19 Feb Pre-primary Expansion Complete

The province’s education system is further enhanced following an announcement by Premier Stephen McNeil.

On February 11th, it was announced that pre-primary school will be fully expanded province-wide to the remaining 48 school communities in Nova Scotia.

Pre-primary school is a hugely beneficial step in the educational path of Nova Scotia’s youth, fostering not only the educational, but also the emotional and social development of the province’s four-year-olds.

The free and universal program, expected to be fully implemented by the start of the following school year in September 2020, allows children to become more familiar with the structure of school, easing the eventual transition to elementary school.

The program is already available in 205 communities, and the government will invest $17.5 million in order to complete the expansion to include the remaining 48 school communities.

Pre-primary school saw more than 4,550 four-year-olds register for the program last year and the program also is expected to employ around 880 early childhood educators.

In order to lower inherent barriers to registration, the province will also carry out phase two of busing for eligible pre-primaries.

Families who wish to register their child in pre-primary school can contact their Regional Centre for Education or the Conseil Scolaire Acadien Provincial.

For more information on the Nova Scotia Pre-primary Program, please visit: http://www.novascotia.ca/preprimary

Additionally, for more information on the Pre-primary Busing Program, please visit: http://www.ednet.ns.ca/pre-primary/faq-busing