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Presented by Kerry McCuaig, June 23, 2014, Ringsted, Denmark.

Nordic leaders gathered in Copenhagen on June 23 to discuss how to create a good life for children through quality early childhood education. The Nordic approach of a good life, presents a different starting point to policy and program development. Kerry McCuaig with the Atkinson Centre attended the conference to share some Canadian innovations in ECE delivery and monitoring with participants.

Excerpt: "Education Minister Don Morgan announced that more than 500 new spaces are being allocated in eleven communities across Saskatchewan."

Minister Lafferty tabled a Junior Kindergarten Information Kit that provides background on Junior Kindergarten, the Government of the Northwest Territories’ (GNWT) financial investment in the education system, dedicated funding for Inclusive Schooling and the NWT’s Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR). The information kit also looked at the projected impact of implementing Junior Kindergarten on the two Yellowknife school boards, Yellowknife Catholic Schools (YCS) and Yellowknife Education District No. 1.

Excerpt: "Can Ontario's universal full-day kindergarten program help to level the playing field? The list of possibilities is long: closing the gap of language experience of kids living in poverty, reaching all vulnerable kids, including those in the middle class, contributing support to families who need child care, and ensuring that care and education are combined in high quality programs that boost overall child development as well as academic skills and economic success. Research has shown that many of these goals can be accomplished by high quality universal early childhood programs."

OCUFA: Professor Glen Jones on Higher Education and the 2014 provincial election.

Excerpt: "The bidding for child care in the Ontario election campaign started at $269-million with the Liberals, dropped to $100-million by the NDP and vanished by the time it got to the Tories. Surprisingly advocates don’t ask the NDP leader why she killed the budget to come back with $169-million less than what was initially on the table."

Excerpt: "On May 2, 2014, the Federal Court of Appeal unanimously upheld the findings of the Federal Court concerning an employer's obligation to provide workplace accommodation for an employee's childcare needs in Canada (Attorney General) v. Johnstone, a case that has garnered significant media attention. As the first decision from an appellate-level court on this issue in more than a decade, this ruling serves as the most authoritative statement to date on a difficult issue that has generated a lot of uncertainty for workplace participants."

Excerpt: "Last weekend, 83 kindergarten teachers graduated with their Bachelor of Education degree, which was an important milestone in the successful transition to a public full-day kindergarten program in our Island school system, says Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Alan McIsaac."

Excerpt: "The Government of Manitoba is launching a new five-year plan to create more high-quality child care for families across the province including investing in 5,000 more child-care spaces and another 20 new or expanded child-care centres, Family Services Minister Kerri Irvin-Ross announced today."

Excerpt: "Licensed early learning and child care is an important support for many Manitoba families. As more families choose to make Manitoba their home, we are continuing to build and look for ways to improve early learning and child care across our province."

Excerpt: "How Does Learning Happen? is a professional learning resource developed to support Ontario’s renewed vision for the early years. It highlights the importance of strong leadership and collaborative practice across child care and child and family support programs. This approach will help to move us towards increasingly integrated services and programs for children and families in Ontario. This document will also inspire critical reflection with a focus on children’s learning, development, health and well-being. It articulates a view of children, families and educators as competent, capable and rich in potential. This will help transform practices in early years setting."

Excerpt: "As child care, early learning and the education system become increasingly integrated, more children will benefit from a stronger start in life. Family support programs offer a wide range of opportunities that promote healthy child development, foster children’s early learning through play, and support parents and families in their role as primary caregivers. The work that has already been done to create healthy, safer schools and to support the mental and physical health of children and youth provides an excellent blueprint for how we must work together in the future. This renewed vision must ensure that we build on the momentum we’ve achieved and equip our children and students with the skills they need to seize opportunities and overcome obstacles."