Daily Living
Newcomer Students: The EAL/FAL Reception Centre, Explained
Newcomer families go through the EAL/FAL Reception Centre before they ever contact a school directly. Here is exactly what happens at intake, and what EAL/FAL support looks like once your child is placed.
1. Who Goes Through the Reception Centre
If your child was born outside Canada, or speaks a language other than English or French at home, you register at the Department of Education's EAL/FAL Reception Centre first, before contacting any school directly. This applies whether you're arriving from abroad or moving to PEI from another Canadian province with a child new to the English or French school system.
2. What to Bring to Intake
- Government-issued identification for the child and the parent or guardian
- Proof of address
- Immigration documents
- Any prior school records you have, even informal ones
3. What Actually Happens at the Centre
- Staff review your immigration documents to confirm your child's right to free public education
- Assistance completing the school registration form itself
- A language proficiency assessment for students entering Grade 1 through 12, used to determine the level of EAL (English as an Additional Language) or FAL (French as an Additional Language) support your child needs
- A pre-assessment conversation to make sure you have everything ready before your child's first day
4. After Intake: Placement and Ongoing Support
Once intake is complete, your child is placed at their zoned school (PSB for English/French Immersion, CSLF for French First Language), where EAL or FAL support continues as an ongoing service, not a one-time assessment. These services sit alongside the other special educational needs supports PSB and CSLF provide, including psychology and speech-language services, and are coordinated through the school's student services team.
5. One Visit Covers Kindergarten Through Grade 12
The Reception Centre process is the same regardless of your child's age or grade; a family with children at multiple grade levels handles intake for all of them at once rather than separately per child.
6. After You're Registered
Come kindergarten registration season (notices post every November) or if you move mid-year, your zoned school handles day-to-day registration going forward. The Reception Centre step happens once, at your family's arrival in the PEI school system.