All-Day Kindergarten

Education minister responds, The Province, Wed Jun 23 2010. Margaret MacDiarmid

In response to Jon Ferry's column, independent, academic research in North America and Europe shows that a high-quality, play-based kindergarten program has long-term benefits: it helps children to succeed in school and in life. Full-day learning is associated with improved literacy and numeracy, smoother transitions to Grade 1 and opportunities to develop strong social skills.

The likelihood that learning difficulties will be identified earlier and acted upon is increased. And investment in the early years is anticipated to result in reduced costs for special education and remediation going forward.

Expanding choices for parents also can be positive for the workforce, while increased opportunities for early childhood education can result in significant savings in other social program areas.

Full-day kindergarten will be available for up to 50 per cent of all children in B.C. starting in September. And everyone will have the opportunity for full-day kindergarten provincewide in 2011.

Enrolling children in kindergarten at age five is optional and this won't change. Given that every child is unique, parents who have concerns are encouraged to discuss their child's needs with their local school. Full-day kindergarten is designed to be developmentally appropriate and provide a balance of active and quiet time. We believe most parents will be pleased with how well their children adjust to a full-day, play-based kindergarten program.

Margaret MacDiarmid, B.C. minister of education