This is a detailed guide to finding a daycare in Saskatoon.
In this post, I’ll provide answers to frequently asked questions about child care in Saskatoon.
I’ll also explain the different types of child care available and show you how to find a daycare in Saskatoon.
Let’s jump right in.
Frequently asked questions about child care in Saskatoon
How to find daycare openings in Saskatoon
If you’re looking for daycare openings in Saskatoon, we recommend using Dianna.
Dianna is an online tool that shows you Saskatoon daycares with short waitlists near you.
Dianna saves you from having to make lots of phone calls to find Saskatoon daycares with the shortest waitlists.
We do not promise that Dianna will help you find a vacancy or daycare opening for your infant, toddler, preschool, or school age child.
However, using Dianna will likely increase your chances of finding a daycare opening as soon as possible.
How long are daycare waitlists in Saskatoon?
According to a 2023 study, daycares in Saskatoon have a median of 20 children on a daycare waitlist.
How many kids can you have in a daycare in Saskatoon?
A home daycare can have a maximum of either 8 or 12 children. This depends on whether or not the home daycare is licensed and which classification the daycare has as a licensed home daycare.
Daycare centers in Saskatoon can have up to 90 children. However, the actual maximum number of children that a particular daycare center can have will vary from one daycare center to another.
Are Saskatoon daycares good?
According to a 2022 study:
- There are no 1 star daycares in Saskatoon.
- Daycares in the city of Saskatoon are rated 4.7 out of 5 stars on average.
- 43% of Saskatoon daycares with at least one online review have a 5 star average rating.
What time do daycares in Saskatoon open and close?
Most daycares in Saskatoon are open between 7:30 a.m and 5:30 p.m from Monday to Friday.
Daycare hours of operation vary and some daycares will open or close earlier or later than others.
Night care, 24 hour daycare, and weekend daycare are not common in Saskatoon.
What to pack for daycare in Saskatoon
Read our guide on what to pack for daycare for Saskatoon parents.
The guide also includes a free downloadble daycare packing PDF checklist.
How much does licensed daycare cost in Saskatoon?
If your child attends a licensed daycare that participates in the $10 a day daycare program:
- Licensed daycare in Saskatoon costs $217.50 per month for children below six years of age that attend daycare for at least 10 days per month.
- Licensed daycare in Saskatoon costs $10 per day for children below six years of age that attend daycare for fewer than 10 days per month.
Although most licensed daycares participate in the $10 a day daycare program, not all licensed daycare providers participate in this program.
Therefore, always confirm whether or not a particular licensed daycare provider participates in the $10 a day program by asking them directly.
Read: 20 questions to ask daycare providers about their child care prices
How does $10 a day daycare work in Saskatoon?
For each child under the age of six years that you enroll in a licensed daycare in Saskatoon, the Ministry of Education will pay a portion of that child’s daycare fees directly to your child care provider.
As a parent, you only pay $217.50 per month if your child attends daycare for at least 10 days per month. If your child attends daycare for less than 10 days per month, then you pay $10 per day that your child attends daycare.
There are no part-time, weekly, or hourly enrollment fees under $10 a day daycare. Your child can only be enrolled on a full time basis or daily basis depending on whether or not they attend daycare for at least 10 days per month.
Who is eligible for $10 a day daycare?
To be eligible for $10 a day daycare, you simply need to have a child under the age of six years old that is enrolled in a licensed daycare.
This can either be a licensed home daycare or a daycare center.
As a parent, you do not have to submit any application forms for $10 a day daycare. Your daycare provider will take care of that for you.
If you have a six year old or older child enrolled in a licensed daycare, the Ministry of Education does not pay a portion of that child’s fees under $10 a day daycare.
Does immigrant status affect eligibility for $10 a day daycare?
Your status as an immigrant or permanent resident does not affect your eligibility for $10 a day daycare.
You are eligible for $10 a day daycare as long as you have a child below the age of six years that attends a participating licensed daycare.
Neither the nationality nor immigrant status of you or your child is not a factor that determines your eligibility for $10 a day daycare.
What is the best daycare in Saskatoon?
To find the best daycare in Saskatoon, I compiled a list of daycare providers in Saskatoon for the following categories:
- Bilingual French and English daycares
- Montessori daycares
- 24 hour daycares
- Daycares that offer extended hour care
- Daycares that specialize in caring for children with special needs
I then ranked the daycares in each category based on the following factors to determine the best daycares:
- The daycare environment
- Parent reviews
- The daycare program
I only used publicly available information when determining which daycares are the best in each category.
No in-person visits to any of the daycares or interviews with parents or daycare providers were conducted.
Best bilingual French and English daycares in Saskatoon
Finding bilingual French and English speaking daycares that accept children of all ages in Saskatoon is challenging.
Most francophone child care programs in Saskatoon are offered by preschools. Preschools usually accept children that are at least 2.5 or 3 years old.
However, many of these bilingual French and English preschool programs do not offer full day child care.
I couldn’t find any French speaking daycares that accepted infants at the time of writing this post.
Centre Educatif Chacha Co-operative accepts 18 months and older children and is one of the few top rated daycares for providing a great French and English immersion environment.
What is the best Montessori daycare in Saskatoon?
Montessori accreditation in Saskatoon is more common with preschools and elementary schools and less common with daycares.
This is generally because the Montessori method provides little practical benefit to infants and young toddlers.
Therefore, some Montessori daycares incorporate additional philosophies of education into their daycare program on account of the younger age groups that they accept.
However, not being accredited necessarily doesn’t mean that a Montessori daycare doesn’t provide an authentic Montessori experience.
Some unaccredited Montessori daycares may be led by a director with Montessori qualifications.
Others may consult with Montessori teachers in order to maintain an authentic Montessori experience.
Below are the best Montessori daycares and preschools in Saskatoon according to publicly available information at the time of writing this post.
- Maria Montessori Preschool (Children must be 18+ months)
- Lawson Montessori Preschool. (Children must be 3+ years)
- Brilliant Star Montessori School (Children must be 3+ years)
- Building Brains Early Learning Centre (Accepts 0-6 year olds)
No guarantees are provided that the daycares listed above are accredited or that the minimum age group information shown is still accurate.
Each Montessori daycare in Saskatoon likely has their own area of focus when implementing the Montessori method in their daycare.
I recommend asking a few questions to find out more about each daycare’s Montessori approach when considering enrolling your child with that daycare provider.
Top rated 24 hour daycares in Saskatoon
At the time of writing this post, only STC Early Learning Centre (also known as St. Frances Daycare) offers a 24 hour daycare program in Saskatoon.
The daycare is located at 202 Willow Street (right next to St. Frances Cree Bilingual School) and their phone number is 306-659-2502.
Although the school itself is highly rated, I could not find any further information about their 24 hour daycare program.
Best daycare for special needs care in Saskatoon
Below is a list of Saskatoon daycares that parents of children with special needs conditions highly recommend.
It is important to note that the term “special needs” is very broad.
Although multiple daycares care for children with special needs, each daycare has varying levels of experience with different special needs conditions.
Below is a list of the best daycares in Saskatoon for special needs care that I could find at the time of writing this post.
Note: Hope’s Home, a daycare renowned for special needs care, will be opening 2 medically inclusive daycare centers in 2024 in Saskatoon.
Top rated extended hours daycares in Saskatoon
Extended hour daycares are daycares that offer child care after regular work hours or on weekends but without necessarily being open 24 hours a day.
A list of extended hour daycare providers in Saskatoon can be found on the Government of Saskatchewan website.
How much did licensed daycare cost before $10 a day daycare?
According to a 2020 survey, the median full-time monthly child enrollment fees charged by daycare centers in Saskatoon prior to $10 a day daycare were as follows:
- $995 per infant
- $810 per toddler
- $750 per preschool child
The median full-time monthly child enrollment fees charged by licensed home daycares in Saskatoon prior to $10 a day daycare were as follows:
- $850 per infant
- $800 per toddler
- $720 per preschool child
Our daycare cost calculator tool shows you how much you would have paid for daycare before the $10 a day daycare initiative versus how much you are likely to pay for daycare now.
Licensed home daycare prices vs daycare center prices before $10 a day daycare
Based on the median full-time monthly child enrollment fees provided in a 2020 survey prior to $10 a day daycare:
- Fees for full-time infants are 17% higher in Saskatoon daycare centers than in licensed home daycares.
- Fees for full-time toddlers are 1.25% higher in Saskatoon daycare centers than in licensed home daycares.
- Fees for full-time preschool children are 4.2% higher in Saskatoon daycare centers than in licensed home daycares.
Types of child care in Saskatoon
Child care in Saskatoon is no different from the rest of Saskatchewan.
There are two types of child care in Saskatchewan:
- Licensed child care
- Unlicensed child care
Licensed daycare providers are actively monitored by the Ministry of Education and must maintain certain service standards in the course of providing child care.
Unlicensed daycare providers are not actively monitored by the Ministry of Education.
Meaning as long as an unlicensed daycare provider maintains proper child to staff ratios, basic health and safety standards, and a safe environment for enrolled children, that daycare provider can continue to provide child care without receiving assistance from or being evaluated by the Ministry of Education.
Licensed vs unlicensed daycares in Saskatoon
Do you trust the actual person that will be caring for your child?
That’s what really matters when choosing a daycare provider.
There are many amazing unlicensed and licensed daycare providers in Saskatoon. However, if you enroll your child in an unlicensed daycare, you will not be eligible for $10 a day daycare or a child care subsidy.
Child care subsidies in Saskatoon
Use our child care subsidy calculator to get an estimate for the child care subsidy amount that you may be eligible to receive.
The Child Care Subsidy program has been replaced by the Saskatchewan Employment Incentive
Saskatoon parent and daycare provider online groups
As a parent looking for daycare in Saskatoon, below are Facebook groups that you may find useful in your search for daycare:
Licensed daycare in Saskatoon
How to find licensed daycares in Saskatoon
There are 200 licensed daycares in Saskatoon as of December 2022.
If you’re looking for daycare openings in Saskatoon, we recommend using Dianna.
Dianna is an online tool that shows you Saskatoon daycares with short waiting lists near you.
However, if you’re looking for a list of all licensed daycare providers in Saskatoon, you can find that on the government website.
Enter your address or postal code and search the government website for a list of licensed daycares near you.
You can limit your search to only show you daycares near you that are:
- 24 hour daycares
- Daycares accepting infants, toddlers, or preschool children
- Daycares with extended hours
- Francophone daycares
- Daycare centers
- Home daycares
- Etc
Specialty Daycares in Saskatoon
1 licensed daycare offers 24 hour daycare, 2 licensed daycares offer extended hours of operation, and there are 2 licensed francophone daycares in Saskatoon as of December 2022.
Map showing licensed daycares in Saskatoon
Below is a map showing licensed daycare centers and home daycares in Saskatoon as of December 2022.
