Availability of kindergarten for 4 and 5 year olds, by province and territory, Canada, 2014
Notes:
1Part and full day available to some four year olds.
2Part-day available to some three and four year olds.
Source: CICH table created using data adapted from Friendly, M., Grady, B., Macdonald, L., & Forer, B. (2015). Early childhood education and care in Canada 2014. http://www.childcarecanada.org/publications/ecec-canada/16/03/early-childhood-education-and-care-canada-2014 – accessed July 24, 2017.
Kindergarten (full or part-day) is available for 5 year-olds in all Canadian provinces and territories.
Full school day kindergarten is available for 5 year-olds in 8 provinces/territories.
Kindergarten access for 4 year-olds is far less available.
Implications
Research shows that all children benefit from high-quality, early childhood care and education services. Experts in early childhood development agree that the most effective approaches include a holistic, coherent system of care that supports child development and provides support for parents while they work, train or study. Early childhood education and care programs can have beneficial developmental effects if quality is high while poor quality programs may have a negative effect, especially for very young or disadvantaged children.3
3OECD (2011), Starting Strong III: A Quality Toolbox for Early Childhood Education and Care. http://www.oecd.org/edu/school/startingstrongiii-aqualitytoolboxforearlychildhoodeducationandcare.htm accessed July 29, 2017.