During Kindergarten registration, the Ministry of Education is conducting a voluntary survey regarding experiences in child care and community activities, called EYE@K.

Families will be invited to complete the survey and the information will be shared within the school to help our educators and principals support your child's transition to Full-Day Kindergarten. The information will also be shared with the Ministry of Education, Lambton Kent District School Board and child care system planners in your community to assist with planning, coordinating and improving programs and services for families and young children.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is happening with early years and child care programs and services in Ontario?

Every day, children and their families receive quality care and support from early years and child care professionals in diverse communities across the province. The Ministry of Education is building on positive steps taken in recent years to provide high-quality early years and child care experiences for Ontario's children and families.

Ontario's Renewed Early Years and Child Care Policy Framework (2017) sets a vision for a system in which all children and families have access to a range of high-quality, inclusive and affordable early years and child care programs and services that are child- and family-centred and contribute to children's learning, development and well-being.

What is EYE@K?

EYE@K is a survey that the Ministry of Education has introduced this for Kindergarten registration for the 2018-19 school year. The voluntary questionnaire includes seven questions and is part of the Kindergarten registration process.

The Ministry of Education is looking to gather information from families about their early years' experiences. The EYE@K survey will provide the Ministry, school boards and child care system planners with data that will assist with planning, coordinating and improving programs and services for families and young children in the area.

Do I have to complete the EYE@K survey?

The EYE@K survey is completely voluntary. However, the information provided by the survey will help to support the transition of children to Full-Day Kindergarten and inform future decisions about programs and services for families and young children in the community.

What type of information will be collected in the EYE@K survey?

The EYE@K survey includes questions about your child's participation in child care and community activities from birth until current date. In order to complete the survey, you will need to provide the following:

- Name, address and phone number of licensed child care centre or agency

- General frequency of child's participation in Ontario Early Years Child & Family Centres

- General frequency of child's participation in community programs (e.g. library programming; recreational programming, religious organizations or cultural centres, etc.)

How will the EYE@K survey information be shared?

The EYE@K survey information is collected under the legal authority of the Education Act R.S.O.1980, s.8.1. If you have any questions, please contact your school principal.

Why should families complete the EYE@K questionnaire?

We know that having a responsive, accessible, high-quality early years and child care system contributes to healthy child development and well-being, supporting every child's school readiness and success.  Collecting information about early years experiences will help:

• Educators and principals support your child's transition to school; and
• School boards, community child care planners and the Ministry of Education to plan and improve programs and services for families in our community.

We hope you will choose to complete the questionnaire to help Ontario's early years and child care system give children the best possible start in life.