Province Pilots Before and After Program for Pre-primary Children

NOTE: A list of the pilot locations follows the release.

Ten pre-primary locations across the province will pilot a new, on-site, before and after program for pre-primary children, focused on physical activity and outdoor play.

“Having this pre-primary before and after program will mean a lot less stress and worry about finding before and after care,” said Denise Ryan, a parent whose child attends pre-primary at William King Elementary School in Herring Cove. “Not only will this make a difference to our family, but to all the other families in our community that were unable to register their child for pre-primary because they could not access before and after program care.”

Government will work with the child care and recreation sectors to deliver the pilot program, which will be aligned with government’s new Let’s Get Moving Nova Scotia action plan.

“We want families to have access to before and after programs for children in pre-primary,” said Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development Zach Churchill. “We’re working with our partners to create a seamless day for pre-primary children in a quality, accessible and affordable program that focuses on the physical health and well-being of children.”

The pilot program will offer physical activity, outdoor play and movement in a quality, on-site location.

“Let’s Get Moving Nova Scotia will help to create a culture where daily movement is the new normal for Nova Scotians regardless of age, abilities, and background,” said Communities, Culture and Heritage Minister Leo Glavine. “We will do this by working with our education partners, business leaders, municipalities, and First Nation communities to find new opportunities for people of all ages, to be active in the settings where they live, work, study and play.”

Three of the pilot sites will be at pre-primary locations where there currently exists a before and after program for pre-primary children. The remaining seven pilot sites will see a new before and after program open to pre-primary children at those locations.

The before and after programs are separate from the provincial pre-primary program. They will be fee-based and delivered by an approved regulated child care provider or recreation provider.

The Department of Education and Early Childhood Education will also extend their Child Care Subsidy Program to families of pre-primary children participating in the pilot program, who meet the income threshold criteria.

For more information about the Child Care Subsidy Program visit https://www.ednet.ns.ca/earlyyears/families/childcaresubsidy.shtml

The pilot programs will run until the end of June, when the pre-primary programs close for the summer.

The 10 pilot locations are:

• Coldbrook and District School, Coldbrook, Kings Co.
• Harbourside Elementary School, Sydney
• Oxford Regional Education Centre, Oxford
• Conseil scolaire acadien provincial Bedford Highway pre-primary site, Bedford, Halifax Co.
• William King Elementary School, Herring Cove
• Chedabucto Education Centre/Guysborough Academy, Guysborough, Guysborough Co.
• East Antigonish Education Centre/Academy, Monastery, Antigonish, Co.
• West Northfield Elementary School, West Northfield, Lunenburg Co.
• Yarmouth Central School, Yarmouth
• Weymouth Consolidated School, Weymouth, Digby Co.