Preschool/daycare. Need suggestions and advice please.

My DD is 2.4 years old and I was thinking that it might be time to get her name down at a few preschools or day care centres so she can go next year when she is 3 (if there is availability). I am a SAHM so the care would just be for 1 day/wk to start with and only 9am-3pm hrs.

Now my questions are:

What is the difference between preschool and day care as far as learning, activities and preparing for school? Which would you recommend?

What is the average cost in Sydney for preschool or a short day of care (9am-3pm)in a day care centre?

Do you recommend private or council run centres? why?

Do you have to be within the area to be able to put your child into the centre or does it not matter?

I am not fussed on how far I have to travel, the care that my daughter will be getting is much more important to me (us).

And lastly, if you are in the area, can you recommend any preschools or day care centres in the outer west (quakers hill, stanhope gardens, schofields, rouse hill, kellyville ridge etc) or hills (castle hill, baulkham hills etc) areas?

As you can tell I am a bit worried about putting DD in care (and picky :redface:), but I think she will love it and also benefit from it.

Thankyou soooooo much :D

What is the difference between preschool and day care as far as learning, activities and preparing for school? Which would you recommend?

Preschool is a structured day where there are activities & learning. They have things to learn each semester (2 terms), they will be put into groups to improve whatever skills, language, motor skills etc etc. Another thing is the children are expected to be toilet trained (or at least in pullups & learning) by the time they are three. Generally there is no day sleep either unless you request it. Ummm, usually they only go 1-2 days a week.

Daycare won't have structured programs of things that need to be learnt, she can be in nappies & more than likely will be offered a day sleep.

What is the average cost in Sydney for preschool or a short day of care (9am-3pm)in a day care centre?

For daycare I have no idea. For preschool Zander was $34 a day until he was three and then $31 a day.

Do you recommend private or council run centres? why?

Our preschool is community based & we love it. Basically it's "owned" by the community in that any decisions made about pretty well everything at the preschool are made by the comittee made up of parents & other community members. So the parents have a big say in what's happening.

Do you have to be within the area to be able to put your child into the centre or does it not matter?

Most centres will expect you to be in the area to go there. However if there are lots of vacanices you'd be able to get into ones out of area.


Zander loooves preschool, his Wednesdays are the highlight of his week. Prior to starting this year he had never been in any care, even when he was babysat it was with family. I can totally understand the nervousness at leaving her alone. What we did to get him used to it was in November last year we went once a week for an hour for 6 weeks. I stayed with him & he got to know the teachers & played on the equipment, just generally checking out the place. When he started he was used to the place which was a huuuge help.

Thankyou so much Sarah :) Our council only has 3 preschools so I guess I will have to see how long the waiting list is for the one near us. She isn't toilet trained yet, but we can work on that. I like the idea of the structured programs too.

I'll bring Zander's report with me on Thursday so you can have a look at the sorts of things they do at his preschool if you want. Y

ou'll find that even if you just start toilet training her before she goes that she'll improve heaps by going to preschool. Zander was having the odd accident while there as were a few others of the little ones, so they just got that group of 5-6 kids and took the to the toilet a few extra times a day & now they are all great. Now they just take them the two times with the other kids, though they can go as many times as they need during the day, they all get taken together before little lunch & big lunch.

That would be great Sarah. Thankyou :)

Our community preschool is $27 a day from 9am-2.30pm. They don't get reports but do fairly structured activities. It is a mix of 3 &4 year olds where some places keep the 3 yr olds seperate from 4yr olds.

So is a community run preschool the same as council run? Sorry if that's a dumb question LOL.

Ours has 3 & 4 year olds in one class & the other class has the 4 year olds that are going to school the next year.

I'm not sure what a council run one is LOL!

Mya-Rose goes to a Montessori daycare. It is very structured. They have certain activites they do at the same times each day & every month they concentrate on a different thing eg... i think last month was your family & before that it was body parts. Each week they concentrate on certain colours & shapes.
She has been going there since she was about 19months old. Starting off going 1 day a week & now 2 days. She goes from about 7:30am to around 3pm. Bodhi will also start there as soon as a place opens up. The cost doesnt vary depending on pick up & drop off times. I think with no child care benefit it is around $56 a day. I get a small amount wihich brings my fees down to about $40-45 a day.
Anyway, thats just another option if u were wanting something that has structure :D

Community and council are different.

I have no idea how much CC and things are but its a really good idea to get them into some kind of care away from you atleast once a week. Generally they don't have structured learning programs in all centres. DD centre focuses on what the children start playing with on Monday and then they structure learning for that specific child around what they enjoy.
If you dont want to pay for CC at a centre you could always look into occasional care

Thankyou ladies :)

Hmmm I guess there are alot of options out there. Arrgghh decisions, decisions LOL.

I think my main priority is the care DD will be getting. I think visiting a few places is the go as it will give me a vibe of what the centre and carers are like.

Its definatly a good idea to check a few places out b4 u make a decision. Alot of places will let u bring ur child in for a few hours or even a day for free to see if it is the right place for u. I think u have to feel comfortable with the carers & the environment ur child is in b4 u can make a decision

HI,
I agree with Amy, you need to go around and have a look at a few child care centres. You will know if it's a great centre by the feel, staff and the children. Ask as many questions as possible they will give you an enrolment form and a parent handbook and they will also have an orientation day where you can bring your child in for a few hours so they can get use to the centre.

cathie