About the Department

The Department of Education was established under the Executive Council Act and is responsible for achieving outcomes with respect to early childhood development, the K-12 education system and post-secondary education. The programs and services are provided through the department’s three branches:

Kindergarten to Grade 12 Education and Early Childhood Development Branch This branch includes the divisions of Early Learning and Child Development; Evaluation and Research; and Programs and Services.
Corporate Services Branch and School Infrastructure Branch  This branch includes the divisions of Financial Services, and Policy and Information Management.
Post-Secondary Education Branch This branch includes the divisions of Literacy and Institutional Services and Student Financial Services.

Vision

Building an educational community in Newfoundland and Labrador that fosters safe, inclusive, and healthy learning environments for all educators and students in the early learning, K-12 and post-secondary education systems.

Mandate

The Minister of Education is responsible for all matters relating to a high quality educational system in the province, from early learning and child care to K-12 education and post-secondary education.

The mandate for the department is primarily established under the:

  • The Departmental Notice under the Executive Council Act;
  • Child Care Act;
  • College Act, 1996;
  • Council on Higher Education Act;
  • Degree Granting Act;
  • Memorial University Act;
  • Memorial University Pensions Act;
  • Private Training Institutions Act;
  • Public Libraries Act;
  • Schools Act, 1997;
  • Student Financial Assistance Act, 2019;
  • Teacher Training Act; and
  • Teachers’ Association Act.

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Lines of Business

Our programs and services enable a high quality educational system from early learning to K-12 to post-secondary education, focused on ensuring all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have a bright start in life and continued opportunities for learning.

 

What we do:

 

Early Learning and Child Care:

  • Develop and monitor policy and programs to support child care and early years programs.
  • Provide financial support for the development and operation of child care centres, family child care homes, family child care agencies, and family resource centres.
  • License, monitor, and inspect child care services.
  • Support children’s transition from child care to the K-12 education system.

 

K-12 Education:

  • Oversee K-12 educational policy, legislation and regulations.
  • Fund and support school boards.
  • Develop and monitor English and French curricula and programs.
  • Create and/or select curriculum documents and teaching resources.
  • Evaluate curriculum and assess outcomes.
  • Support students with diverse learning needs.
  • Monitor education system performance through data collection and analysis, planning and research.
  • Set requirements for student diplomas and certificates.
  • Set requirements for teacher development and certification.
  • Fund and support public libraries.

 

Post-Secondary Education:

  • Support the delivery of post-secondary education through Memorial University of Newfoundland, College of North Atlantic and private training institutions.
  • Fund public post-secondary institutions.
  • Regulate and monitor private training institutions.
  • Administer the student financial assistance programs.
  • Provide programs and services for adult learning.

 

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Primary Clients

The Department of Education’s primary clients are child care services, early childhood educators, educators, students, youth and their families, school boards, post-secondary educational institutions, and other departments/agencies.

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