The Hamilton Wentworth School Board has been a leader in integrating services to children and families in schools. In 2005, Hamilton became a ”Best Start” demonstration site and has worked to bring services together under one roof. It’s great for families to have one place they can go for various services. And combining parent playgroups and child care in schools means more services to children. What have they learned? It’s critical to work together.

“If we really believe that we can make Hamilton the ‘best place to raise a child’ we must all – early childhood educators, Kindergarten teachers, community partners and government – support Dr. Pascal’s recommendations,” said Jennifer Powell-Fralick, the award-winning supervisor of early learning and child care at HWDSB.

“It will take a collaborative effort to ensure that our children grow up thriving, in a community that values them and respects the important role parents play in their development,” Powell-Fralick added.

To read the full article, please click here.

At the Coalition, we often talk about the need for more child care from the perspective of parents. In part, that’s because we hear from so many parents desperate for high quality, affordable child care. However, columnist Carol Goar does a great job today of focuing on the incredible social and economic returns for investing in early learning.

“Daniel Trefler, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Competitiveness and Prosperity at the Rotman School of Management, believes one strong push from the corporate sector would topple both barriers.

“The business community will decide whether we have an early childhood policy in this country,” he says. “No other group has the power.”

The internationally trained economist – with postgraduate degrees from Cambridge and UCLA – has made it his mission to convince corporate decision-makers that investing in children is both responsible and affordable. He employs economics, demographics, medical science and a blizzard of statistics and calculations and a crusader’s zeal”.

To read the full article, please click here.

It’s crazy the lenghts that some parents must go for early learning and child care. Elizabeth Payne tells the story of her sister in the Ottawa Citizen where a handful of parents showed up in the middle of the night to get in line to register for an after school program. Speaking in support of proposals for full day learning for 4 and 5 year olds as well as full day, full year for children up to the age of 12, her piece is a vivid description of how difficult it is for parents to piece together care for their children. To read the full article, please click here. » Continue reading “Ottawa Parents Line Up at 3:30 a.m. for after-school care”

Toronto – Ontario’s current early learning and child care programs are a patchwork of services. For parents, it is hard to find a quality early learning and child care program. When parents find a program, early learning and child care can be extremely expensive. Despite the high cost to parents, staff working in early learning and child care are underpaid and undervalued for their critical work in early childhood education.

Today’s report by Ontario’s Early Learning Advisor sets a new vision. The vision is of coordinated services for families, high quality early learning for children and a model of public accountability through a new Early Years Division of the Ministry of Education.

There are many positive recommendations in the report. In our report to Dr. Pascal, we made several recommendations that are reflected in the report, such as:

A High Quality Program

The program has a “single child-focused curriculum, planned and delivered by a qualified team of educators”. The program will rely on play based programming

Parental Involvement and Affordability

The program aims to parental involvement and affordable extended hours and full year education and care.

Governance in the Public Sector

Early learning and child care will be governed   by an Early Years Division of the Ministry of Education. In addition, local municipalities will be responsible for service planning for all children from infants to 12 years old.

Community Based Early Learning and Child Care Programs

Municipalities will continue to fund early learning and child care programs. They will form Best Start Child and Family Centres to coordinate and fund services.

A core part of the original commitment to full day learning was to commit new funding to full day learning. Savings from the expansion of publicly funded programs means municipalities will have more funding to support early learning and child care for younger years. In addition, the report recommends a single transfer of funding to municipalities  that includes all existing transfers.

The report is a very important move towards universal and publically funded early learning programs for all children in Ontario.

The Early Learning Advisors’ report is moment of hope for children and families but the real work begins today. 

We look forward to working with the Ministry of Children and Youth Services, the Ministry of Education and municipalities across the province to strengthen our system of early learning and child care.

» Continue reading “Early Learning Advisor’s Report Provides Hopeful Vision for Ontario’s Children and Families”

CTV profiles Bruce Public School, with an integrated full day program and talks to parents.

To see the video, click here and press play on the video on the right hand side.

Harry Forestell interviews Annie Kidder, executive director of People for Education, on Ontario report (Runs: 5:39)

Play: Real Media »

Play: QuickTime »

Annie Kidder gives a great overview of how full day learning can help families when implemented and some of the challenges of integrating our current systems.

There are lots of releases out on full day learning plans, here is the contribution from our federal partner, the Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada…

The Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada (CCAAC) applauds the report called “With our Best Future in Mind – Implementing Early Learning in Ontario.” The recommendations made in this report, if implemented, will ensure that the provincial government meets its commitment to integrate early learning and child care programs across Ontario for 4 and 5 year olds. Authored by Charles Pascal, the Premier’s Special Advisor on Early Learning, the report reflects research, international evidence and family needs – all of which support universal access to quality programs that provide both part-time and full-time choices for parents. » Continue reading “Ontario’s Plan Applauded for Supporting Healthy Children AND Working Families”

I am pleased to announce the release of With Our Best Future in Mind, my report to the Premier of Ontario on Implementing Early Learning in Ontario.

 This is a great day for Ontario’s children and families.  It is all about what’s best for children, their development and their success.  It is a report that has the voices and ideas of thousands.  Thank you so much for your participation in the process.

The recommendations are based on evidence and best practice in Ontario and elsewhere that clearly underscores that high quality full day learning is critically important for children, families, communities and our future prosperity.

This is a comprehensive plan that is evolutionary regarding what it takes to implement with revolutionary social and economic results.

To download With Our Best Future in Mind: Implementing Full Day Learning in Ontario please visit:  www.ontario.ca/earlylearning.

Warm wishes, Charles

“MIDHURST – Simcoe County is seeing its child-care waiting lists grow while the federal government continues to cut child-care funding.
When Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government took power in 2006, the government ended a national daycare strategy and instead began giving parents $100 per month for every child under age six.

Ontario lost $1.9 billion in child-care funding each year, said an Association of Municipalities of Ontario policy backgrounder. That translated into $63.5 million less each year – enough to fund 8,470 licensed daycare spots. A provincial plan to increase the number of licensed spots was cancelled.”

To read the full story, please click here.

A proposed by-law in Toronto that would prohibt new daycares in residential areas brought parents, children and strollers to Toronto City Hall.

We say over and over that there isn’t enough child care – but meetings parents who are desperate for safe and reliable child care is heartbreaking.

To see the CITY TV coverage, please click the link below.