Ontario releases ‘back to basics’ kindergarten curriculum to take effect in September

TORONTO, CBC; Dec 18, 2025: Ontario released a new curriculum for kindergarten in the province on Thursday, but the shift away from “play-based” learning towards “academic rigor” is sparking concern from teachers and opposition.
The curriculum being introduced in September will include ” systematic, and explicit instruction in reading” as well as new requirements for math and science learning, according to the ministry of education.
The new “back-to-basics” curriculum will go into effect in the 2026-2027 school year. It contains changes to learning expectations including new requirements in math, science and language skills.
Current learning expectations for kindergarteners in the province follow the province’s 2016 Kindergarten Program which emphasizes learning through exploration and play.
Next school year, kindergarten learning will include “evidence-based, systematic, and explicit instruction in reading, as well as strengthened learning in mathematics, science and technology,” according to a Ministry of Education memo sent to schools this week.
Introduction to fractions, adding and subtracting to 10 and vocabulary and reading fluency are among some of the updated curriculum requirements.
Those skills are important to learn, said David Mastin, president of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO), but the issue lies in whether the expectations are age appropriate for four-year-olds and whether the children’s individual development is being prioritized.
“[It’s] whether the needs that the children have are driving this or whether it’s what we need from the children,” he said.
In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for Education Minister Paul Calandra said the curriculum “will support each child in developing foundational reading, writing and math skills, while maintaining play-based learning that allows students to learn through play.”
Ontario’s education minister is appointing two advisors to take a look at standardized testing and suggest changes to education. As CBC’s Lorenda Reddekopp explains, this comes on the same day as the latest EQAO results came out.
The release of the curriculum this week comes shortly after the province put out last year’s EQAO results showing that 64 per cent of Grade 3 students and 51 per cent of Grade 6 students achieved scores that met the provincial standard for math.
Mastin said the ETFO was not consulted when making the new curriculum, and they have “some concerns about a shift towards more academic rigor as opposed to a play-based program.”
He said teachers will also need more guidance as to how these learning expectations will be measured in practice.
“Our members are very capable of delivering an amazingly high-quality programming and curriculum, but they need to know what the expectations are from the government,” he said.
Training webinars not enough: teachers, opposition
Training on the new curriculum will be done through a series of webinars starting in February, the memo from the province says.
Mastin said webinars do not provide an adequate setting for learning and it is unfair to expect teachers to complete them on their own time.
In a release, the ETFO said it is calling for “high-quality, comprehensive, job-embedded professional learning.”
The government released the curriculum in December so that teachers have “ample time” to prepare for the implementation, according to the statement from Minister Calandra’s spokesperson.
NDP MPP Chandra Pasma, the Official Opposition critic for education, said the government should have better consulted with educators while drafting the curriculum.
“I don’t think government should be making curriculum decisions based on ideology,” she said. “I think we should be listening to the experts, the people who are in our classrooms every single day, people with knowledge of child psychology.”
Pasma also criticized the rollout of the training for teachers, saying webinars don’t allow teachers to interact with what they are learning.
“What our teachers need and deserve is time for real training that really allows them to engage with the new curriculum before they have to deliver it,” Pasma said.