A little confused about the age and preschool/kinder

[Miss.B]

My DS is going to be 3 on 16 March, so in 3 weeks. At the moment he is in daycare two mornings a week, he's still in the 2 -3 year old room. He will be going to the 3 -5 year old kinder room soon. The cc is quite expensive at $99 per day. I have approached a really good kinder around the corner (a government run kinder as opposed to the privately run cc) and they told me that because he turns 3 in March, he can't go tot he 3 year old kinder this year (he needed to be 3 before 31 Jan this year). Is that correct? The thing is, the government run kinder is a fraction of the cost of the privately run cc. And I really don't want to be spending a fortune by leaving him in the cc for kinder. So that means he will start in the 3 year old kinder next year as a 4 year old? Sorry if this is mambo jambo.

[black_rose]

The cut off should be 30th April same as schools here in Vic. My dd2 is 4 at the end of March and is in 4yo kinder. Dd1 did kinder last year at cc and it was so expensive so that is why I swapped dd2.

[Nelle]

It means, he can't do 3yo kinder when he's 2 - I've got a March guy and he started in April. And then kinder suggested he was too young/not ready, so we waited a year anyway. See if they'll take him once he's 3. But if he waits a year, I know cc is expensive, but for him to have that extra year when he starts kinder and prep, for some kids (especially boys) it can be a massive advantage. All the best with figuring it out. =)

[feeb]

You could transfer to 3 year old kinder once cild turns 3 but they can't attend before they actually turn 3. If you enrol him you need to pay fees up until he can go.

Good luck it is hard. DS1 is July so had no choice with him DS2 is Jan and I do wonder if I will send him to 4 year old next year or not as worry may not be ready. As allready mentioned above boys generally do better with the extra year, not always an issue in early primary but can be maturity issues once reach years 9 and 10 in high school.

[Khaleesi]

My DD couldn't start 3yo Kinder till she turned 3. We are actually doing our second year of 3yo kinder this year.

[Santosha]

Like Cheshire, we're on our second year. DD turned 3 in April and we started in term 3 (July). She was the youngest in the group and seeing the marked difference between her and the kids who would be her peers for starting school confirmed to me we wanted her to start later so we're o'ing 3 yr old again this year.

I guess it depends if they have a place for you with a later start, but otherwise it's my understanding tht you can start one they've turned 3.

[Frangipani Lou]

It's to do with legal ratios at this age. The ratio of teachers to children is different for under 3 year olds so even If they only had 1 child under 3, they would need an extra staff member for that child.

[Miss.B]

Great, thanks so much ladies. It's all a lot clearer now! My main concern this year is the expense with the cc fees, so I will approach the kinder around the corner if they can take DS this year in the 3 year old kinder (after he turns 3) and we'll most likely do the 3 year old kinder next year as well. DS has a speech delay which we're working on ATM so that extra year in the 3 year old kinder will probably really help him. Thanks again!

[Olive]

They may have a certain policy that states you can't attend if the child turns 3 after the 31st of jan, I know of some around me that have that policy, however most state you can attend once the child turns 3, or in the case at our kinder, 2 weeks prior to turning 3, otherwise the parent must attend. DD turned 4 on Monday and has just started 3 year old kinder.

[HotI]

It's to do with legal ratios at this age. The ratio of teachers to children is different for under 3 year olds so even If they only had 1 child under 3, they would need an extra staff member for that child.

tHAT is interesting. DD is 3 in april and the kinder originally said that i would have to stay with her until she turned 3. However, on the first day they said they had looked at their policy again and as long as she was 3 before April 30 (the school cut off) they were happy for me to not stay with her. I wonder if it was because they only have a few younger kids this year, or whether they forgot about the ratio thingy.

What is the staff:child ratio for 3 year olds, and what is it for 2 year olds?

[Miss.B]

At DS's cc HotI, in their 3 - 5 year old kinder room, they have a 1 - 15 ratio ( 1 teacher per 15 kids). In his current 2 -3 year old room, the ratio is 1 teacher per 4 kids.

Thanks for that Olive, I'll pop in next week and ask again on their policy regarding the child's age. It would be so much better for us to send DS to the kinder around the corner, cost wise especially. I know the cc is expensive because you can leave the child from 7 am to 6 pm, so all day, but at almost a hundred dollars a day it's so expensive.