FDK Program Key Facts

Full-Day Kindergarten / Maternelle et jardin d'enfants à temps plein

KEY FACTS

  • September 2010: 35,000 four- and five-year olds enter the first year of full-day kindergarten

  • September 2011: 50,000 four- and five-year olds enrolled in nearly 800 schools - about 20 per cent of the total kindergarten population

  • September 2012: 1,700 schools will offer the program to 49 per cent of kindergarten students

  • Full-day kindergarten will be fully implemented by September 2014

  • Average class size: 26 students with a teacher and an early childhood educator, who work as a team

  • $200 million in support from Ministry of Education for the program in year 1; $300 million in year 2

  • To date, the province has allocated $500 million in capital funding to support the implementation of full-day kindergarten

  • Research says every $1 spent on early learning repays a seven-to-one return on investment

Play-based learning

  • The Full-Day Early Learning–Kindergarten Program document combines The Kindergarten Program (2006), Early Learning for Every Child Today (ELECT) and Every Child EveryOpportunity (Charles Pascal).

  • The program is child-centred and play-based—promoting children’s physical, cognitive, language, emotional, social and creative development and well-being.

  • The program document remains in draft for the 2011-12 school year.

Before- and after-school programs

  • Where there is sufficient interest from parents, schools with full-day kindergarten will provide an integrated on-site program from about 7 a.m. to start of school and after school until about 6 p.m.

  • School boards may offer the program directly or through an agreement with a third-party provider licensed under the Day Nurseries Act.

  • Costs of the program are covered by parent fees. Subsidies are available based on need and eligibility. Municipal service managers administer the subsidies for the program.

  • The program is guided by the ministry’s Extended Day Program document. It remains in draft for the 2011-12 school year.


Role of teacher and ECE in full-day kindergarten classrooms

  • There is a team of two educators in the full-day kindergarten classroom—a registered ECE and a certified teacher, with a “duty to co-operate” on:

        • planning for and providing education to students

        • observing, monitoring and assessing the development of the students

        • communicating with families

        • maintaining a healthy physical, emotional and social learning environment

        • performing all duties assigned to them by the principal

Children with special needs and special education needs

  • The Ministries of Education, Children and Youth Services, and Health and Long-Term Care are working closely to support students with special needs or special education needs.

  • For 2011-12, school boards, parents and community service agencies continue to work in partnership to ensure that children with special needs or special education needs can participate in full-day kindergarten.

Evaluation

  • The ministry has begun an evaluation of full-day kindergarten, with a particular focus on student achievement and overall child development. The results of the evaluation will help improve the delivery of full-day kindergarten and refine the approach to implementation.

More information


Still have questions about full-day kindergarten?

Submit your questions to www.edu.gov.on.ca/kindergarten/feedback.html.