early childhood teacher

éducateur de la petite enfance

early childhood assistant

child care center cook

teacher

BrightPath Kids

this review includes the "peekaboo" locations as well
I have worked at 2 locations over a period of 8 years. 
They pride themselves on quality child care however they definitely deliver poor quality all around. they are more for making a high profit in their pockets rather than investing in their employees and their centres hence why their turnover rate is so high.

they throw you in a room with 24 kids-half of which may have some sort of developmental/ behavioural  needs and then do not provide sufficent support. you were frowned upon/ made to feel guilty every time you have to ask for time off/ call in sick even though you are entitled to time off. ESPECIALLY if you couldn't find a supply to cover your shift. a lot of times i would just show up to work sick because i couldnt find anyone to cover my shift and feared being written up/ scolded by my supervisor who constantly instilled fear in her staff.

good luck if you work in a lower income area, as the parents are rude and disrespectful and act entitled-management does not defend their staff 

they pay is a slap in the face. I am a registered early childhood educator and i made $14.35 as of december 2018. The expectations for such little pay is disgusting. the owners do not care about their staff yet expectations are extremly high 

-program plan on your own time, no allotted planning time given
- $3 budget per child for extra things
-make sure all paper work is filled out on a daily basis or you will get written up
-make sure sanitization is done everyday or you will be written up ( expected to use bleach in the classroom even when children are present) this includes cleaning bathrooms at the end of the day-which can only happen once ratio allows ( often times couldnt get done till end of shift)
-must show up 5 minutes (minimum) early to vacuum carpets and set up room before children come
- have to mop at the end of the night -but cant mop while children are present so most of the time you end up mopping at the end of your shift 
* they fired our custodian who only came in twice a week at lunch time to clean the bathrooms and hallways  so they could save money so now we have to do it

. while full time for 5 years, i qualified for the raise every single year which was usually 33 cents. once i went down to part time for the remainder 3 years they stopped giving me my annual raise. 9 hours/day, lunch is unpaid, 2 1/2 hour staff meetings once a month after 6pm. They constantly make you do mandatory professional development ( usually 8 hours or more that need to be completed on your own time --usually after work or during lunch) yet you could never move up or grow-- which i wouldnt want to do anyways as at my centre, they only paid assistant super. $15 and supervisor $22. 

i could keep going but this is getting too long! everything said in the other reviews are 100% true  DO NOT WORK FOR THIS COMPANY UNLESS YOURE DESPERATE & EVEN THEN CONTINUE LOOKING FOR A JOB WHILE YOURE WORKING HERE

I echo what others have already said:
* head office is clueless about child care and don't care to learn. They frequently cut corners and break ministry regulations (and try to get staff to break them too).

* the company is only worried about money and pleasing 
shareholders and this takes precedence over everything, including the safety and health of the children (i.e. force staff to leave for the day even if it means classrooms are significantly over ratio, don't order enough servings of food for each child; allow construction workers in and out of building without vetting them, etc.)

*they rarely provide new equipment or supplies and when they do it's low quality and not developmentally appropriate

* i was encouraged to lie to prospective parents on tours - for instance to tell them we were so full that they needed to take a space months earlier than they needed and start paying right away even when there were several spaces available and one could be held. I never actually lied to parents but my director frequently did and I found this completely amoral. 

* staff is treated like dirt - low pay, having to justify every minute of overtime (being in ratio didn't count apparently), being "trained" by people who aren't even ECEs and don't even know the regulations in Ontario, payroll always screwing up, no proper communication from management, never receiving my overtime pay, etc. 

I could go on and on about the terrible experiences and things I witnessed at this company. In fact, I reported them to the ministry 3 times while working there and they received citations.  I would never encourage someone to work for these people. It actually was the impetus for me to change careers. I truly feel for employees and families who are duped into business with this place. There may be wonderful people who work in the centres (i know I had some fabulous colleagues) but the company overall is unethical, treats staff (and families) very poorly and does not provide quality child care or a positive place to work. I  cannot state this strongly enough.

Title: A Toxic, Unsupportive Environment—Proceed with Caution Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

I joined Brightpath hoping for a supportive team and professional growth, but instead found a culture that mistreats educators and directors alike. From day one, I noticed a distinct lack of leadership support: concerns about workload, classroom challenges, and interpersonal conflicts were routinely dismissed or ignored.

Bullying Among Staff Rather than address unprofessional behavior, management allowed certain employees to intimidate and belittle their peers. Witnessing colleagues target one another—sometimes in front of children—was disheartening. When these incidents were reported, no corrective action was taken, and the toxicity only escalated.

Mental Health Neglected Under mounting stress, I ultimately suffered a severe nervous breakdown. I reached out for help, hoping Brightpath’s leadership would step in with compassion or reasonable accommodations. Instead, I was met with indifference. The very individuals whose conduct contributed to my collapse were later promoted—evidence, it seems, that accountability simply doesn’t exist here.

Head Office Silence Desperate for resolution, I escalated multiple complaints to head office. Every message was met with radio silence. No follow-up, no plan of action, no acknowledgment—only the lingering frustration that management values loyalty to problem-makers more than the well-being of their staff.

Final Thoughts Brightpath’s marketing promises a “family atmosphere” and “professional development.” In my experience, those are empty slogans. If you care about being treated with respect, having your concerns heard, and working in a safe environment, look elsewhere. Brightpath’s leadership has made it clear: staff welfare is not their priority.

The only benefit is that you learn a lot in a short period of time. Why? well because you're meant to do five jobs all at once. Once someone leaves you are given their job tasks. Your tasks are also there but you also have other people's tasks. No wage increase, no title change. Management is very manipulative and encourages talking bad about coworkers. I feel as though they also do not know anything about what is actually going on. Day to day tasks are unfamiliar to them and they will ask questions that will confuse you. I once stayed for 12 hours, 3 days straight. I wasn't applauded or even recognized for the extra work I was putting in rather I was questioned as to why some of my tasks were not fully complete. 

Also while I was there, there was a constant talk about how the CEO was just awful. People would whisper about how everything should be perfect or else she would get angry. There wasn't any positive talk about the CEO from all levels. Everyone would talk about how she was a pain to work with, and people would avoid interacting with her. Initially I didn't understand as to why this was. All my meetings with her with generally positive. I later understood. She went through 3 executive assistants in the span of 3 months. The fear that she imposed on her upper management team trickled down to lower employees. Basic improvements to processes were discouraged because upper management didn't understand it and would have a tough time explaining it to the CEO. She would stress and get involved in minor matters. This constant micromanaging and meddling would bring the office environment down. 

I really enjoyed working at Brightpath. I saw myself working there for years. I learned a lot. I left because the environment was very toxic at the end. The company was just one big blame game.

This place is everything terrible about working for a large corporation. They preach to customers that they offer all the best in child care, but beneath the curtain they only care about making the most amount of money possible. This translates to practically caring more about having the minimum amount of staff needed to meet ratio and nothing more ever, making it intensely difficult for directors to ensure the quality of care is meeting standards because they are being forced to align themselves with this priority. Upper management seems to be in place only to seldom appear on site, intimidate talented educators, then leave. 
Brightpath is constantly piling more programs and responsibilities on staff and the demands become harder to meet, especially with the issues with minimal staffing. If you expect a competitive wage, keep looking. They will offer you pennies more than a job with much less stress and demands, and will continuously dodge any questions about cost of living increases or adjustments if minimum wage is increasing. Policies are designed to make you feel insignificant, and are becoming increasingly rigid. Prepare to be disciplined if you wear pants that are grey rather than black, or if you dare have a body type that makes it difficult to find loose fitting clothing. You could be the best educator, but heaven forbid the curve of your upper thigh or buttocks not be hiding behind pants shaped like a garbage bag. 
In essence, you will rarely if ever receive positive feedback, you may feel body shamed, you will not be paid fairly, the curriculum demands are impossible to complete over the course of a day, and your hours will be long. 
Just don’t.

I have started working for peekaboo in barrie from 2012 I was a full time Teacher in the infant room and My manager at the time was very amazing She had a heart of gold and treated her staff with the up most respect.in fact when I left to transfer to the trowers woodbridge llocation her exact words to me were you can call me at any time day or night .I worked for the trowers location in toddler room and then in preschool teacher and then it became brightpath and the managment there were beyond horrible Example  i was having a hard day with a child that was very emotional and kicking and screaming and i never ask for help but at this day i needed some help with this child and i asked the manger as she was waking by to please can you take him and she replied to me no .i was in tears i could not  beleive it ,not only did she not help me but she always treated me with disrespect  .They had their favourite and played very unfair with staff  and they also had some incidents that they turned a blind eye but when it was little things they made them into a big issue if it was a staf they did not like .The company is not a good place to work i love the children and the parents were amazing I was there 7 years and one day they just called me into the office and said hey your not needed anymore it shortage of work meanwhile they hired 4 new people just a month earlier yes they are cruel heartless people .Peekaboo was taken over by Brightpath and its very sad becasue the owner of peekaboo was the most kind hearted person you would ever know and i had both of her children in my infant work when i worked at peekaboo in Barrie ......

- If you're feeling unhappy and unappreciated at work, it's okay to leave. I left my previous job for that very reason. But don't worry, it's also okay to lend a helping hand when you can. Just make sure you're not being taken advantage of, okay?

- Although I loved spending time with the kids, my relationship with the staff and management is not ideal. I would appreciate an opportunity to discuss this matter and work towards a positive and productive environment for everyone involved. 

- Dress code policy at this workplace. It can be a bit confusing at times, especially when it comes to what we wear. While the kids love to see us in colorful clothing, most of us prefer to wear professional and colorful clothes instead of just black and white. However, there are times when we get blamed for not wearing professional clothes, especially when we wear sweatpants or clothes with logos on them. It seems that the policy of this BrightPath only considers black and white clothes as professional, which can be frustrating and not always make sense to us.

- When you are sick while working at the centre, the director will ask you to come to work within a few hours if the staff-to-children ratio is good. However, if there are no extra staff available, they try to balance the ratio and let you go home. One day, I was extremely ill and could barely walk, but I still had to go to work at 8 hrs. It was very difficult for me to go through the day, as I was too tired to talk with anyone. All I wanted was to go home and rest.

Working at BrightPath was a challenging experience due to poor management and workplace favoritism. While the job itself provided valuable experience and access to a helpful learning portal, the leadership created a toxic environment. Managers formed tight-knit groups, ignored concerns, and rejected constructive feedback. Gossip and unfair treatment were common, and employees who didn’t engage in favoritism were often dismissed. My time-off request, submitted per policy, was denied without reason, and when I explained my family obligation, a manager condescendingly remarked that she had stayed home with her children until they were grown. Upper management provided no support, and unethical behavior such as withholding a gift card meant for me was overlooked. Performance evaluations were either delayed or never received. While I enjoyed working with children and supportive coworkers, the overall experience was frustrating and unprofessional. Until management improves, I wouldn’t recommend working here.

Two weeks into a new job as an admin and was told that I had to be let go because I was not working hard enough to BrightPath standards. I was also told that I was not asking the right questions, hence why I was not able to complete any task given to me as an admin. I find it unjust that being hired as an admin, I should not be asked to cover in classrooms, certified or not. If I am covering your classrooms staff for break and planning ect, how do you expect me to complete my tasks for the day? I was expected to know company policies and standards upon hire and was not even given a chance to maybe see how I do the following month, if I still was not upto "standard" as a  admin, I get it, let me go, but not after 2 weeks into a job you are not even properly training me for. 

I was just used and was paid a low wage, I should have left the first week in, as soon as I started being asked to do jobs other than what I was hired for. I know how daycare companies and directors work, get what you can out of your staff at the lowest cost possible. What would the center have done if I was not level 3 certified and was not allowed to be in ratios? How would you have solved your staff and child ratio issues on a day to day basis then if I was not there to help? 

Very upsetting and unfair, but hey, I will find something better. It was not meant to be, that's fine.

BrightPath kids Company shines as a beacon of excellence in the professional landscape. A typical day at work at is characterized by a blend of enjoying with kids with learning while play. From morning activities to individual project work, each day offers opportunities for learning and growth. I've learned the importance of effective communication, time management, and adaptability in navigating various challenges and seizing opportunities.
Management at BrightPath is exemplary, with clear direction, support, and encouragement from the director and assistant director. Their leadership fosters a culture of transparency, accountability, and innovation.
The workplace culture at BrightPath is inclusive, supportive, and collaborative. Team members are valued for their unique contributions, and mutual respect prevails.
The hardest part of the job may be managing high expectations while maintaining quality and accuracy. However, it's also the most rewarding aspect, as it pushes me to stretch my capabilities and achieve new heights.
The most enjoyable part of the job is seeing children cute faces and answering their curiosity questions,collaborating with talented colleagues, celebrating successes, and witnessing the impact of our collective efforts on the company's growth and success.



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