New road map for early years and child care
Peel is a fast-growing, diverse municipality and the needs of its children and families have changed over the past 20 years.
The Early Years and Child Care Service System Plan (2025-2030) is a road map for how we will continue to build and grow an early years and child care system that meets the evolving needs of children and families in Peel. Specifically, it will guide our planning and decision-making for licensed child care, Child Care Subsidy, EarlyON, and Special Needs Resourcing.
Our plan lays out key priorities that will make a difference in the lives of children and families in Peel, both today and for years to come. We developed the plan through extensive consultation with families, service providers, and community partners. The plan also builds on the key achievements made by Early Years and Child Care Services from 2019-2024.
Access the Early Years and Child Care Service System Plan (2025-2030).
Peel Region is responsible for planning, strategic supports, evaluation, and oversight of the local early years and child care (EYCC) system. As the service system manager, Peel must develop an EYCC System Plan that includes strategic priorities that will guide investments for the upcoming 5 years to ensure a strong and responsive system.
Our role also involves responding to the changing needs of the community by monitoring trends and demographic changes to keep system planning current and relevant. This is important because Peel Region is accountable to the Ontario government for the planning, funding, administration, and operation of early years and licensed child care services across the region.
Early years and child care system
The goal of establishing a strong and responsive early years and child care system complements Peel’s vision of creating a Community for Life, a place where everyone enjoys a sense of belonging and has access to the services and opportunities they need to thrive throughout each stage of their lives. Building a resilient early years and child care system is also driven by significant economic, social, and community benefits. Research clearly shows that a healthy early years and child care system has a positive ripple effect throughout all aspects of our community.
We developed the plan through extensive consultation with families, service providers, and community partners. We prioritized hearing from diverse voices, especially those traditionally underserved in our community, including:
- Children accessing care
- Francophone families
- Indigenous families
- Black families
- South Asian families
- Other top racialized populations for Peel (such as Filipino, Chinese, and Arab)
- 2SLGBTQ+ families
- Families of children with special needs
- Families with disabilities
- Rural families
- Families with lower income
- Newcomers, recent immigrants, refugees, international students
- Single-parent households
- Families accessing Ontario Works, such as exploring needs and experiences of job seekers
- Families unhoused or at risk of being unhoused, such as families accessing the shelter system
- Families accessing licensed home child care
- Families accessing unlicensed care
- Families not currently using or considering licensed child care, such as expecting or pregnant families, families seeking adoption, stay-at-home families, multi-generational families, those using family or grandparent caregiving or nannies)
- Families requiring flexible or non-standard hours of care
Access
Families have access to early years and child care programs, services, and information that meet their specific needs.
- Expand licensed child care spaces and EarlyON services in high-need areas.
- Support service providers to increase service flexibility, including extended hours, weekends, and part-time service options.
- Improve access to information and make it easier for families to find and apply for programs and services.
Accountability
Early years and child care programs are responsive to the needs of families and accountable in the use of public funds.
- Implement transparent policies, processes, and procedures to ensure responsible oversight of public funds.
- Maintain open communication and seek continuous feedback to improve our programs and services.
- Support service provider financial and operational stability.
- Create a responsive system using technology, system modernization, and enhanced monitoring.
Affordability
Early years and child care programs are affordable for all families with children 12 years and
younger.
- Prioritize investments in Child Care Subsidy to support access to licensed child care for lower income families.
- Implement the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) plan to achieve $10- a-day on average child care.
- Make ongoing investments to reduce costs for families accessing before and after school care.
Diversity and inclusion
Early years and child care programs are responsive and inclusive of all children and families.
- Improve accessibility of EYCC programs for children with diverse developmental, behavioural, and socio-economic needs, including those from traditionally underserved populations.
- Collaborate with service providers to enhance inclusive practices, ensuring that all children and their families feel a sense of belonging in our sector.
Quality
Families experience high-quality early years and child care programs and services.
- Enhance workforce recruitment and retention strategies to support the expansion of the EYCC workforce.
- Support high-quality, licensed child care and early years programs that help prepare children for life.
- Expand and invest in continuous quality enhancement initiatives and professional learning to grow a qualified workforce.
To understand the current and future needs of families, we carried out a thorough community engagement, reaching a wide range of community members and partners. It was clear that, in addition to the many strengths of the existing early years and child care system, there were several opportunities to improve. Families reinforced the need for a system that is affordable, high quality, accountable, responsive, inclusive, diverse, and accessible.
To address the themes identified during our community engagement, we have developed strategic priorities and outcomes as the framework to guide our work over the next five years.
There are specific timelines and measurements for each priority that will track our progress. As we implement the System Plan, we will continue to work together with key internal and external partners to ensure that it remains relevant and responsive to the needs of children and families in Peel.
