2026 Survey: Community Feedback Recap

Overall, we received feedback from a total of 633 valid survey responses from families that are involved or interested in the various child care and early years programs that are offered across the City of Kingston and County of Frontenac. This includes families that are actively participating, have been involved in the past and those that are interested in participating in the future in centre-based & home childcare, before and after school programs, and EarlyON programs.

  • 624 English responses
  • 9 French responses
  • 60+ programs & centres

Emerging Themes

  • Families are highly satisfied with the quality of care their children receive, with an overall satisfaction of 94% across program types.

  • Staff are the heart of the programs, the most common theme in open-ended responses was praise for caring, dedicated educators.

  • Children feel safe, welcomed, and engaged, with over 93% of families agreeing that their child feels comfortable and that they belong in their program.

  • Communication between families and staff is strong, with approximately 87% of families rating communication as effective.

  • The physical environments are rated highly for safety and cleanliness, though outdoor space and quiet areas were identified as areas with room for improvement, particularly in school-age and kindergarten programs.

  • Affordability and access remain top concerns with many families' expressing gratitude for government subsidies, while others noted that the cost of care remains a significant financial burden, particularly in school-age and kindergarten programs.

  • Families are looking for more support for children with special needs, more opportunities for involvement in programs, and clearer navigation of the childcare waitlist and registry system.

What Comes Next

The City of Kingston Child Care & Early Years Team is reviewing all feedback received and will use these results to support continuous improvement across the Childcare & Early Years system. A summary report of key findings will be available over the next couple of months and will be shared through Get Involved Kingston. We look forward to sharing more details about what we heard and the steps we are taking in response.