At your local school, during the month of February.

Your Centre Director, Vice-Principal or school secretary will announce the opening of kindergarten registration.

Keep an eye on your school’s Facebook page and listen to your local FM radio.

The child’s birth certificate.

If you don’t have a copy of your child’s birth certificate, order it here ‣‣‣

In the meantime, you can register your child.
Don’t forget to bring the birth certificate to school when you receive it.

All children who are 5 years old or who will be by September 30 are eligible.

If you believe that your child is very bright and mature compared to children of his or her own age, you can request a derogation test for your child to pass. Your child will need to take and pass this test.

Know that if a child is not ready for school when starting kindergarten, this can lead to serious learning, behaviour and self-esteem issues.

The Quebec government allows children who are very advanced in their development and have the required skills to be admitted a year early at the kindergarten level. This exceptional measure is allowed when it is demonstrated that it is detrimental for the child NOT to attend school. For example, if the child is exceptionally gifted, not going to school early could be harmful to his or her development.

If your child is not ready, an early kindergarten start can cause damage to their communication, physical, cognitive, and social and emotional development. They risk repeating grades, which can lead to self-esteem issues.

This is determined by a test that your child must take. The test results must find that your child is a lot more advanced than children of his or her age in 4 developmental areas.

These developmental areas encompass essential skills that your child needs in order to feel confident and succeed at school:

• Language and speech: the way a child speaks, what he or she can understand, etc.
• Nonverbal reasoning: the child’s ability to think, solve problems, etc.
• Motor skills: the way the child handles a pencil and scissors, moves, etc.
• Social emotional development: the child’s ability to do things independently, maturity level, attention, behaviour, ability to play well with others, etc.

A derogation means that you are requesting the school board to exceptionally authorize your child to start kindergarten before they reach the required age of 5 years old.

To obtain a derogation for your child, you must follow this procedure:

• Submit a request by filling out the electronic application form before March 15. If you need help, school staff can help you to access the form. You can also call us at 1-866-964-1136, ext. 301.
• Your request must explain your child’s strengths. On the application form, you must explain how not being able to attend kindergarten would be damaging to your child’s progress and development.
• Make sure your child is available to complete an in-person test. Generally, the test is administered between March 15 and April 15. The exact date will be communicated to you by the school principal.

Following the test, you should receive a response in writing within a month, from the Complementary and Compassionate Services department based in Kuujjuaq.

It is very important for parents to understand that when a child is not accepted to start kindergarten early, it is not a failure.

In fact, it most likely means that your child is developing normally, and that he or she will benefit from another year at home before starting school. The school will be pleased to welcome your child for the following school year.

The objective of this test is to determine if your child is ready to attend school. This is done by assessing your child in 4 developmental areas.

The school’s Special Education Teacher will test your child. If a Special Education Teacher is not available locally, a Complementary and Compassionate Services pedagogical counsellor will complete the assessment in your community.

The Complementary and Compassionate Services department analyzes the test results and determines if the child is ready to start kindergarten early. This decision is not made by the school.

If you don’t agree with the decision, you can appeal to the Ministry of Education. You can also contact Complementary and Compassionate Services by email or by phone at 1-866-964-1136 ext. 301 to get more information about the outcome of your derogation request.

The test is administered at your local school.

Typically, the assessment is conducted between March 15 and April 15. You need to make sure your child will be available to take the test in person.

Your child will be tested in his or her mother tongue (Inuktitut, French or English).

No, a parent cannot be present in the room during the assessment.