DayCare Changes Proposed

The author of a long-anticipated report into education in Ontario says sweeping changes that would combine daycare and kindergarten into a single full-day program will mean greater success for children.

Charles Pascal says these changes will also provide a boost to the well-being of student's families.

Premier Dalton McGuinty gave Pascal, a former deputy minister of education, a two-year appointment to advise the province on how to implement full-day kindergarten.

The report recommends that parents be able to leave children aged four and five at school from 7:30 a.m. until 6 p.m.

Parents, however, would still have a choice about whether their kids would be enrolled for a full or half-day of kindergarten.

The report says children who attend full-day programs before Grade 1 fare better academically and have better social skills.