Two publicly funded school systems, a strong private sector, and a city where your address decides more than you expect.
Toronto offers relocating families something most cities cannot. Every neighborhood has two publicly funded schools, one secular and one Catholic, both teaching the Ontario curriculum; in addition, the city offers one of Canada’s largest independent school sectors, with IB, Advanced Placement, Montessori and British-curriculum options. And close to half the city’s residents were born somewhere else, so newcomers are the norm.
Given all of the options, the challenge is in piecing together the right family ecosystem of school, home and workplace. For a publicly funded school, your address decides your school. With an independent school, residential address and school commute are up to you. But in a city where traffic determines lifestyle, choosing the school before the neighborhood is often the difference between a move that works and one that wears a family down.
Whether you are weighing Toronto private schools against a strong public system, working out what a work permit means for enrollment, or asking whether French immersion is realistic for your child, our consultants turn the possibilities into clear next steps.
Tell us a little about your family, and a consultant who knows Toronto’s schools will reach out within one business day.
No pressure. No obligation. Clear guidance from an education consultant in Toronto.
It is the first question almost every family asks, and the honest answer is that it depends on the child. Previous schooling, the curriculum they are coming from, their age, how long you expect to stay, and what your relocation package covers all influence your eventual decision.
Toronto’s independent schools are popular with local families and, as in most cities, are often very expensive. In the public sector, quality varies from school to school, so it’s important to have a good understanding of each school you’re considering and the neighborhood it serves.
That local reality is exactly what our education consultants in Toronto work through with families every week.
Here are the considerations that shape most decisions:
Ontario funds a public secular and a public Catholic school in every neighborhood, and both teach the Ontario curriculum. The Catholic system adds a faith-based program and asks for a baptismal certificate, for the child or a parent, at the elementary level. Catholic secondary schools are open to all students.
For a publicly funded school spot, your home address determines the school your child will attend, and there is always one nearby. Secondary schools draw on a wider area, and the specialized public programs in arts, technology and sports are competitive and have an application process. Newcomer families enroll through the school board’s admissions office for international students.
Toronto’s independent schools are in demand by Canadian families as well as by newcomers. These are fee-paying schools for families in search of smaller class sizes, low teacher-to-student ratios, modern facilities, extensive after-school programs, and more support for a child who needs it.
Every child in public school in Toronto must study French as a core subject as of Grade 4. There are also French immersion programs, where the school day is taught largely or entirely in French. However, entry is limited to fixed intake years, applications close months ahead, places are oversubscribed even for local families, and only a child already registered in the public system can apply. For most families arriving from abroad it is not a realistic first-year route, unless they have a Francophone parent, in which case they may have additional options.
Children of families arriving on a work permit attend publicly funded schools without fees, and the school boards welcome families arriving from anywhere in the world. Independent schools are less exacting about immigration status but do admit students based on the assumption that they are settling in the area for the foreseeable future.
Ontario places children by calendar year of birth: every child born in the same year is in the same class. Full-day Junior Kindergarten begins the year a child turns four, Senior Kindergarten the year they turn five, and Grade 1 the year they turn six, which is the first year school is compulsory. A child arriving from a system with a September cut-off can land in a different year from where they would have landed in their home country.
Our education consultants in Toronto know the admissions teams at the city’s independent schools, where there is movement in a competitive year group and where there is not, and what the publicly funded boards require of a family arriving from abroad. We take the time to understand your child’s previous schooling and the curriculum they are coming from, and we recommend schools that we believe will be a fit for your child. If your child is neurodiverse and has additional needs, we read testing and reports and bring SEN expertise to bear in finding the school where your child will receive the appropriate support.
Because Bennett is fully independent and never affiliated with any school, our advice stays focused on one thing: where your child will do well.
Two-System Fluency: Extensive knowledge of public secular, public Catholic and independent schools, and how the Ontario curriculum runs through all three.
School-First Planning: Practical guidance on distances between home, work and school addresses, since traffic informs Toronto life.
Admissions Relationships: Working relationships with the admissions teams at Toronto’s independent schools, and an understanding of the culture of each school.
Status-Aware Enrollment: What a work permit, permanent residence or a corporate transfer means for the school board and for an independent school.
Visits That Change Minds: Preparation for arranged school visits, because a school is to be experienced firsthand before a child is enrolled.
From helping you choose the right Kindergarten to guiding you through university applications, our consultants in Toronto support your family at every stage. Every service is customized to your family’s situation, timeline and goals.
We explain how the two publicly funded systems work, what the Catholic board asks for at elementary level, how your address maps to a school, and how to enroll through the school board when you arrive.
We help you decide whether an independent school is the right route, recommend schools that could be a fit for your child, and liaise directly with admissions teams on your behalf.
Moving from a British, American or IB program into the Ontario curriculum, or the reverse? We explain how programs align, where a student may experience “gaps,” and things to consider for older students who have college or university on the horizon.
Children in Ontario begin full-day Junior Kindergarten the year they turn four. For younger children, Toronto has a wide choice of Montessori, Reggio-inspired and academic preschools, and several private schools take children from age three. We help you understand the options, the timing, and what is and is not publicly funded.
Every publicly funded school has a Special Education department, and a child arriving with an Individual Education Plan has access to that team once enrolled; a student’s support plan is determined after arrival, not before. Independent schools have invested heavily in learning and mental-health support. Our Toronto consultants work alongside a Bennett SEN specialist on school searches for neurodiverse students, reviewing your child’s evaluations and reports and identifying schools with appropriate resources.
Discussion of whether French immersion is realistic for your child and your timeline; an explanation of how the intake years and application deadlines work, and the separate route into French-language public schools for families with a Francophone parent.
Arriving after September, or mid-term? In the publicly funded system, there is always a local school for your address, and enrollment runs all year. In the independent sector, finding a school spot depends on where a vacancy exists, and this is where knowing the admissions teams matters.
Many families move to Toronto and plan to have a child attend university there. Given the specificity of secondary school in Ontario, it’s helpful for families to understand earlier, rather than later, what will be expected of a student and how to be prepared. Often, the longer-range plan determines school choice in the immediate term.
A focused, one-hour consultation for families with specific questions about schooling in Toronto. Fees can be credited toward a comprehensive placement engagement.
Every service is customized to your family’s situation, timeline, and goals.
“Our consultant was absolutely incredible. She’s highly skilled when supporting my son and I in finding a school in Toronto. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her.”
“Our consultant is wonderful! We were very late in applying for the schools, and she helped us quickly understand the landscape.”
“Our consultant was a parent who has relocated too, so her experience was very relevant and she was able to share personal experiences with us. Knowledge of the school system and the areas where we wanted to live.”
Education professionals with firsthand knowledge of Toronto’s public and independent schools, who understand what it’s like to arrive in a new city with children.
Our consultants have gathered what they explain to every family arriving in Toronto: how the public and Catholic systems compare, how your address maps to a school, and what the calendar-year rule means for your child’s grade.
Inside, you’ll discover:
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While Toronto is a popular destination for many of the families we work with, we also support families headed to other locations throughout Canada. Education in Canada is different province to province, and we will match you with a consultant who knows the local system, be it in Montréal, Vancouver, or somewhere in-between.
Current, practical advice from consultants who work with families moving to Toronto.
French immersion in Toronto has fixed intake years and an application window that closes months ahead. What the program is, how the TDSB places children, and what to weigh for a new arrival.
Moving to Toronto with kids? A consultant answers seven questions on public, Catholic and private schools, work permits and French immersion.
Meet Alison Randall, a Bennett education consultant. How she helps relocating families find schools that fit, and what her own moves taught her.
A full guide to schooling in Toronto for relocating families and mobility managers: the systems, the timelines and what surprises newcomers.
Your child deserves a school that embraces who they are.
Every placement begins with a conversation. We will listen to your family’s situation, explain how schooling in Toronto works for someone in your position, and set out a clear route forward. If you are asking which school is right for your child in Toronto, that is exactly what we do. And the earlier that conversation happens, the more options we have to work with.
Or email us directly at toronto@bennettinternational.com
Moving into an unfamiliar school system raises a lot of questions. Here are the ones our education consultants in Toronto are asked most often by relocating and local families.
Not necessarily. Toronto has two publicly funded school systems, public and Catholic, and neither charges fees. Independent and private schools, which in Toronto are essentially the same thing, do charge, and their fees are set for a market of local Canadian families as much as newcomers. Which route is right depends on your child’s previous schooling, the curriculum you want, their age, how long you plan to stay, and what your relocation package covers.
Both are funded through the tax system and both teach the Ontario curriculum; the Catholic system adds a faith-based program on top. At the elementary level the Catholic board asks for a baptismal certificate for the child or a parent. Catholic secondary schools are open to all students. Every neighborhood has one of each.
For a publicly funded school, yes. Your home address decides both the public and the Catholic school your child is assigned to, and secondary schools draw on a wider area. The exceptions are the specialized public programs in arts, technology or sports, which are competitive and take applications well ahead. For an independent school the address is irrelevant, and for those families we usually suggest the reverse: choose the school, then choose the neighborhood, because Toronto traffic makes the daily journey a real consideration.
Ontario places children by the calendar year they were born in, so every child born in the same year is in the same class. Full-day junior kindergarten begins the year a child turns four and senior kindergarten the year they turn five; both are publicly funded but neither is compulsory. School becomes compulsory at Grade 1, the year a child turns six. A child arriving from a system with a September cut-off may land a year above or below where they were, so it is worth checking before you accept a place.
Yes. Children of families arriving on a work permit attend publicly funded schools without fees. Enrollment for newcomers runs through the school board’s admissions office for international students, which works with families arriving from every part of the world, and much of the process is now online. Independent schools are less exacting about immigration status but want to see that the family is here for the long term.
Usually not in the first year. French immersion in Ontario is oversubscribed even for local families, entry is limited to fixed intake years, applications close months before the school year begins, and a child has to be registered in the public system before the family can apply. Every child in the English stream studies core French from Grade 4 regardless, and families with a Francophone parent have a separate route into French-language public schools. For everyone else, immersion is a route to plan toward rather than to count on.
Every publicly funded school has a special education department, and a child who arrives with an individual education plan has access to it once enrolled. The plan is built after arrival, not before: the school will want your child in the country, at the address and started. Independent schools have been investing heavily in learning and mental-health support, and provision in the city runs from specialist schools sharing a campus with a mainstream one to a support teacher inside an ordinary classroom. Which is right depends on the child, which is why we pair a Toronto consultant with a Bennett SEN specialist on every search of this kind.
It depends on the school, which is why we start there. Toronto is one of the most multicultural cities in the world, its neighborhoods have distinct characters, and families of every background live across the city. Because a publicly funded place is tied to the address, the neighborhood decision and the school decision are the same decision, and it rewards being made with the commute, the community and the school all in view.
