surveillant du service alimentaire

cuisinier

éducateur de la petite enfance

administrateur de bureau

teneur de livres

KIDS & COMPANY

I'm an ECA who's been working within the company for over a year with the chance to be able to work at different locations. I have to say I adore the kids and love being able to bring joy to their lives because that is our main goal as daycare teachers.

When it comes to the job itself it begins as a fun experience but when you learn more about what happens here it can get a bit messy. I understand this is a large company but I wish there was more action being taken to hear the voices of staff members and even children. One of the few issues I have seen prevalent within the company and the few locations I have been at is the behaviours of Head Office and lack of action from either the Director or Head Office itself. I have been a witness to conflicts happening within the locations I've been to and when the Director and Head office is informed about it, it gets brushed off. 

Another thing to be aware of if you decide to work here is that if you want to take a sick day you are threatened to be "written up". Just a few days ago when so many staff members were severely sick, but we were no longer allowed to take a sick day for that certain day. This might not happen frequently but still be aware of it since it does happen.

The Company also shows no regard for a healthy work-life balance for its staff members. Unlike other daycares, this daycare does not implement any type of late fee for parents that pick up their children late. With the lack of proper pay or care for our after-work lives, it's becoming harder to want to work for this company.

There has also been issues with informing Head Office about situation of children but nothing was done. It is very problematic when a childcare place doesn't do anything to help a child that clearly needs help.

It's sad to see due to all these problems piling up on each other, we end up having staff members leaving the job every few months. 

I wish this Company would pay more attention to its staff the same way it is paying attention to its reputation in front of parents and families. With staff members having a decline of healthy mental health and risk of barely being able to put food on the table, Kids and Company is losing a lot of staff. 

I have already written an email to Kids & Company HR but I decided to write here as well since I received no response. Kids & Company, please take action now. You claim that the actions you hear about in the reviews are not aligning with your policy but when Head Office is acting this way and Kids & Company is the one that appointed them the position, this company is hard to trust.

Kids & Company if we will not receive the help we need, at least help the children that need help. 


My experience working at Kids & Company has been quite disappointing for several reasons:Poor Management,Inadequate Training,High Staff Turnover,Understaffed,Low Compensation,Lack of Resources,Unpredictable Scheduling,Unhealthy Work Environment

The management team is disorganized and lacks effective leadership. Communication is poor, and there is little to no support or guidance from the supervisors. This creates a chaotic and stressful work environment. New employees receive minimal training, which leaves them unprepared for their roles. The lack of a structured training program results in confusion and mistakes that could have been avoided with proper guidance. The high turnover rate is a clear indication of the dissatisfaction among employees. The constant change in staff makes it difficult to build a cohesive team and affects the quality of care provided to the children. The facility is frequently understaffed, leading to increased workloads and stress for the existing employees. This also impacts the level of attention and care that can be given to each child. The pay is not competitive, especially considering the responsibilities and the stress involved in the job. Additionally, the benefits are minimal, making it difficult to feel valued and motivated. The classrooms often lack necessary supplies and resources, making it challenging to provide a high-quality learning environment for the children. Employees frequently have to make do with what is available, which is frustrating. The work schedules are highly inconsistent and often change with little notice. This makes it challenging to maintain a work-life balance and plan personal activities. The overall work environment is unhealthy, both physically and emotionally. There is a lack of support for employees dealing with difficult situations, and the physical conditions of the facility are not always well-maintained. Overall, my experience at Kids & Company has been unsatisfactory. The company needs to address these critical issues to create a better working environment for its employees and provide better care for the children. Until significant improvements are made, I would not recommend working here.

The executive management, including the CEO, care more about making money than they do about their employees. At the center where I worked, they would often take in more kids than they had employees, therefore, making parents wait at the center with their child until there was enough staff to accommodate them. Unfortunately, the center's director's hands were tied when it came to this and she had to do what upper management wanted. The executive also lacked an understanding of how this particular center operated and would therefore, try to make changes without realizing the impact on the staff or the children in the center. When they did visit, which was sparingly, they would often not greet the staff or when they did, it was to tell us what to do, usually saying we were doing it the wrong way. In general, they didn't treat staff very well, therefore, there was a lot of turnover throughout the years.

The director of the center on the other hand was great, but executive management treated her poorly as well, and as a consequence, she left the center. Now I hear it is really bad there - understaffed and outside management brought in from another center in Ontario that lacks the understanding of how this center operates.

The pay is also very low (it is unionized and this is mostly a union problem) and the benefits aren't the best. There is no company group RSP. 

The only positive experience was working with some of the people there. However, there is so much turnover it was tough sometimes to get to know people.

Overall, a very negative work experience.

I wouldn't recommend anyone to work here. Pay is low and expectations are high! If even just one chair is out of place and management comes to see the daycare you will never hear the end of it. Management likes to come off as being scary rather than a person(s) to be there to support and guide. I now am working at a different center in a much lower position and making more money with much less responsibilities. When a mistake is made you will never hear the end of it, but when you succeed it is swept under the rug most times. Honestly, the management is what makes Kids and Co. a place I wouldn't want to work at. I loved the environment, people, support inside the center! I was so sad to leave the center that I was at, because it was such a nice place to work, and would have loved to have stayed there if it weren't for the management. But as soon as you talk or need to deal with management is when things get rough. When I asked simply for support in getting something in order to make me not have to work overtime every week; it was blown off and I was told to "deal with it myself". And I didn't even get paid or even time in lieu when I did all this overtime. When I left, I heard the first thing they did was put this in place for the new staff to make their job easier. I was quite upset by this! Why cant we just support and respect the people who do so much for you each and everyday! Low pay, no support, no respect sums it up pretty good!

I am fortunate to have a job that starts with a rockstar like welcoming every time i start my shift. Hugs and greetings from the children i serve really make for a positive day of fun, and learning.

The ongoing journey of self improvement and being a great mentor to the children i serve grows daily and with the support of some fellow co-workers and the directors of the company, i find that i am given the opportunity to use my individual style of learning and interacting with children to the benefit of the children, staff and families i am connected with.

The challenge lies in the limitations that clearly come with working with a private childcare company such as programming structures, and methods of development that are set by head office and required to be followed. However, when one understands the language of the child even these limitations can be a learning opportunity to find ways to not only implement the learning structures that i must follow but also make them fun and unique with a little imagination.

The hardest part of my job unfortunately comes down to the salary and benefits. Furthermore being a male in this line of work has its own challenges, most of which i welcome and grow from.

If you adore the joys that children bring with their creativity and ways of communicating, this may be the right job for you, but that's only if you're handling 1-3 kids at a time. Otherwise, expect to be overwhelmed and disgusted at all hours of the day. 

First, you have to deal with parents and their varying parenting styles or the extreme monitoring of their precious treasures. Second, expect to feel overwhelmed by the number of children you must to take care of and laugh at the lack of staff available as the company's turnover rate is ridiculously high. Third of all, despite how much parents pay for their children to be in this day care and all the tasks and responsibilities you MUST handle, you're only paid minimum to $1.25 extra for being an educator. Imagine snatching a degree to only be paid a dollar over minimum wage... 

There is no proper training but there are TONS of papers to read and sign. After all that, despite being one to take initiative and go over-and-beyond to exceed expectation, you'll be spoken down to and given improper instruction by supervisors and management. At least children are bearable right? Well, for those who aren't, expect parents that can be irritably terrible gossips and complainers. At least you'll have weekends off!

I learned a lot while working at Kids & Company and appreciate the experience for its ups and downs. I had some really good coworkers and we balanced out each other’s interests or strengths, ensured that things were getting done and planned together. The kids were amazing, and I had the opportunity to begin learning about documentation, programming, etc. 

Having said that: While I was there, the turnover rate was high and staffing was an issue at times. Compensation is not adequate, particularly for a company as large and profitable as Kids & Company. Materials and curricula were limited and outdated and trying to update programming and documentation to be consistent with current best practices was difficult due to requirements about weekly curriculum and what could be put on walls, boards, etc. 

Staff relationships and management relationships were mixed from very strong to contentious, and there were some really great folks on staff and some who should probably find another field. Pretty much everyone ranged from professional to friendly with each other, but there could be underlying tension instead of communication and problem solving when concerns arose among staff. Professional development was extremely limited. 

I am interested in working at Kids & Company because I enjoy supporting children in their learning and development. My educational background in Associate of Arts in Education (TESOL) has helped me understand how to communicate with children patiently and positively. I like creating a friendly and safe environment where children feel comfortable, confident, and encouraged to learn new things every day. I believe I would be a good fit for Kids & Company because I am responsible, caring, and able to work well with others. I understand the importance of teamwork, communication with parents, and maintaining a clean and organized classroom. I also enjoy helping children with activities such as reading, arts and crafts, music, and play-based learning. In previous customer service and team-based environments, I learned how to stay calm under pressure, manage responsibilities, and provide support to people in a respectful and professional way. These skills can help me work effectively in a childcare setting. I am eager to continue learning and growing in the childcare field while making a positive impact on children and families. Working at Kids & Company would give me the opportunity to use my skills, gain valuable experience, and contribute to a supportive learning environment for children.

I've worked in this place for almost two years and all I can say is it was awful. Yes the families are very grateful for the staffs handwork but the environment is horrible. Too much documentation needed everyday. You don't get time to do it so you have no other choice but to do it on your break. The office is expecting high quality arts and crafts for the parents to see but they won't provide supplies. I don't know how many times I bought supplies out of my own pocket and was told to give them the receipts for reimbursements but guess what? They "forgot" to pay me. You get lieu time but can never use it since they won't allow you. And our director informed us that lieu time (banked hours) expire after 3 months. Fantastic....NOT! The location is always short-staffed. The director tells the staff to call the office if we need bathroom break, but when we do call, they get annoyed. So you work in a place that has too much work and no support, you get paid less than you're worth and you get kidney disease for not being able to go the bathroom. When you get praises from the families, the office gets rewarded but won't communicate that to the staff. However, when a parent complains, the director will throw her staff under the bus. Horrible management and very toxic.

I started out loving Kids & Co, but that started to fade when I witnessed a severe lack of communication between managers. We were also short staffed for so long, we’d get 30 mins for a lunch break, and could end up staying up to 40-50 mins overtime (over a two week period I worked at least 5 hours overtime). The whole time I was there, we could never guarantee that we would be off on time, making a work life balance near impossible, especially since our days could be 9+ hours. I also had never witnessed such behaviour in children that I had never experienced in my 5+ years as an ECE. There were moments of children throwing wood chips at the teacher while laughing, laughing at teachers when they were frustrated, they had very little respect for authority and often didn’t listen to us, and a child that required one on one support (who was known as the “biter” - and bit one of the teachers many times - and they would also hit, kick, punch, etc.), the support of which we didn’t have, and it took our energy away from focussing on other children. It took such a tole on my mental health, and we were not getting paid enough for what we were going through with these kids. Do not recommend.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Surveillant du service alimentaire 72 salaries reported	$19.16 per hour
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Éducateur de la petite enfance 25 salaries reported	$20.46 per hour
Administrateur de bureau 47 salaries reported	$27.27 per hour
Teneur de livres 44 salaries reported	$26.52 per hour

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