News & Stories: Ontario

Excerpt: "How Does Learning Happen? is a professional learning resource developed to support Ontario’s renewed vision for the early years. It highlights the importance of strong leadership and collaborative practice across child care and child and family support programs. This approach will help to move us towards increasingly integrated services and programs for children and families in Ontario. This document will also inspire critical reflection with a focus on children’s learning, development, health and well-being. It articulates a view of children, families and educators as competent, capable and rich in potential. This will help transform practices in early years setting."

Excerpt: "Beginning July 2014, hundreds of thousands of Ontario families will receive another increase of up to $100 per child annually to their Ontario Child Benefit (OCB) payment. As a result of the 2013 and 2014 increases, an estimated 90,000 additional children in 46,000 more families are eligible for the OCB for the first time. With these increases, the benefit has more than doubled since 2008."

Excerpt: "With wage increases planned for early childhood educators and the provincewide availability of full-day kindergarten this fall, your government is ensuring that every child in Ontario has the best possible start in life. It will implement Achieving Excellence, a plan to take public education in Ontario from great to excellent by continually improving learning, so that young people are prepared to lead in the global economy."

Excerpt: "The Ontario government continues its support for families and children by re-introducing the Child Care Modernization Act, 2014. The legislation, if passed, would strengthen oversight of the province's unlicensed child care sector, while increasing access to licensed child care options for families. In addition, it would allow the province to immediately shut down a child care provider when a child's safety is at risk."

Excerpt: "2014 Ontario Budget Moves Forward With Plan to Create Jobs and Grow the Economy, Build Modern Transit and Infrastructure, and Help Ontarians with Their Retirement, While Balancing the Budget by 2017–18."

Province Investing in Better Schools for Improved Learning.

Excerpt: "The new Poverty Reduction Strategy — Realizing Our Potential — will expand our poverty reduction efforts to reach more vulnerable people and will continue to reduce poverty in Ontario."

Excerpt: "Every board shall, in every elementary school of the board in which instruction is given in grade 1, operate a full day junior kindergarten and kindergarten in accordance with paragraph 6.2 of subsection 170 (1) of the Act."

Excerpt: "Ontario has fully rolled out its full-day kindergarten (FDK) program, making it available to 265,000 four- and five-year-olds in approximately 3,600 schools across the province. By the end of the 2014-15 school year, almost half a million kids will have benefitted from FDK since it was first introduced in 2010. With more than $1.5 billion in funding to date, FDK is one of the most significant investments Ontario has made in education in a generation."

Excerpt: "Moving Forward on Child Care and the Early Years: Building on the successful implementation of full-day kindergarten, which will be fully implemented this year. As outlined below, you will continue to work with school boards, municipalities, First Nations, child care operators and parents to modernize, stabilize and strengthen the child care system and improve oversight; Overseeing the implementation of legislative and regulatory changes through the Child Care Modernization Act, 2014, if passed."

Excerpt: "One of Ontario's greatest strengths is its people's talents and skills. Highlights of the government's investments in people include: Completing the rollout of full-day kindergarten and investing in child care modernization so that every child has the best start in life."

Excerpt: "[December 2], Bill 10, the Child Care Modernization Act, 2014, passed third reading in the Ontario legislature. The legislation will strengthen oversight of the province's unlicensed child care sector and increase access to licensed child care options for families. In addition, it will allow the province to immediately shut down a child care provider when a child's safety is at risk."