I think that what a school charges for before and after school care they can justify based on the fact that parents think it is education based being in a school. I think also not each program is created equally. There are plenty of b&A programs which offer snacks and have smaller ratios depending on funding, resources and space amongst other things. They can also typically have more resources and learning materials and age apropriate toys for a variety of ages which may be somewhat problematic in a homedaycare, unless you either want to spend a lot of money investing in them, have older children yourself who can hand down or share toys, or you plan to be very strickt in only accepting children in a specific age group and at a specific learning stage.

I know from personal experience that if the YMCA are running the program within the school, which is a common program across Ontario, they typically have 2-3 staff at any given time and that would be for a group of 15-20 kids, but these children are older, not kindergarten age so the ratios are different, and they neither require as much one on one care or want it like kindergarten kids. My kids were in a program like this and they followed themes, were provided drinks and snacks and the staff were trained and qualified ECE's. Now as it was a small school, only 130 students, everybody new everyone so you really got to know the people working within the program, and they also had an open door policy so parents could come early and observe without giving prior notice which is also a good thing for parents if they want to see the program in action without the fear of it being a "staged presentation" or an untrue reprisentation. They also had the use of the school playground and outdoor play equipment which was an added plus. While I'm not in Toronto, I'm still in the golden horseshoe and it cost me $11 per day versus a home daycare which is around $20-$25 in my area. Whether the above comments are relevant or not to a parents reasoning for in school care or not, or even if they aren't truly like this behind the scenes in a lot of facilities, I do believe that they give the parent more security, even if it is false, when making the choice. Even the simplest of questions when choosing care is, regulated(school) vs unregulated(home daycare). So many parents don't do enough research or comparisons, they may simply decide based on this alone.

What I would say is of a huge benefit in your situation, is that you live across the road. There is no issue with transporting the children in a vehicle which some parents have an issue with, so this is a huge incentive and also the fact that your program is dedicated to B&A care rather than having for example, 3 full time 2 yr olds and then an additional 2 school age kids, which is more work as you are catering to mulitple needs, and developmental stages. Having 1 dedicated B&A programs means you can make your program much more efficient and effective. I would advertise in the school on their noticeboard and even leave some business cards with the receptionist as they can sometimes be the first stop when new parents to the school want to be given information on before and after school care. I personally wouldn't price myself higher than the school but definitly comparible. As long as you can justify it by the program you provide, then I don't think you should have any problems with parents.

Good Luck, I'm sure you will do great and once you are at capacity, you will no doubt have a waiting list also. You can always raise your rate in the future if necessairy.