Sep 5, 20266 min read

Starting Kindergarten With a Diagnosis or a Worry: An Ontario Entry Plan

What Ontario boards offer for kindergarten entry planning, what to send the school before September, how early IEPs work, and a summer checklist for parents.

Your child is four, there is a diagnosis or a stack of worries or both, and September is a door you cannot see through. Most of what determines how the first term goes is decided before the first bell, in a conversation with a principal that many families do not know they are allowed to ask for.

What should you do first, and when?

Contact the principal of your local school as early as you can, and say plainly that your child has special education needs. The Ministry's policy guide is direct about this: "Parents and community resource persons should be encouraged to contact the principal at an early stage prior to enrolment, in order to give the principal time to consult with appropriate board personnel about resources and programming" (ontario.ca). The same page acknowledges that entry to school "is more complex" for these children and that "additional careful planning and coordination is required".

Kindergarten in Ontario is a free two-year program for four and five year olds, and in classes with more than 16 students the educator team is a teacher plus an early childhood educator (ontario.ca). That second adult matters. When you describe your child, you are describing them to a team, not to one person.

What do Ontario boards offer for entry planning?

Boards run an entry to school or transition planning process, and the shape of it varies. The TDSB's Entry to School page is a fair example of the pattern. Parents are asked to contact the principal promptly, book an appointment to discuss the child's strengths and needs, and bring documentation. Out of that comes an entry plan that "may include special education support". The board also runs a Special Education Program Recommendation Committee for children new to the board with low incidence developmental or physical disabilities, which can recommend a specialized placement without waiting for an IPRC. The page also states that most students will be placed in a regular classroom in their local school.

Your board's names for these things will differ. The questions do not:

"Do you hold entry to school or transition planning meetings, and how do I get one?"
"Who from the board attends: a special education consultant, a psychologist, a speech-language pathologist?"
"Is there a committee that can recommend a placement before an IPRC?"
"What is your deadline for arranging support for September?"

Behind the school, the province funds preschool services that often already know your child: the Preschool Speech and Language Program, the Infant Development Program, the Blind-Low Vision Early Intervention Program, the Ontario Infant Hearing Program and the Ontario Autism Program (ontario.ca). Where a family has a Service Planning Coordinator through Coordinated Service Planning, that coordinator "will work with service providers and educators to plan for the transitions, including the transition to school". If you have one, use them. If you do not, you are the coordinator.

What should you send the school before September?

Send a short package, not a filing cabinet. One page of your own words, plus the documents.

A one-page profile. Your child's name, what they love, what calms them, what sets them off, how they communicate when they are stressed, and what a good day looks like.
A list of what works. Concrete and observable: "gives us a warning before transitions", "sits at the end of the table", "needs the visual schedule at eye level".
Reports. Any assessment, speech-language, occupational therapy or paediatric report you have. If a report is long, add a two-line note pointing to the recommendations page.
Medical and safety information. Allergies, seizures, medication, toileting, feeding, elopement risk. Do not save this for later.
Names and consent. Who has been working with your child, and written consent for the school to talk to them.
What you are asking for. Two or three specific things, in writing, so the answer can also be in writing.

Will your child have an IEP in kindergarten?

Possibly, and nothing in Ontario policy prevents it. The Ministry states that an IEP "may be developed for a student who has not been identified by an IPRC" (ontario.ca). Where a child is identified by an IPRC and placed in a special education program, the IEP must be completed and a copy sent to you within 30 school days after placement (O. Reg. 181/98, s. 6(8)).

In our experience, practice in the kindergarten years varies a good deal by board. Some write an IEP in JK without hesitation. Others prefer an entry plan and classroom-level support first, and formalize an IEP closer to Grade 1. That is a board practice, not a provincial rule, so ask your principal directly what happens in your board and put the question in an email.

Two provincial requirements are useful to know either way. Boards must have procedures to identify each child's level of development, learning abilities and needs, "initiated when a child is first enrolled in school or no later than the beginning of a program of studies immediately following Kindergarten" (PPM 11). And a transition plan "must be developed for all students who have an IEP, whether or not they have been identified as exceptional", covering transitions including entry to school, with "specific transition goals, support needs, the actions required to achieve the goals, roles and responsibilities, and timelines", developed in consultation with parents (PPM 156).

A summer checklist

Email the principal and ask for an entry planning meeting. Keep the email.
Write the one-page profile. Read it out loud to someone who does not know your child.
Gather reports into one PDF, newest first.
Ask current therapists for a short handover note written for a teacher, not for a clinician.
Ask whether the school can offer a quiet visit before the first day: the classroom, the washroom, the door your child will use.
Take photos of the school, the yard and the entrance. Look at them together in August.
Practise the small mechanics: lunch containers, zippers, shoes, the water bottle, asking an adult for help.
Shift bedtime by ten minutes every few nights through the last two weeks of August.
Write down the two questions you most want answered in the first month, and diarize a check-in with the teacher for late September.
Confirm before the last week of August who your child's teacher is, whether an educational assistant is assigned to the classroom, and who to contact if the first week goes badly.

Go deeper

Our guide to how to get an IEP in Ontario explains the request, the meeting, what must be in the plan and the timelines, which is what the entry conversation eventually turns into. If you are in Toronto, the TDSB parent guide sets out that board's process step by step.

Frequently asked questions

Can a child have an IEP in junior kindergarten?

Yes. Nothing in Ontario policy rules it out, and the Ministry states an IEP may be developed for a student who has not been identified by an IPRC. In our experience some boards lean on an entry plan and classroom-level support through the kindergarten years rather than writing a formal IEP right away. Ask your principal what your board does, and ask in writing.

When should I tell the school about my child's needs?

At registration, or as soon after as you can. The Ministry's policy guide encourages parents to contact the principal at an early stage prior to enrolment so the principal has time to consult board staff about resources and programming. Waiting until the first week of September means the planning happens while your child is already in the room.

Does my child need a diagnosis before kindergarten?

No. Ontario boards must have procedures to identify each child's level of development, learning abilities and needs, starting when a child is first enrolled in school. A diagnosis can speed things along and may be needed for specific board programs, but a clear description of what you see is enough to start a conversation with the principal.

What is a transition plan, and does my four-year-old get one?

A transition plan sets out goals, support needs, actions, roles and timelines for a change like starting school. Under PPM 156 a transition plan must be developed for every student who has an IEP, and entry to school is one of the transitions it names. If your child does not yet have an IEP, ask for an entry plan instead.