My DD will be 3 next May. I would love to be able to get her into a Kindy.
Does anyone have any info for me, like is she entitled to go? How much? How often?
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My DD will be 3 next May. I would love to be able to get her into a Kindy.
Does anyone have any info for me, like is she entitled to go? How much? How often?
It has recently changed due to the introduction of the prep year last year. Prior to that you had to put your child's name down at birth to get in to most kindys, but now it is a little easier. There are no public kindys yet, most kids that go to kindy, go to C&K, which is a community kindergarten. It's called a pre-prep year now. My DS is doing this next year and it's costing about $500 a term, so it's not cheap. The age cut off is June 30. So your DD's birthday is in May, that means that she will be eligible to go in 2010, the year in which she turns 4.
If you google C&K you should be able to find your local one, I would ring them now if you are interested in a place. Oh and BTW, it's 5 days a fortnight, from 9am - 2:30pm.
Other than that, your options are limited. There are some private ones - some private schools have a kindy attached, or there is Montessori. But not a lot of options. I believe the state govt is looking to build some public kindys but not in time for my kids!
I may not be of much help as i'm in regional Victoria ... but my DD also turns 3 in May (6th of May 2009) next year and her 'cut off time' to be enrolled in Kinder here was back in August this year due to available positions.
It is once per week for 2.5hrs (9.30am to 11am) ... this year it was on a Tues but next year 3year old kinder is going to be on a Mon. The fee is $110 per term. She can start in the middle of the term after she turns 3 or start at the beginning of the term after she turns 3 (i think we start her at the begin of the term).
Prep grade for primary school here the child needs to have turned 5 before April 29th, so will be getting her to start school when she is 5years & 8mths in January 2012.
So, the Kindergarten Director said what they recommend is to do two x years of 3year old Kinder and then one year of 4year old Kinder (which apparently prepares them for primary school).
Thanks ladies, it is all so confusing since prep was introduced. According to the new system, my little girl will be in school when she is only 4.5yrs old, to me that seems crazy. But I know some kids are ready, so will see what happens with her. I've been told that the C&K watch out for this for you at Kindy, meaning they let you know if they think they are ready or not. Have you heard this before MantaRay?
Yes, I think all kindys do that. The C&K probably do especially as their curriculm includes preparing the kids for school. I think they even cater for kids doing a second year at C&K where necessary. I wouldn't worry too much yet, she's still two years away from her school intake year and I'm sure you'll be surprised at how much more ready she seems in just a year. I am astounded by how grown up DS1 is already!
Thanks again for your help. I will contact C&K and find my local Kindy and put her on the list for 2010, or maybe even for half way through next year so she can go to 1.5yrs. Thanks.
C&K only do one intake a year, and are really strict on the age (ie between 3 1/2 and 4 1/2) when starting. If you are interested in a mid-year intake, you might have to find somewhere private. Another option for mid next year might be a pre-school room at a day care centre. Some run programs that cater for kindy age kids but which also include younger children as well. This is a more expensive option though.
My C&K where I have put DD's name for 2010 will take mid year entries - that is to say - if you don't get in for the year you request then they will keep your name on their waiting list for the whole year and if any kids drop out, then you might get a spot for the remainder of the year.
So I guess if your child is old enough, you could always put your name down in hopes that something will come up mid year? I don't know if all C&K's operate their waiting list this way though.
Jacks booked in for 2011 we have 32 places available in town and those places go to pre-prep kids :) I think our is a c/k as well
Hi there
I'm so glad I found this thread but could you go through it again one more time for the dummies?? (ie me!)
I'm a NSW girl, living in Victoria at the moment but we are 99% positive we are going to relocat to Queensland and I'd only just got my head around the way the Vics do things.
In Vic, they do a 3 year old kinder which is twice a week for about 3 hours each time. When the kids turn 4 they do 4 year old kinder which I don't think is everyday. They then start primary school at the age of 5. The first year of primary school is called Prep. (In NSW it's Kindergarten, but anyhoo).
Sooooo......
Am I to understand that the first year of primary school" in Qld was originally Year 1 but a new year has now been introduced called Prep? And does this mean that kids are starting full time school a whole year earlier now?
Is the Community Kindergarten you talk about like preschool?
My DS will be 3 in September this year and has only ever been at home with me, I'm a bit alarmed to think that next year he will be going to preschool every single day. I don't know how that will go down! And we don't enrol them in 3 year old kinder in Vic till they turn 2 years old, have I missed the boat in Qld?
Can I just say alot of childcare centres run excellent kindy and preprep groups aswell. The benefit of childcare is that you may be able to get the govt assistance and/or the childcare rebate.
No you are fine. Your child won't got to prep (preschool) until 2012 - as he has to turn 5 by the 30 June in the year he attends - therefore as he doesn't turn 5 until Sept - he won't be allowed to go to prep until the following year - the year he turns 6.:
Therefore he can do kindy from the age of 3 until he goes to prep. So I wouldguess that in 2010 he may start 2 day kindy then 2011 he'd do 3 day until he starts prep in 2012. AT least taht is what they tend to do here.
You've got ages yet!!!
Thats what i was going to say, my 2 and 3 yr old both go to a childcare center, my 3 yr old is in the kindy room there, she is 4 in june and then she will go into their pre prep program, then in 2010 she will attend prep.:
She only goes 1 day a week and we get reduced fees from centerlink.
There is no equivalent to "3 yo kinder" in Qld anymore. You can certainly have children in day care at any age, and there are also some private kindys that take younger children. But the majority of kindys in Brisbane are C&K, and are community run and do a one year program. They only accept children who are between 3 1/2 and 4 1/2, so that is the children who's birthdays are between July 1 the year before, and the first day of school term are 4 when they start. The children whose birthdays are from end of Jan until June 30 of the school year are 3 when they start and turn 4 in the first half of their kindy year. Then prep is one year later than that. So for my boys:
DS1 born Feb 2005 - kindy (pre-prep) in 2009, school (prep) in 2010
DS2 born Sep 2006 - kindy (pre-prep in 2011, school (prep) in 2012.
Does that clear it up.
They do still do 3 year old kindy where I live, but perhaps that is because they are not full enough? They only open 3 days per week.
Its so confusing isn't it... just to add to this, the C&K kindy that Aidyn went to offered a 'pre-kindy' program for 3 year olds, but it was only for 2 hours, once a week!
Tell me about it. But from what I've gathered, she has to wait until 2010. But I'll ring up now to put her on the list. Soooo confusing.
Why can't it just be like it was when I went to school. They year you turned 6 was the first grade at school, the year you turned 5, was pre-school at primary school, half a day 3 days one week, 2 days the next, so SIMPLE
Yes, I agree - so confusing!! we have just moved from Melbs to the Gold coast and I am having problems trying to work it all out too!!
my son is just 6 and starting Year 1 at a state school. Fine. But I have another baby almost about to arrive and have already started to think about this little one's early education.
shall I put his/her name down somewhere for pre-prep soon after birth?
Sorry, what does C&K stand for?
also, where can I post for info about occasional care at the Gold Coast ? There seems to be heaps of long term child care, but I am wanting something only once or twice a week for about 3-4 hours at most.
I know it is sooo confusing, and I live here and went through the change! Plus they are very strict with the cut off for prep, if the child is born on 1st July they do not get to go till the next year.
C & K creche and kindergarten association.
Just want to add - you can still get the childcare rebate if your child goes to a C&K kindy, but you have to pay the full fees first, then claim back your rebate after directly from centrelink. You just have to tell the director or the kindy treasurer that you want to claim it. Unlike day care, where you can get the rebate as reduced fees. Our kindy is quite cheap - $16 a day, and it operates two separate class groups - group 1, which is Mon-Wed and Group 2, which is Thurs-Fri. When you put your child on the waiting list, you choose which group you would prefer. The hours are 9-2:30.
I cannot speak highly enough of C&K - I am so glad my DS went to kindy, and now my DD is going to start there in a couple of weeks. They are great for preparing your child for school, and they operate on a play-based curriculum, that is child-led - meaning the teachers are often guided by the children and what their interests are and what suggestions they give for things they like to do at kindy. Also the teachers monitor the children throughout the year for "prep-readiness" - and by the end of the year if they do not think your child is prepared or ready for prep, they will suggest keeping him or her in kindy for another year. I have to say it was the best thing I could have done for DS - he went into Prep confident and fully prepared, and I can't wait for DD to go to kindy too - she has been looking forward to it for months, because she knows the teachers from when DS went there and she knows all the fun things they do there.
Thank you so much everyone, crystal clear now! It sounds more like the NSW system I am most familiar with, and it sounds like I've got a few options.
Now we just have to confirm we are going to move, we are going up to the Sunshine Coast in a couple of weeks to scout around and if it's all good, we come back and put our house on the market...
so if my child is born in late January (just before the school year starts), am i right in saying that he/she can start pre-prep when they are 4 years of age?
Is there any early education for him/her when they are 3 years of age?
thanks very much!
Runnermum, your child would be like my DS1 who was born in Early Feb. He does pre-prep this year, as he turns 4 in Feb. Then Prep next year, starting just before he turns 5.
There are some places that take 3 yos, but you will have to hunt around. There is also day care of course, who usually have a pre-school room for 3 -5 yos, but it costs more.
thanks very much Manta Ray for the info - much appreciated!
My DS's birthday is in January - he went to Kindy when he was 4 (so pre-prep), and started prep the following year, a couple of weeks after he turned 5. Depending on when their birthday is, a child could be eligible to start prep when he or she is still 4 - as long as their 5th birthday is before June 30 of the year they start prep.
We had the same dilemma at the end of last year. By the time I had worked out how QLD worked all the C&K Kindy's had taken their enrolments. But as it turned out daycare suited us better anyway. The Centre we sent our DD(5) to had a 'school readiness' program for their pre-school room. The room leader had liased with the local public school and even sent home a 'school readiness' report mid-year. The hours also suited us better as you get a full days care instead of a couple of hours, and I had 2 regular days instead of having Mon, Fri and alternating the Wed. And yes CCB applies. However I do think C&K is a great change for children that may have become bored and outgrown the programs at long day care.
Not all - you need to check whether they are registered or not - our local one isn't and parents cannot claim anything back.: