A good start

Goal

Vancouver's children have the best chance of enjoying a healthy childhood.

Target

85% of Vancouver’s children are developmentally ready for school when they enter kindergarten.

Overview

Our experiences as children and youth affect our development and health throughout life. Investment in all aspects of child development, including quality childcare and early learning, is an investment in the sustainability of the city.

Considerations for healthy good starts include:

Physical, social, mental, emotional, and spiritual development
Loving and secure attachments
Housing and neighbourhoods
Family income
Clean environments and quality food
Health and childcare

Progress we've made so far

Healthy City Dashboard

Check out the latest way to find information about health and well-being in Vancouver. View the status, trends, and graphs of health indicators and export the data to use elsewhere.

Explore the Healthy City Dashboard

SCHOOL READINESS

Hover on data points for more information.
Data Source: UBC HELP, Early Development Instrument

How we measure change

We use a number of data sources to monitor trends in the health of the city. We monitor progress toward A Good Start using data from the federal census program, research into school readiness, childcare facilities listings, and income tax returns.
School readiness
- 64% of kindergarten children are considered ready for school (2013‑2016)
  Source: UBC Human Early Learning Partnership, Early Development Instrument
  Readiness for school is measured through the Human Early Learning Partnership's Early Development Instrument (EDI). The EDI measures vulnerability on five scales:
  - Communication skills
  - Physical health and well-being
  - Social competence
  - Emotional maturity
  - Language and cognitive development
Child poverty
- 22% children aged 0-17 in families below the after-tax census family low income measure (2016)
  Source: Statistics Canada, Income Tax Returns, accessed through Community Data Program
Access to licensed, affordable, and accessible childcare
- There are 21 licensed childcare spaces per 100 children aged 0-12 (2016)
  Source: West Coast Child Care Resource Centre , Statistics Canada, post-censal estimates, accessed through Community Data Program
Median monthly fees for various childcare types (2017):
- $1,340 for licensed group infant childcare
- $1,333 for licensed group toddler childcare
- $980 for licensed group age 3-5 childcare
Source: Fee survey (West Coast Child Care Resource Centre)
2015-2018 Priority Actions

Steps toward achieving this goal in the first four years of the Healthy City Strategy.
Over the next ten years, we will encourage growth and education from an early age.
1. Create a Good Start Framework for children in the City of Vancouver from birth to 24 years. This framework will include guiding principles and priorities as well as some key actions including:
  - Promotion of the "$10 a day child care plan"
  - Promotion of affordable family housing
  - A Collective Impact approach to early childhood development
  - Creation of a minimum of 1,000 new child care spaces
  - Enhancement of parental leave opportunities
  - Initiatives to reduce childhood sedentary behaviour (such as physical literacy)
  - Facilitate 1,300 daily school breakfasts and food literacy development
  - Results: We will develop a framework that outlines the most effective way to use and align resources and partnerships to support children and families along a continuum of birth to 24 years.