Full-day kindergarten is offered to all 5-year-old children in Quebec and it's time to register them! Although all school boards are required to offer it, attendance is not mandatory.
Kindergarten may be optional, but it is not possible to register for this 5-year-old kindergarten and attend it only part-time. Full-time attendance is mandatory for enrolled children.
Registration
The age for admission of a child to kindergarten is set at 5 years. To enroll your child in kindergarten, the child must be 5 years old no later than October 1st of the same year. For specific reasons that must be assessed by a professional, you can request a exemption to delay the start of kindergarten or to bring it forward.
Since the application for registration must be accompanied by the original birth certificate of the child, plan to ask the Registrar of Civil Status if you do not haven't already.
Registration usually takes place in February or March. School boards usually conduct information campaignsin the local newspapers to announce the registration periods, but if you want to check the information to plan it in your agenda, a call to your neighborhood school will inform you.
4-year-old kindergarten
Since 2013, children considered disadvantaged in their living environment are invited to attend a 4-year-old kindergarten class. This program is not open to everyone, nor in all regions of Quebec. To check if this is the case in your area, call your school board who can give you all the relevant information and tell you if your child can be registered.
Ratio of classes
Currently, the kindergarten program has an average of 18 students and a maximum of 20 students per class.
Cost
Full-day kindergarten service for 5-year-olds is free. However, you will have to buy school supplies (notebooks, pencils, sheets, etc.) and often the bill exceeds $50, even in kindergarten. In addition, the majority of schools require that children have a second pair of shoes exclusively reserved for indoors. You may also be asked for an amount for school outings and activities. This sum is usually optional, but refusing to pay it compromises the holding of these activities.
Parents who do not enroll their child in 5-year-old kindergarten can reserve a place in an early childhood center, depending on the places available. However, they cannot benefit from theparental contribution of $7 per day per child and only the refundable tax credit, as if the child attended a private daycare, will be accessible to them since the full amount, not subsidized, will be requested from them by the CPE.
Transportation
The school board provides transportation for the children, if necessary. In general, bus transportation is offered free of charge to preschool students who have to walk more than 0.8 km to get to school. Some school boards, for safety measures, offer bus transportation to all kindergarten students regardless of the distance to be covered. Check with your local school or school board to verify their transportation policy.
For more information, contact your neighborhood school or the school boardin your area.
