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News & Stories: Policy Monitor

November 6, 2013

Ministry Announcement: New Kindergarten to Grade 9 Curriculum Framework for feedback

Excerpt: "This focus on disciplinary thinking means that students will take part in actively building their own understanding of important concepts and topics. Social Studies covers many interesting topics with no agreed-upon answer, such as questions about the causes of major historical events or debates about which policy decisions government should make to address a societal problem. Using disciplinary thinking tools, students will learn to develop and support their own answers to these questions, as well as challenge the answers and information obtained through various sources."
January 31, 2014

Provincial Office for the Early Years launched

Excerpt: "The new Provincial Office for the Early Years will focus on the needs of families with children up to age six and help ensure they have easy access to a range of early-years services no matter where they live in B.C., announced Minister of Children and Family Development Stephanie Cadieux at the UBC Early Years Conference in Vancouver."
November 17, 2014

1,006 New Child-Care Spaces Coming to B.C. Families

Excerpt: "Families in 28 communities throughout B.C. will benefit from 1,006 new licensed child-care spaces, announced Children and Family Development Minister Stephanie Cadieux and Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation Minister John Rustad today at the Victoria Native Friendship Centre."
January 23, 2015

Child-care capital funding, ECE bursaries available

Excerpt: "Child-care providers throughout B.C. can now apply for the second phase of major capital funding under the B.C. Early Years Strategy, which will create 1,000 new licensed child-care spaces in 2015-16. These spaces are in addition to the 1,006 new child-care spaces government announced Nov. 2014."
February 17, 2015

Excerpt: "Approximately 180,000 families will begin receiving the B.C. Early Childhood Tax Benefit starting April 1, 2015. It provides up to $660 a year for each child under the age of six, to help with the cost of child care. The cost of this program will be $146 million annually beginning in 2015-16. Also available starting this year is the Training and Education Savings grant—a one-time payment of $1,200 for every child resident in B.C. who was born since January 1, 2007. As many as 40,000 children may be eligible every year, once they turn six."
March 27, 2015

Excerpt: "Government will provide $1 million to continue a bursary fund for students enrolled in early childhood education programs, Children and Family Development Minister Stephanie Cadieux announced today at the BC Early Years Forum in Richmond. The Early Childhood Educators of BC established the ECE Student Bursary program in April 2014 with support from a provincial investment of $513,000."
August 30, 2015

Evaluation Report 2015 - Early Years Centres (EYC)

In the Fall of 2015, the Human Early Learning Partnership was engaged by the provincial Early Years Office to complete an early stage evaluation of the lessons learned from the first twelve Early Years Centres (EYCs) funded under the government’s Early Years Strategy. This report documents the findings from this evaluation.
November 30, 2015

Excerpt: "Those involved in providing services to children and youth also have compelling reasons for understanding how children and youth are doing now and, when possible, how they are faring compared with the past. This information can help direct public resources to where they are most needed."
December 7, 2015

Excerpt: "An innovative, made-in-B.C. autism research project will explore the benefits of parent coaching intervention for infants and toddlers who show early signs of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

The project – made possible by more than $3 million in one-time government funding – was spurred by other studies linking early infant-toddler interventions to better developmental outcomes in children with ASD and in children who display early warning signs of ASD."
February 16, 2016

Excerpt: "Budget 2016 provides significant new investments in core programs while maintaining governments ongoing commitment to disciplined and prudent fiscal planning. Government is presenting balanced budget results in each year of the fiscal plan for the fourth year in a row."
May 12, 2016

Excerpt: "Students participating in early childhood education programs can apply for up to $300 per course, to a maximum of $1,500 per semester. Priority will be given to Aboriginal students, students attending programs with an Aboriginal focus and students working to achieve an infant/toddler educator designation."
June 1, 2016

Excerpt: "Families in 30 B.C. communities will soon benefit from 1,818 new licensed child-care spaces, thanks to a nearly $11.3-million investment from the Province through the Child Care Major Capital Funding Program, announced Minister of Children and Family Development Stephanie Cadieux from the BC Institute of Technology (BCIT) Student Association Child Care Centre."