Ontario Early Years

Every day, early childhood educators (ECEs) provide Ontario’s children with safe, responsive, and caring interactions that build a strong foundation for their development and well-being. 

Children who participate in high-quality learning environments experience increased verbal communication, reading, math, and science skills, as well as a host of other benefits.

Uncover the facts about the many ways ECEs benefit children, their families, and the growth of our economy. 

High-Quality Licensed Child Care Fact Sheet

High-quality licensed child care provides Ontario’s children with safe, responsive, and caring interactions that build a strong foundation for development and well-being.¹

When children are nurtured in environments where their social, emotional, cognitive, and physical health is considered, they thrive in countless ways.

90% of adult brain development occurs between birth and age five²

High-quality licensed child care helps children develop vital skills during their first five years, which marks a critical developmental period in a child’s life.

Early childhood educators (ECEs) provide children with the foundation they need to grow into future leaders. ECEs use their extensive knowledge of learning and child development to create high-quality learning opportunities through play and exploration. Educators are trained to:

• Understand brain development and how to support healthy growth¹
• Identify children's developmental stages and capabilities in social, emotional, cognitive, linguistic, and physical domains³
• Build partnerships with families to support children’s well-being³
• Plan activities that promote learning and build on children’s current abilities and interests³

Participation in high-quality learning environments, can help support children and their communities and to improve social, health, and academic outcomes.

Benefits for children

1. Improved physical and mental well-being⁴
2. Decrease in chronic health problems⁷
3. Increased self confidence⁴
4. Improved outcomes in literacy⁵, math, and science⁶
5. Higher rates of completing high-school⁸
6. Increase in conflict resolutions skills⁴

Benefits for communities

1. Increases the number of women in the workforce⁹
2. Decreases the need for social assistance⁹
3. Increases household income⁹
4. Decreases participation in criminal activity⁸

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What do we do in Muskoka to support high-quality licensed child care? 

• The District Municipality of Muskoka is responsible for Muskoka's licensed child care system.
• We provide licensed programs with special needs resource supports to ensure the inclusion of all children. 
• We ensure the same quality of care is available at all licensed child care facilities through our Quality Assurance (Improvement) program. 
• We offer child care fee subsidies for eligible families enrolled in licensed child care. 
• We run EarlyON centres, which offer free, high-quality drop-in programs for families and children from birth to 6 years old.
• We operate the Muskoka Home Child Care Agency.  
• We are designing a Workforce Development Strategy for the Early Years and Child Care Sector, to support the retention and recruitment of a qualified child care and early year’s workforce.

Early childhood education provides a solid foundation for a bright and successful future. Do you want to help build that foundation? 

Check out the resources below to assist you in becoming a Early Childhood Educator: 

• College of Early Childhood Educators - the College is one of the largest professional self-regulatory bodies in Ontario and is the only professional self-regulatory body for early childhood education in Canada.
• Education Grants - The education grant is available to cover the cost of tuition fees related to studying in a recognized Early Childhood Education diploma program. Applications are processed on a first come, first served basis once all required documents have been received. Funding is based on the number of applications received, and available funding per semester.