First Stage Child Care Center

What First Stage Child Care Center does

First Stage Child Care Centre is a registered charitable non-profit organization that operates licensed child care services in the Etobicoke area of Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1981 and incorporated as a charitable corporation in 1986, the organization delivers early learning and child care for infants (0-18 months), toddlers (18-30 months), and preschoolers (30 months to 4.8 years) across four sites co-located within Toronto District School Board (TDSB) facilities, with named locations at Highfield, North Albion, West Humber, and Burnhamthorpe. The curriculum is grounded in Ontario's "How Does Learning Happen?" pedagogy framework, delivered by Registered Early Childhood Educators (RECEs) under the province's regulated staff-to-child ratios.

The business model is a direct-to-consumer child care service monetized primarily through parent fees and government subsidies under the federal-provincial Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) program. Parents pay a regulated daily fee of $22.00 (inclusive of CWELCC reductions), with the residual gap between the capped parent fee and the underlying cost of care funded by government subsidies channelled through the Ontario CWELCC framework. The organization employs approximately 18 staff across the four sites and serves roughly 134 named children at the two locations for which capacity is disclosed, with total enrollment across all four sites implied to be larger. Governance is exercised through a Board of Directors consistent with its charitable status.

Strategically, the organization pursues no M&A, external funding rounds, or proprietary technology development; its competitive position rests on its charitable mandate, multi-decade community presence in Etobicoke, and privileged access to TDSB school-based real estate. The defining operational dependencies are therefore (i) the Ontario CWELCC funding regime, which sets the price ceiling and economics of every enrolled child, and (ii) the TDSB as the sole facility partner across all sites. The absence of disclosed financials, patents, or digital product initiatives in the source material limits visibility into margin structure, capital base, and reinvestment capacity.

Name

First Stage Child Care Center

Legal name

First Stage Child Care Centre

Website

https://firststageccc.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

First Stage Child Care Centre is a Toronto-based non-profit that operates four licensed child care sites within Toronto District School Board facilities in Etobicoke, serving infants, toddlers, and preschoolers under Ontario's CWELCC program at a $22.00/day parent fee.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Licensed Child Care Services

NAICS

Child Care Services (62441)

SIC

Services-Child Day Care Services (8351)

akta.pro primary industry

Preschool Programs within Childcare Centers (EDACABAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Center-Based Infant Care (0–18 months) (EDACAGAA), Infant & Toddler Classrooms within Childcare Centers (EDACAGAC)

Keywords

• Licensed child care services
• Early childhood education
• Preschool learning programs
• Infant day care
• Toddler care services

Headquarters

HQ city

Etobicoke

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Child Care Fees: FSCCC generates revenue through daily child care fees charged to families. The organization participates in the Canada Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) program, which provides fee reductions for families. Base fees were frozen as of March 27, 2022. Families receiving fee subsidies through Toronto Children's Services may also be eligible for reductions under CWELCC. Additional revenue may come from non-base fees such as late pick-up fees, NSF fees, and field trips.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

First Stage Child Care Centre operates four licensed child care facilities within Toronto District School Board buildings in Etobicoke, providing early learning and care programs for infants (0-18 months), toddlers (18-30 months), and preschoolers (30 months to 4.8 years). Programs are delivered by Registered Early Childhood Educators (RECEs), include catered meals, and follow the Ontario 'How Does Learning Happen?' pedagogical framework.

Product overview

First Stage Child Care Centre is a non-profit child care organization operating four licensed child care facilities within Toronto District School Board buildings in Etobicoke. The organization offers a unified early learning and care service portfolio consisting of four physical centres (West Humber, Burnhamthorpe, North Albion, and Highfield) that provide educational programs for infants (0-18 months), toddlers (18-30 months), and preschoolers (30 months to 4.8 years). Programs are delivered by Registered Early Childhood Educators and include meals catered by Wholesome Kids, with all centres operating under the Canada Wide Early Learning and Child Care Program (CWELCC). The four locations function as a single integrated service offering, sharing administrative oversight from a Program Manager, consistent policies, and unified enrollment processes, while each centre provides site-specific programming based on the 'How Does Learning Happen?' curriculum framework.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• West Humber Child Care Centre A licensed child care facility housed within West Humber Collegiate Institute, serving children with a focus on holistic developmental growth in social, emotional, communication, language, literacy, cognitive, and physical areas. Operates 7:30 am - 6:00 pm.
• Burnhamthorpe Child Care Centre A licensed child care facility located at Burnhamthorpe Adult Learning Centre, providing early learning programs with Registered Early Childhood Educators supporting children's developmental needs.
• North Albion Child Care Centre A three-classroom licensed child care centre at North Albion Collegiate Institute offering infant, toddler, and preschool programs with full-time RECE staff and part-time cooking support. Serves 41 children (10 infants, 15 toddlers, 16 preschoolers). Operates 7:30 am - 5:30 pm.
• Highfield Child Care Centre A two-classroom licensed facility at Highfield Junior School serving toddlers and preschoolers with catered nutrition services and inclusive learning environments. Serves 34 children (10 toddlers, 24 preschoolers). Operates 7:30 am - 6:00 pm.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Toronto District School Board (TDSB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAll four FSCCC locations are housed within TDSB facilities (West Humber Collegiate Institute, Burnhamthorpe Adult Learning Centre, North Albion Collegiate Institute, and Highfield Junior School). TDSB provides rent-free space and conducts quarterly playground safety inspections.
• Wholesome KidscoreOthersWholesome Kids is the catering company that provides lunch for all FSCCC locations. Each site employs a Dietary Aide responsible for ensuring safe food handling practices per Toronto Public Health guidelines.
• Toronto Children's ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerToronto Children's Services provides the 'Every Child Belongs' Special Needs Resource Staff to each centre. These staff provide service coordination, program consultation, early identification and intervention, and environmental assessments at no cost to families.
• City of Toronto - Children's Services Fee SubsidycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFSCCC participates in the Canada Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) program, allowing families to receive fee reductions. Families receiving fee subsidies through Toronto Children's Services may also be eligible for further fee reductions under CWELCC.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Today's Family: Non-profit licensed child care provider in Hamilton and surrounding Ontario regions offering centre-based infant, toddler, and preschool programs. Comparable non-profit multi-site child care model with RECE staff and government-subsidized fees.
• YMCA of Greater Toronto: Charitable non-profit operating licensed child care centres across the Greater Toronto Area including Etobicoke. Directly comparable as a non-profit multi-site licensed child care provider serving infants and preschoolers with CWELCC-subsidized fees.
• Kids & Company: Canadian licensed childcare provider operating multiple corporate and employer-sponsored daycare centres across Ontario and other provinces. Comparable multi-site, multi-age-group licensed childcare model targeting urban professional families with corporate partnerships.
• BrightPath Early Learning: Canadian operator of licensed child care centres with a large Ontario footprint. Directly comparable as a multi-site licensed daycare serving infants through preschoolers with RECE-qualified staff.
• Childventures Education: Ontario operator of premium licensed child care centres serving infants, toddlers, and preschoolers in the GTA. Comparable licensed multi-site child care model targeting urban professional families with RECE staff.
• Wee Watch Licensed Home Child Care: Ontario-based licensed child care agency providing supervised home-based care for infants and toddlers. Comparable licensed child care provider operating under Ontario's CCEYA framework with similar subsidized fee participation.

Regional players

• Macaulay Centres for Children: Toronto-based non-profit child care and early years provider operating licensed centres serving infants through school-age children. Comparable Ontario licensed child care model with similar RECE staffing and inclusion focus.
• Compass Early Learning Centre: Ontario-based licensed daycare provider serving infants, toddlers, and preschoolers in the Greater Toronto Area. Comparable RECE-staffed, multi-age child care centre model with similar curriculum frameworks.

Broad incumbents

• KinderCare Learning Companies: Largest US-based provider of early childhood education operating licensed centres for infants through school-age children. Comparable licensed child care centre model at much larger scale with national curriculum frameworks.
• Bright Horizons Family Solutions: Global publicly-traded operator of early education and child care centres, including Canadian locations. Comparable multi-site licensed infant-toddler-preschool model but operates at vastly larger scale with employer-sponsored care as a core differentiator.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/first-stage-child-care-center

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about First Stage Child Care Center