The structure they have gone to in my area is 8:30 to 2:30 for two days per week (so finishes one hour earlier than school, so horrid for pick up) and one 3 hour session 12:45 to 3:45. So not really school like overall. So even for someone like me who is able to work school friendly hours, the hours still don't fit in that well. I was very vocal at them providing 2x 7.5 hour days, so we could then use childcare on the other days, but an even more vocal group of not yet working parents shot it down (and these were parents who had not yet gone through a 4yo kinder year so really had no concept of what goes on during the kinder and also how to handle kinder when you have a school age child as well)
Wow those hours are rubbish - is almost like they have tried to make them as awkward as possible. Was there any decent rational behind those hours and not the 7.5 for two days? If the ones round here published the reasons why then maybe I might understand why like they are but so far haven't heard a decent answer apart from that is way has always been. The system of individual kinders determining their own hours seems odd to me as I don't think is very forward thinking - people are always looking at their own current situation not thinking about future trends etc. I hope they align it more with working hours before my DD is having kids as if she is local I bet it will then be me running round doing kinder drop off and pick up , even as a grandparent I would prefer long days, that then gives me time to do fun stuff with grandkids on the other days :-).