On August 31, 2015, the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014 came into force. The CCEYA provides a comprehensive scheme for both home and centre‑based daycare licensing in the province of Ontario. The previous Day Nurseries Act is now repealed, however, remains in effect for daycares currently holding licences under it.

The transition means that all daycares will be required to meet the standards of the CCEYA at their next licensing inspection. There are many new requirements relating to such things as staff qualifications, serious occurrence reporting and records requirements. Further, all daycares are now required to have a comprehensive “Program Statement” that reflects the Ministry of Education’s policy document How Does Learning Happen: Ontario’s Pedagogy for the Early Years.

The coming into force of the CCEYA does not change daycares’ obligations under pre‑existing service contracts. Daycares that have fee subsidy agreements with a municipality must continue to meet their obligations under those contracts in addition to the new licensing requirements.

We encourage our daycare clients to familiarize themselves with the new licensing regime as soon as possible. The Ministry of Education has provided a brief introduction to the new act on their website.

Daycares that would like advice on the changes they need to implement to meet their obligations are encouraged to contact us prior to preparing for their next licensing inspection.

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Tags: Daycare