Capable, Confident and Curious: Nova Scotia’s Early Learning Curriculum Framework (2025), developed by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, supports children’s holistic development in early learning and child care programs across the province.
It is a framework for educators to use in partnership with families and communities to develop play-based early learning and child care programming that respects and recognizes the cultural, linguistic and social backgrounds of all children.
How does the framework help my child?
Capable, Confident, and Curious focuses on four broad learning goals for children’s development:
1. Well-being
Ensures children feel safe and develop a sense of responsibility for their own social, emotional, spiritual, cognitive, and physical well-being.
2. Discovery and invention
Ensures children are encouraged to be curious, creative, confident, and cooperative, as they explore the world around them.
3. Language and communication
Ensures children develop communication, language, literacy, and numeracy skills, through a range of experiences.
4. Personal and social responsibility
Ensures children feel a sense of belonging within their social groups and communities, and develop empathy, respect, a sense of fairness, and awareness of the natural environment.
How can I be involved?
Families are children’s first and most important educators and the framework recognizes this. It emphasizes collaboration between you and your child’s educators to enhance your child’s learning and well-being.
Family involvement also benefits children, as families can extend learning activities from the program to the home. When families and communities are involved, they bring meaning to children’s learning experiences by sharing their cultural knowledge.
Talk to your centre director, family home child care provider, Pre-primary RCE/CSAP lead, and your child’s educators about the framework and how it influences your child’s learning.