The waitlist for Kits House childcare programs is not first come first served. We have a priority rating system to ensure that spaces in Childcare Programs are being offered to those families who are a priority for those we serve on the Westside, as well as providing a continuum of care.

Enrollment priority will be according to the following order for all children who are registered and all applicable membership and waitlist fees have been paid. Please note that the waitlist will go by registration date within each of the following priorities.

We have a small number of spaces that become available each year, and high demand for all of our programs.

1. Children switching between programs (ie. infants moving to toddler program)
2. Children who have siblings currently registered in a KNH childcare program
3. Children who have siblings attending Lord Tennyson Elementary (LT childcare programs only)
4. Children registered in another childcare program
5. Families living in Kits (Burrard west to Alma, water south to 16th)
6. Families working in Kits (Burrard west to Alma, water south to 16th)
7. Families living on Vancouver’s Westside (Granville west to UBC, Water south to 43rd Ave)
8. Families working on Vancouver’s Westside (Granville west to UBC, Water south to 43rd Ave)

Please visit the individual program section below for the program you are interested in and follow the instructions to complete the online waitlist form and to make a payment for your waitlist fee.

Infant/Toddler Programs – you may apply when your child is born. Applications for children not yet born will not be accepted and waitlist fees will not be refunded. You will not receive notice of rejection.

Bumble Bear/3-5 Collective/Pre K- you may apply when your child is 2 years old. Applications for children under age 2 for these programs will not be accepted and waitlist fees will not be refunded. You will not receive notice of rejection

Before and After School – you may register starting the September before your child will enroll in kindergarten. For children already in kindergarten and above you may register at any time in the year. The oldest child we will register is age 11.

Throughout the year there may be times when the waitlist is closed, please sign up for the notification list found on the individual program section to receive notice when the waitlist re-opens. Do not contact Kits House to ask when the waitlist will re-open, you will not receive a response.

We do not have waitlist fees

If you completed the online waitlist application and paid all required fees, please be assured you are on our waitlist. We are unable to respond to inquiries if your waitlist application was received.

The majority of spaces become available between June-September as children transition to kindergarten.

Since we do not operate on “first come – first served” it is difficult to estimate when a space may become available.

On average it can take 1-3 years for a space to become available.

All of our programs are in high demand, and we only have a small number of spaces that are available each year.

This information is intended to help families understand when spaces are offered. It is general information and should not be considered a precise indicator as to when you may receive an offer. The wait time can be shorter, or longer.

If you applied when your child is under 3, your child will automatically be placed on the waitlist for the next age group.

Ie. infants to toddlers and toddlers to 3-5

For school age programs please register the September prior to your child entering kindergarten. We do not automatically move children on our 3-5 lists to our school age program waitlists as we only serve specific schools.

Since we do not operate on a first come – first served basis it is difficult to predict when your child may receive a space offer. We do not provide waitlist numbers and will not respond to requests related to place on the waitlist.

We strive to give a minimum of 2 months’ notice. In some cases, we can provide more notice, in other cases it is less.

An open house is planned in the spring of each year for families who will be offered a space. If you are being offered a spot between June-September, you will be invited to attend. If you are offered a spot at another point in the year a tour will be arranged. We do not offer tours to those wanting to apply on the waitlist.

If you decline a space offer as you are wanting to register at a later date, please notify us so we can update your file. If you decline because you no longer need care, please let us know. If you’ve been offered a space 3x and decline, your application will be removed from the waitlist and you will need to reapply.

We offer two programs for children aged 3-5. Collective Tennyson Childcare Centre 3-5 program and Bumble Bear Daycare. Most open spots in the Collective 3-5 program go to children registered in our toddler program, so the chances of being offered a space in this program are low.

When you apply on the waitlist you will be placed on the list for both Collective 3-5 and Bumble Bear. If you are offered a spot at a location that does not work for your family, you can decline the space offer. You will remain on the list until 3 space offers have been declined. At which point your name will be removed from the list.

The Pre-Kindergarten program is a separate part time program for 3-5 year olds and you will not be automatically added to the waitlist for that program. You will need to submit a separate application if you are interested in this program.

Spaces in the next age group are not guaranteed. For children in our 0-3 program we can guarantee care until they are 36 months of age, but cannot guarantee care in our 3-5 programs. Children moving from a 3-5 program to kindergarten are not guaranteed care in our before and after school care programs.

We do give priority to currently enrolled children for the next age group.

Part time spaces are only available at our Pre-Kindergarten program and Dunbar Kids Club.

We ask that you please carefully read through the information found on our webpage prior to contacting us with inquiries.

As stated below we will not respond to inquiries related to your place on the waitlist or whether your waitlist application was received.

If your question is related to information found on this page you may not receive a response.

If you have further questions not previously answered you can contact our Childcare Administrative Assistant at childcareadmin@kitshouse.org. Please note in can take up to 2 weeks’ minimum for you to receive a response. If you inquire with someone other than our Childcare Administrative Assistant your response may take longer as they need to forward your inquiry on, which slows the process down.

For further information about resources related to finding childcare or financial support please visit

Westcoast Childcare Resource Centre https://www.wstcoast.org/

Ministry of Children and Family Development https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/family-social-supports/caring-for-young-children