YWCA Calgary - Calgary

Our daughter has been attending daycare here since she was 12 months old and is now in the preschool program. I am an educator and early childhood programmer with a MEd, so I speak from experience when I say that the curriculum and approach at the YWCA is world class. Through ongoing professional learning, the staff are constantly growing their knowledge and skills. Their passion for early childhood education is so evident. The children are outdoors and on adventures in the community almost daily (festivals! splash parks! zoo! pet stores! gardens! bug hunts! nature walks! playgrounds! C-train rides--anything the children are interested in, the staff are game to try) When the weather makes it impossible, they are doing yoga, running obstacle courses set up in the classroom by the caregivers, making art, performing theatre, hosting the Library and musicians and magicians and playing, singing and dancing. They have a child-driven philosophy rooted in Reggio and Montessori techniques. I love the diversity of the children and how they are celebrated for their uniqueness. No child is pushed beyond their capability nor is it so crowded that they are ignored. The ratios are great and the children receive a lot of one-on-one attention. The YWCA staff work closely together and make the families and children there feel included in the decision making. The Director is open to feedback and ideas. We chose the YWCA because it was evident on the tour that the caregivers were loving and adored their jobs. Their commitment and loyalty to the YWCA is evidenced by decades of service on the part of some of the caregivers and the hiring of practicum students into full-time positions. The YWCA is their first choice! When a tragedy came to the daycare and the former Director passed away unexpectedly, the staff worked through their own grief to ensure the children noticed no lapse in care, while supporting some of the children and families who were also grieving. The YWCA feels like an integral part of our family and the village that it takes to raise a child. I recommend the YWCA to every new parent I meet because the loving care there helped me feel comfortable with making the choice to leave my baby and go back to work. The icing on the cake is the beautiful new building with all new toys and a purpose built facility based on the needs of small children and the caregivers who work with them. It is bright and beautiful and leading in best practices in education. My child is excited to go everyday and has absolutely blossomed under their care. They even potty trained her when we struggled! What more could you ask for!

Very nice place. Spacious rooms , polite staff .

pretty unimpressed. attempted to get a gym membership here but apparently payment can't be processed online if i want to use a debit card? and nobody is there to take payment after 4pm? Not very helpful or community driven when the only people that could use the gym have to get there between 8am-4pm. Decided to go back to repsol instead.

There is a co-ed gym, conference rooms, daycare, it's a community agency, it offers multiple community programs.

Our kids love this daycare -- and so do we. All the staff members are friendly and welcoming, and they go out of their way to make every day special for the kids. They plan outings to playgrounds and cultural centres, and they invite parents to special celebrations and give lovely scrapbook-style mementos coinciding with kids' milestones. Communication is great, too, which we appreciate. Most importantly, our kids are enthusiastic and chatty at the end of every day they spend there. We couldn't be happier.

Many years ago, I used to stay at this place. I can’t thanks enough to help me. Wonderful staff, I used the gymnasium as well. Thanks so much.

For the most part, most residents are friendly, helpful&caring. Staff&counselors def go above&beyond helping w/permanent, suitable&stable residence&income. Counseling is easily available(financial, personal, mental etc). Pretty much anything you need help with/info-if the immediate staff cant/doesn't know how, then there IS someone close at hand who can, does&will help the best they can!!

Reached out when referred by crisis line. Got an email from Charlene that had zero compassion. Maybe have someone else respond to emails because cold dismissive emails are the exact opposite of safe.