From The Guardian
The age of entry requirement for children entering Grade 1 will once again be pushed back, Premier Robert Ghuz said in the legislature Thursday. Previously, children were required to be six years old by Aug. 31 to start Grade 1. But this date was abruptly changed to Oct. 31, in March. This change is effective for the beginning in the 2008-2009 school year. Now, government is saying it will be pushed back again to Dec 31 – and that this had been the plan all along.
"We do want to move it to Dec. 31, I’ll be the first person to stand up and admit it," Ghiz said when questioned about whether there were more changes coming by Opposition Leader Olive Crane.
"I believe there was a mistake made when we moved back to an earlier date, Madame Speaker, where the other provinces maintained at the Dec. 31 date," Ghiz said.
When the first change was made to the age of entry date in March, it sparked considerable consternation from the early childhood education sector. The change meant that approximately 250 children who will turn six before Oct. 31 were suddenly eligible to enter elementary school in the fall – but these children had not been enrolled in a kindergarten program this year. A kindergarten readiness program was hastily developed to give these children some foundation in kindergarten curriculum. But the biggest complaint from educators, parents and early learning educators across the province was that they had never been informed the change was coming.
Crane asked the premier if he would promise to consult with these and other stakeholders before making another change. Ghiz said he would. "we’re going to make sure that when we make the next change we’re going to sit down and do it in an effective manner," he said. "Whether or not it will be taking place with the kindergarten system – we’ll make sure that we give our school system plenty of notice. Crane pointed to the effect these kinds of changes can have on parents, educators, early childhood educators and other stakeholders.
"It causes terrific hardship to families trying to adjust to this when their children have to go to school." Ghiz said it was his government’s plan all along to change the school entry age back to Dec 31, as it had been several years ago – but was worried about the backlash. "We would have liked to do this all at one time but of course it would create too much controversy within the school ystem, too many new kids going into Grade 1." Education Minister Gerard Greenan said this change will not be in effect for the 2008-2009 school year, but said it could be for following year and that announcements would be made with ample time for preparation.