Zach Churchill at Small World Learning Centre in Bridgewater
Changes announced today aim to make the pre-primary program more accessible.
Beginning in September, 40 sites across the province will offer the Nova Scotia Before and After Program to students from pre-primary to grade six.
Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Zach Churchill says the physical activity based program will be run by approved childcare and recreation providers.
“We invest, through subsidies, into our regulated childcare sector up to approximately $70 million dollars a year and we want them to expand as well. We believe these sorts of partnerships can help.”
Churchill says government is responding to concerns from parents about finding childcare outside of school hours.
The minister says there will be a price for that care.
“We’re expecting the cost to be approximately between $15 and $22 a day, depending on the provider. If a home is eligible for subsidy it will cost them just over or under four dollars.”
Education Minister Zach Churchill and Lunenburg West MLA Mark Furey announce changes to pre-primary program
Churchill also announced bus service will be available at 56 of the 201 locations this fall to transport pre-primary students.
Both bus service and Before and After programs will be expanded to all locations when pre-primary is rolled out across the province in the 2020-21 school year.
Children and families will have more access to pre-primary starting in September, when the province begins a 2-year rollout to expand the Nova Scotia Before and After Program and bus service. #NSPrePrimary #PlayBasedLearninghttps://t.co/2ka1YeFJOz pic.twitter.com/69XJYk5lXy
— NS Education and Early Childhood Development (@nseducation) August 20, 2019
Reported by: Ed Halverson
Twitter: @edwardhalverson
E-mail: halverson.ed@radioabl.ca
