In a nutshell…
Explore It! Instructor Standards Include:
- Instructors who have clear and definite passions for the subject areas they teach – many are graduate students, certified teachers or professionals in their fields.
- Comprehensive training and support for all Instructors (including age appropriate program planning, managing challenging behaviour and risk management).
- Up to date, background and Vulnerable Sectors Checks for all Instructors.
- Independent insurance coverage for $5,000,000
Explore It! Program Participants:
- Are welcomed and made to feel safe and secure;
- Are encouraged to have fun, to learn, to experience new things, and to be creative, co-operative and confident;
- Develop a sense of independence, maturity, and leadership;
- Understand the importance of teamwork; and
- Are integrated into activities regardless of race, gender or culture.
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Common Q&A for Parents:
Q: My child goes to the school’s daycare. Will the daycare staff pick him/her up after class?
A: Many of our students are also enrolled in the school’s daycare program. We work with the school and the daycare to follow their procedures while ensuring the safety of students in our programs. After our class, Explore It! instructors typically will walk with JK, SK and Grade 1 students.
Q: My child is Grade 1. I’m worried about him/her walking through the halls after school alone.
A: Just as regular classes are ending, Explore It! staff normally pick up students in JK, SK and Grade 1 from their regular classrooms and aftercare. We walk with them to the designated program classroom to ensure that all of the younger students are accounted for. We take attendance at every class. You can request that we pick up a students of any age, however, we find that students in Grades 2 and up are comfortable moving through the school on their own. At the end of each class, we follow the procedure agreed upon with the school and students are dismissed to a parent (or other adult specified by parents) or the daycare. Each child is accounted for when arriving to the class as well as upon dismissal.
Q: Who teaches the programs?
A: Explore It! programs are taught by responsible and professional instructors who have backgrounds in the areas they teach. Each of our instructors goes through our training program and is supported by our dedicated team of supervisors. As well, for the safety of the students, each instructor undergoes a criminal background check. You can see many instructor bios on our website under the “Who We Are” section.
Q: What are your standard terms and conditions?
A: We have similar policies to other child-centric organizations and are focused on child safety. Please click on the big ” terms and conditions” link below for details.
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Common Q&A for Administrators:
Q: The students in our school come from very diverse socio-economic backgrounds. Can we ensure that any student wanting to participate can?
A: We discretely offer bursaries for those students who are eager to participate but whose families may not be able to afford the programs. Full and partial bursaries are available depending on course enrollment.
Q: Do you have insurance?
A: Yes. Explore It! has insurance coverage for $5,000,000. We are happy to provide you with a certificate naming the school or school board as additionally insured.
Q: Do you have the necessary permissions to offer programs in public schools?
A: Yes. Explore It! is fully compliant with the requirements of the Ministry of Education and with boards such as the Toronto District School Board.
Q: How will you know what courses to offer in our school?
A: Every school is different. Courses that work in one school may not work in another. There are several ways to gauge interest in our programs. We are happy to discuss appropriate programming with you and your parent council, or administrators can simply decide which programs they feel the students would benefit most from. The decision is yours.
Q: These programs look great! What do we do now?
A: Give us a call at 416. 417. 0477 or [email] to discuss how we can implement our programs in your school.
We look forward to speaking with you!