Canada Dreams

hi

sorry me again

looks like we could be over in NS before our daughter is five, and she could not start school until she is 5, does anyone know if us being on a TWP would this mean that we would have to pay for this.

thank you

zoeisababe

My partner is trying to talk me into going and this was a concern of mine, my daughter will be 4 when we go, i dont know nothing about the school system there.

Judy in Calgary

If parents choose to send their children to pre-school / nursery school, they pay for it themselves. This is applicable to Canadian citizens too.

Government-funded (state) schooling in most of Canada starts in kindergarten, which most children enter around the age of 5. (In Ontario it starts with junior kindergarten, which children enter around the age of 4.)

Children of temporary work permit holders are entitled to free tuition at government-funded schools, from kindergarten up to and including grade twelve, which is the end of high school.

The only debate that sometimes arises is whether or not the child of a temporary work permit holder requires a study permit in order to attend school. Individual civil servants at the school board and federal government levels sometimes have different understandings about this issue.

If I was heading to Canada on a TWP with a school-aged child, I'd just bite the bullet and apply for a study permit for my child at the same time as I applied for my own TWP.

Children definitely do not need study permits in order to attend pre-school / nursery school. But then pre-schools are not government-funded. They are optional, and parents have to pay out of their own pockets if they want to avail themselves of the service.

You may find it helpful to read the Wiki article called Childcare in Nova Scotia and the various Wiki articles on Schooling in Canada.
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Judy in Calgary

I saw in another thread that, if you go to Canada, you'll be heading to Calgary. There are nine Wiki articles about Calgary, including one on Calgary Schooling.

There are numerous Wiki articles about Canadian Schooling.

As you will have seen from my response to Canada Dreams, government-funded schooling in most of Canada starts with kindergarten, which most children enter around the age of 5. That is true in Calgary too.

If you want to send your child to nursery school before that, you have to pay for it. A typical nursery school schedule for a 4-year-old in Calgary is three mornings a week.

You said in another thread that you didn't want to move to Canada and that this might be a make-or-break issue as far as you and your husband were concerned. That's a terribly difficult position to be in, and I sympathize with you on it.

However, if you do move to Calgary, there are several of us forum members who live in and around the city, and there also are all those Wiki articles, as I mentioned earlier.

Hope that helps.
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Nicola N-A

My daughter was 4 when we moved here and had already done a year at school in the UK.

Since moving to NS she has had to go 'back' to preschool, which we had to pay for.

She's just turned 5 and will be starting elementary in September (no charge). They have changed the starting age here. I think it is if the child is due to turn 5 in the coming school year (ie, 2008/9) then they can start in September. This is purely voluntary but there are no 4 yr olds enrolled in her new class.

It doesn't appear to be the 'done' thing here, which is nice in a way, the children actually stay children for longer!

If anyone wants to pm me for more info on this or anything else - feel free!

zoeisababe

Thanks Judy! x UYou never know when you might need a babysitter (KIDDING! X

iaink

In Ontario kids can be in school board funded Junior Kindergarden at least part time starting in the fall of the the year they turn 4, so often starting at age three if their 4th birthday is late in the year...

AmyDavid

In NS your child has to be 5 by the end of that new school year - so my daughter turns 5 on 31st December 2008 so she falls into being able to go to kindergarten this September, so she will be 4.5 when she starts. She is more than ready to go I can tell you!

Arrona

my son will be 4 when he starts school next year he will be 5 in the october.
if you earn less than a certain amount (which im not sure of exact amount) you can get help towards child care costs.

Kul

Hello, we came over in March to Ottawa, Ontario. We did not need a study permit for our 5 year old (who went into senior kindergarten) but we did need one for our 8 year old (who went into grade 3). We did not know this, so we were actually sent our TWP stuff back and we then had to re apply (although it didn't seem to affect the dates too much).

Judy in Calgary

Just a clarication. Temporary work permit holders have to wait 18 months before they're eligible for the Canada Child Tax Benefit or the Universal Child Care Benefit. This is explained in the Wiki article called Family and Child Benefits-Canada.
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Canada Dreams

thanks for the info, could anyone tell me the rough cost in pre schooling fees,

iaink

Depends on the place.

Best start is an Ontario government program that covers JK aged kids and up. Our local place costs $25 a day.
http://www.gov.on.ca/children/englis...02_184667.html

Out local community nursery school takes kids from about 2 1/2 on (once potty trained basically) and is $65 a month, although most parents are expected to put in a few hours helping out from time to time too. If its impossible for you to help out, the cost is higher.

Fancier preschool, Montessori etc might cost significantly more

Judy in Calgary

According to the Wiki article called Childcare in Nova Scotia, it costs between $12.00 and $15.00 for a half-day session. If your daughter attended three mornings a week (that's a typical schedule for a 4-year-old here in Calgary), that would work out to between $168 and $120 a month.

Just for clarification, the original post asked about Nova Scotia.
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wensamjam

Thank you Judy for referring to my pervious post about childcare, hope it is useful to parents coming to Nova Scotia.

Wendy