Excerpt: "The Junior Kindergarten program rolled out across the NWT in the 2017-18 school year. Since this time, ECE has been able to compare the Early Development Instrument rates of children who attended Junior Kindergarten with the Early Development Instrument rates of children who did not attend Junior Kindergarten. Thirty-eight percent of children who attended Junior Kindergarten are developmentally “on track” by Kindergarten, while 32 percent of children who did not attend Junior Kindergarten are developmentally “on track” (Figure 23). While the difference is not large, it has been consistent over time and aligns with research suggesting that participation in early learning programs is beneficial to children. This difference is most pronounced in Yellowknife and regional centres."
Excerpt: "Since opening their doors, these three centres have already provided early years programming and parent support to over 600 families. Families with children up to age six can access a range of services including positive parenting programs, literacy opportunities and support for children's development. The centres are led by local management committees that represent a broad mix of government, community-based service providers and organizations who make decisions about specific programs and services based on localized needs. "We continue to improve access to early years programming and family support through the Early Years Family Resource Centres," Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill said. "Parents who have accessed services at one of the many FRCs in the province have reported improved parenting skills and knowledge, improved child development and increased family engagement.""
Excerpt: "Through a five-year Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Education, the South Korean Ministry of Education and the College of the North Atlantic, eligible Korean students are able to participate in an early childhood education work placement program in Newfoundland and Labrador. The program is managed by the department and College of the North Atlantic. The first group of 14 students have arrived in Newfoundland and Labrador and have started their work placements in child care centres in the St. John’s area. The Department of Education is coordinating with work placement sites to ensure continued programming and supports for students during their time in the province."
Excerpt: "The act will require regulatory bodies to reduce red tape and remove barriers in 29 professions and make it easier, more transparent and quicker for those qualified professionals to pursue and achieve credential recognition, no matter where they were trained. One major change is eliminating the catch-22 of unnecessary Canadian work experience requirements for experienced internationally trained professionals. The catch-22 was that a person needed work experience to work in Canada, but couldn’t work in Canada because of the lack of Canadian work experience. The professions include engineers, social workers, veterinarians, paramedics, early childhood educators, teachers, biologists, land surveyors, architects and more."
Excerpt: "School District 71 (Comox Valley) received almost $8 million in provincial funding through the ChildCareBC New Spaces Fund to build new child care on school grounds. Seventy-five new spaces at each school will be created for a total of 150 new spaces. This includes 24 spaces for infant-toddlers, 32 spaces for kids aged three to five and 94 new spaces for school-age care on school grounds. “These two new child care facilities represent a significant step forward in providing accessible, affordable and high-quality early-learning environments for families in the Comox Valley,” said Michelle Waite, board chair, Comox Valley Schools. “The centres at Arden and Glacier View will help parents with supporting their families and pursuing their professional and educational goals with the confidence that their children are receiving excellent care and education.”"
Excerpt: "In 2024, the Province is providing funding for 26 more playgrounds in 26 school districts, each receiving $195,000. This investment in playgrounds promotes physical activity for kids, teaches social skills, such as sharing, and helps them develop life skills, such as conflict resolution. The playgrounds are also designed to be accessible for children of all abilities. Last year’s provincial investment of $5 million supported 25 new school playgrounds – 20 are complete, while the remaining are close to ready. Building new accessible playgrounds is part of the government’s priority to ensure students have positive learning and play spaces, no matter where they live."
Excerpt: "The Province is making it easier for families to apply and qualify for Nova Scotia’s child-care subsidy program. To help more families afford child care while balancing other financial priorities, eligibility criteria now hinge solely on family income and no longer consider assets like savings. Households with an annual income of $70,000 or less remain eligible and will now also be able to save for things like a down payment on a home while benefiting from the subsidy."
Excerpt: "The Early Learning Gateway parent portal allows parents and guardians seeking child care the ability to: Add their child or children to their profile; Search for regulated child care services; Add their child or children to a regulated child care service waitlist(s); Edit or remove their child or children from waitlists; The Early Learning Gateway service portal provides regulated child care service providers the ability to: View and manage the list of parents/guardians who added their child or children to the service waitlist in Early Learning Gateway; View parent/guardian contact information to follow up when a space becomes available; Create and manage Early Learning Gateway account access for their administrative staff."
Excerpt: "The medical benefits program will become operational fall 2024 and will be managed by the Association of Early Childhood Educators Newfoundland and Labrador. Medical benefits will be optional and available to individuals who have worked a minimum of three months at a regulated child care service participating in the Operating Grant Program, including: Early childhood educators; Trainee early childhood educators; Other staff working in child care services; and Regulated Family Child Care providers. The new medical benefits program for early childhood educators will support recruitment and retention of early childhood educators as the Provincial Government continues to increase the number of early learning and child care spaces throughout Newfoundland and Labrador."
Excerpt: "Approximately $11 million in additional funding for new and ongoing professional learning opportunities is being provided for programs, such as the ECE Peer Mentoring program and the Early Years Professional Development Bursary program. Three organizations are working with the government to provide the programs to support child care professionals, and in doing so, give families peace of mind that their children are receiving the highest level of care."
Excerpt: "This new child care centre was made possible through approximately $3 million from the ChildCareBC New Spaces Fund. The fund is jointly supported by provincial investments and federal funding under the 2021-22 to 2025-26 Canada-British Columbia Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement. The City of Vancouver funded the remaining construction costs via development contributions."
Excerpt: "That’s why, today in Kanata, the Honourable Jenna Sudds, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, highlighted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s recent announcement of $201.87 million over four years, with $135 million through 2025–2026, to help build more inclusive child care spaces across Ontario through the Government of Canada’s $625 million Early Learning and Child Care Infrastructure Fund. This investment will help Ontario reach the shared goal of building 86,000 new child care spaces by December 2026. The announcement was made at the grand opening of Andrew Fleck’s Forest Explorers Outdoor Learning Centre in Kanata, which will provide 73 new child care spaces (10 infant spaces, 15 toddler spaces and 48 preschool spaces)."
