News & Stories: New Brunswick

Excerpt: "A community hub with child-care facilities is being integrated into the design of the new kindergarten-to-Grade 5 school in the north end of Saint John. “Schools no longer serve strictly as places of learning, but often become the heart of the community,” said Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Bill Hogan. “A hub of this kind will not only provide a space for children to continue developing their skills outside of school hours, but will have a positive impact on the community it serves for years to come.” The community hub is a pilot project that will include a dedicated, licensed early learning hub for children up to four years old, as well as spaces for school-aged children, a multi-purpose room and a community office."

Excerpt: "The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development will partner with the Literacy Coalition of New Brunswick to provide training to 400 early childhood educators over the next four years. Beginning this fall, 100 of them in the anglophone sector will be invited to participate in a training program entitled Talk, Sing, Read Everyone, Everywhere! The training includes coaching and mentoring so that early childhood educators can feel confident about their skills."

Excerpt: "New Brunswick has ranked first in a report on early childhood education released by the University of Toronto’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. “Our province is committed to providing quality early learning and child-care services to New Brunswick families, and the results of this report show how far we have come,” said Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Bill Hogan. “Those who work in the early learning sector are shaping the adults of tomorrow, and they are supporting families who are at work and studying. They work incredibly hard every day and we deeply appreciate the work they do in laying the foundation for our youngest learners.”"

Excerpt: "The government will increase funding through the Canada-New Brunswick Canada-Wide Child Care Agreement by $7.4 million, bringing the total investment to $150.7 million in 2024-25. This investment aims to improve access to affordable, high-quality designated child-care spaces. Other investments include: $4.4 million to support children with autism spectrum disorder, providing the right supports at the right time and setting up children for success; $18.6 million to address challenges resulting from enrolment growth, as well as an additional $24.3 million to address rising operating costs such as energy, transportation and other services; $1.1 million to address costs associated with opening new schools in Fredericton and Moncton this September; $2.5 million to support language learning and ease the transition for immigrant students entering the New Brunswick education system; $7.4 million to provide services to help students attend school and address their diverse needs; $7.8 million to provide support to reverse the effects of instruction time lost during the pandemic; $4.1 million to begin implementing longer-term measures, such as teacher recruitment and retention, enhanced virtual learning and leadership development among school leaders."

Excerpt: "Your government has amended the Early Childhood Services Act and implemented the Federal-Provincial Early Learning and Childcare Action Plan to create 550 new designated childcare spaces this year and reduced out-of-pocket fees for families on average by 50 per cent. The funding agreement aims to provide New Brunswick families with an average fee of $10 per day childcare by 2025-26. Your government has also increased early childhood educator wages by 24 per cent and increased retention by 46 per cent."

Excerpt: "Studies show that every dollar invested in early childhood education generates between $1.50 and nearly $3.00 in activity for the broader economy. Nearly 950,000 more Canadians are employed today than were before the pandemic. That includes a record 85.7 per cent labour force participation rate in July for Canadian women in their prime working years — and that is supported by our early learning and child care system, now nation wide. This level – 85.7 per cent – is a record high for Canada and it compares to just 77.5 per cent in the U.S."

The State of Our Children and Youth report and The Right to Identity, Culture and Language: A Child's Path to Development (A Statistical Background Report to the Child and Youth Advocate's 3rd Annual State of our Children and Youth Address) released.

Ministerial Advisory Committee on Early Learning and Childcare announced. The committee will provide advice on implementing the government’s Early Learning and Childcare Plan under four key principles of accessibility; affordability; inclusiveness; and quality early learning and child care. The committee will also facilitate communication between the department and early learning and child care centres, parents, schools and community partners.

Budget announced $1.4 million to fund an increased number of early learning and child care spaces and an additional $800,000 for the Daycare Assistance Program (child care fee subsidy).

On January 11, 2012, the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development announced a plan "to reorganize school districts; increase parents’ involvement on district education councils; and to pay chairs and members of these councils."

Excerpt: "Amendments have been proposed to the unproclaimed Early Learning and Childcare Act to establish a single piece of legislation called the Early Childhood Services Act. The new act would combine all early childhood programs and services such as preschool autism intervention, prenatal support, early learning and childcare, and early intervention.... Changes to the section of the act detailing curriculum frameworks are proposed so that licensed childcare facilities use only one of the two frameworks provided by the department."

The provincial government has released a three-year, $38-million action plan, Putting Children First, that will integrate early childhood services into the school system.