Early Childhood Education (Advanced Standing) (P-T)

This online, part-time advanced standing early childhood education diploma option was designed to support individuals, already working in the early learning and care profession in Ontario, meet the academic requirements to register with the College of Early Childhood Educators.

Over the course of four semesters, students build on the skills they have acquired while working in the profession by registering in eight courses; 2-3 per semester all offered online in evenings. All courses are based on a philosophy that supports Ontario’s pedagogy for the early years, How Does Learning Happen? and emphasis is placed on applying what’s learned in the classroom to professional practice settings.

The remaining course requirements are PLAR eligible. This means that given the extensive experience students in this program have working with children in play based programs, they may be able to demonstrate that they meet the course learning outcomes without direct teaching. Each identified course has a PLAR assessment, and they vary depending on the learning outcomes they are assessing. They may be designed in the format of a test, of a portfolio, an assignment or even a test. Should a student be successful with their PLAR attempt, their earned grade is added to their official transcript. If they are unsuccessful with their PLAR attempt, they will need to register in that particular course in a future semester. It should be noted that if a student is registering in a PLAR eligible course, it is delivered face to face. You can read more about PLARing.

Fleming College’s Early Childhood Education Part Time, Advanced Standing program is unique, flexible and students who register in it may be eligible for tuition reimbursement through the form of the Ontario ECE Grant.

Arguably the main highlight of this program is that it provides the student with an opportunity to complete their education at the same time as working full time in any of the following play based programs:

• Licensed Child Care Centre
• Licensed Home Child Care
• Unlicensed Home Child Care
• Full Day Kindergarten
• Child and Family programs.

If a student is able to demonstrate that they can meet the course learning outcomes for placement, via documentation shared in a portfolio and presented through an interview, they will not need to take a leave of absence from work to complete their placement. This is an example of a Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR), as mentioned above. There are actually 11 PLARs in this program that students with experience have an opportunity to attempt!

Additionally, it is important to note that while the program is designed to take four consecutive semesters, there is flexibility. Students may choose to complete all requirements in three semesters or they may stretch out their learning to six semesters. We do our best to meet students where they are at.

Finally it is prudent to mention that there are a lot of supports available to students to encourage academic success including but not limited to:

• Counselling Services: Offers short-term, solution oriented counselling focusing on issues related to personal, disability/accessibility and academic concerns. All Fleming College students can access counselling support at no additional cost.
• Tutoring Services: Learning support is available to all students who need assistance to reach their academic potential. Fleming students can access tutoring services at no additional cost.
• Learning Strategies: Learning support is available to support students with study skills, organization, time management. Fleming ECE students can access support from a learning strategist at no additional cost.
• Student Services: Provides information and resources relating to all things in and around Fleming College. Visit the Student Experience page.
• Indigenous Student Services: Visit the Indigenous Student Services page
• Student Success Coaches: Navigate challenges that may be impacting your success; Connect to learning and wellness supports; Understand college policies and processes.

Do you work directly with children in a play based learning environment, in any of the following play based programs?

• Licensed Child Care Centre
• Licensed Home Child Care
• Unlicensed Home Child Care
• Full Day Kindergarten
• Child and Family programs.

Are you hoping to register with the College of Early Childhood Educators and continue your work in the early learning and care profession in Ontario?

If you answered yes to both of these questions, Fleming College’s Early Childhood Education Part Time Advanced Standing program may be right for you!

Funding may be available to students through the Government of Ontario’s Qualification Upgrade Program under the ECE Education Grant. You must enroll and be accepted into the program before you can apply for funding. It is recommended to gather all required documents and apply for funding as early as possible.

The College of Early Childhood Educators is a professional self-regulatory body for early childhood educators in Ontario, formed to protect the public interest and focused on quality and standards in the practice of early childhood education (College of Early Childhood Educators, 2025). Graduates of the Early Childhood Education Part Time Advanced Standing Program at Fleming College meet the academic requirements to register with the College of Early Childhood Educators.

The current program of study for students registered in the online Part Time, Advanced Standing Early Childhood Education includes taking INDG49: Intro to Indigenous Studies and INDG128: Indigenous Knowledges, allowing our program to qualify for Indigenous Perspectives Designation (IPD). Upon graduation, students with an IPD will have a strong foundational basis in Indigenous Studies, and a designation that will be marketable in the employment sector.

Students in this online, part time advanced standing early childhood education program pay a one time PLAR fee of $157.50. This is charged in Semester one and is eligible for Ontario ECE Grant reimbursement, subject to availability.

It is important to note the following steps in the application process

1. Students determine eligibility and then apply via OCAS
2. Student submits Resume and Letter from Employer to admissions@flemingcollege.ca, referencing the OCAS application number and Fleming College student ID, if applicable. *It is important to submit all documents together in one email when sharing with the RO.
3. If eligibility criteria is met, Offer of Admission is sent through OCAS.
4. Once the student confirms their offer on OCAS, studentaccounts@flemingcollege.ca emails a fee notification to the students Fleming College email address.
5. Student pays tuition and then is placed in a queue to receive a timetable.

• Create learning contexts to enable, build and maintain caring, responsive relationships in partnerships with children, families and communities that value and respect social, cultural and linguistic diversity including Indigenous peoples worldviews and Francophone identity.
• Co-create, facilitate and reflect upon inquiry and play-based early years and child care programs and pedagogical approaches to support children's learning, holistic development and well-being following children's capabilities, interests, ideas and experiences.
• Co-design and maintain inclusive early learning environments to value and support equitable, accessible and meaningful learning opportunities for all children, their families and communities in a range of early years and child care settings.
• Collaborate with children, families, colleagues, agencies and community partners to create, maintain, evaluate and promote safe and healthy early learning environments to support independence, reasonable risk-taking and healthy development and well-being.
• Use observation strategies to identify children's strengths and challenges and to ascertain when children and families might benefit from additional support or community resources.
• Use professional communication in interactions with children, families, colleagues, employers, the regulatory body, government authorities and children's service agencies to meet legal and ethical standards of the early years sector.
• Act in accordance with relevant legislation, regulations, College of Early Childhood Educators Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice, agency policies and procedures and principles of evidence-informed practice and reflect upon their impact on ones own role in early years and child care settings.
• Identify, report and document when a child is in a situation of perceived risk for, or actual neglect or abuse, in accordance with legislation, the College of Early Childhood Educators Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice, policies and procedure.
• Create and engage in partnerships with families, communities, colleagues, inter-disciplinary professionals, authorities and child service agencies to advocate for quality early years and child care programs and services.
• Create and engage in partnerships with families, communities, colleagues, inter-disciplinary professionals, authorities and child service agencies to advocate for quality early years and child care programs and services.
• OPTIONAL engage with Indigenous children, families and communities to co-create, implement and evaluate Indigenous early years and child care and child and family programs and environments that are culturally sensitive and culturally relevant to the communities they serve.

Students applying to Early Childhood Education (Advanced Standing) (P-T) must meet the following requirements:

• A minimum of six months experience in the early learning and care profession, working directly with children in a play based environment, detailed in a resume and confirmed with a letter with the potential student’s employer.

Other program requirements:

• Upon acceptance into the program further Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) will be required in each semester (additional cost).
• Due to the unique structure of the program and the significant number of PLAR-eligible courses each semester, this program is not eligible for Fleming FastPass or Transfer Credits from other institutions.

PC / Windows

• Operating System:
  Windows 10
• Processor:
  Core i5 - 1.6Ghz minimum
• Memory:
  8GB minimum
• Hard Disk:
  160GB minimum

Apple / MacOS

• Operating System:
  MacOS 10.12 or newer
• Processor:
  Core i5 6th Gen or better
• Memory:
  8GB minimum
• Hard Disk:
  160GB minimum

Internet Connection: 2.5 Mbps Download and 3.0 Mbps Upload (minimum)