2018, families have seen substantially lower fees, more spaces, and a bigger workforce in the sector with the newest social program in B.C. in a generation. The Province is continuing to build on this progress and is seeking input to guide the future of child care in B.C.
The provincial government has launched a survey to hear directly from families, early childhood educators and child care operators about their experiences.
This survey is voluntary and is separate from the ongoing mandatory Provider Profile Survey.
The survey can be found at gov.bc.ca/childcaresurvey. Please feel free to share the survey poster with your networks.
2026-27 Provider Profile Survey
The 2026-27 Provider Profile Survey is now open. Information from the survey helps the ministry track child care trends in B.C. and helps inform future policy and program development.
Child care providers will receive an email with a link and instructions on how to complete the survey.
Please note the survey is a mandatory, annual data-gathering survey entirely separate from regular monthly reporting as well as broader surveys supporting engagement on ChildCareBC. The deadline to complete the survey is June 30, 2026.