How services will deliver Pre-Prep

Hours

Pre-Prep programs are between 16-30 hours each week for children in areas that started Pre-Prep in 2025.

2025: Ararat Rural City, Gannawarra Shire, Hindmarsh Shire, Murrindindi Shire, Northern Grampians Shire, Yarriambiack Shire

Pre-Prep programs are between 16-20 hours each week for children in areas that start Pre-Prep in 2026 and 2027:

2026: Benalla Rural City, Buloke Shire, Corangamite Shire, East Gippsland Shire, Horsham Rural City, Loddon Shire, Mansfield Shire, Mitchell Shire, Pyrenees Shire, Strathbogie Shire, Wangaratta Rural City, Wodonga Rural City
2027: Alpine Shire, Central Goldfields Shire, Colac-Otway Shire, Glenelg Shire, Indigo Shire, Moira Shire, Moorabool Shire, Moyne Shire, South Gippsland Shire, Southern Grampians Shire, Swan Hill Rural City, West Wimmera Shire

Pre-Prep programs are between 16-25 hours each week in 2026 and 2027 for children who meet the Priority Cohort eligibility, wherever they live in Victoria.

Weekly hours will vary from service to service during the roll-out of Pre-Prep. Services should advise families of the number of Pre-Prep hours available to them and any information available about the timetable.

Cost

There is no charge for Pre-Prep at standalone (sessional) kindergartens that have opted into Free Kinder.

If a child is enrolled in Pre-Prep at a long day care service that has opted into Free Kinder, the family will receive an annual fee reduction. The fee reduction increases with the number of hours of Pre-Prep the child is enrolled in.

Families don’t need to be permanent residents or Australian citizens to get these savings.

Families can only receive Free Kinder at one kinder service at a time. If a child attends more than one service with a funded kindergarten program, families need to let each service know at which service they wish to access their one funded kindergarten place and receive Free Kinder.

Information to give to families:

Program

Pre-Prep programs follow the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF).

Early childhood teachers design programs for children to reach learning goals in the VEYLDF, which focus on identity, community, wellbeing, learning and communication.

Pre-Prep will be play-based, like all Victorian funded kindergarten programs. Research shows that play is the best way for children to learn and grow in their early years.

More hours of Pre-Prep will also mean more time for teachers and educators to know each child and what they need to feel safe and comfortable to engage in learning. It also provides opportunities to strengthen connections between children and their teachers and educators. There will also be more time to extend children’s learning and provide flexibility around the length of activities and rest times. Rest times will be important in allowing children to relax and engage in quiet play and learning activities like looking at books, puzzles or drawing.

Services may use different approaches so they can deliver additional hours, such as offering longer days and mixed age groups. As services will offer different Pre-Prep hours, there will be different timetables from service to service.

The content of Pre-Prep programs should always be guided by the VEYLDF. It may be helpful for services to talk about what this looks like in practice, and how programs are aligned to children achieving the VEYLDF learning and develoment outcomes at their service. For example, services might discuss how programs support children to learn and develop communication skills. Consider using the Learning Progressions on the VEYLDF webpage to support these conversations.

Services will develop strategies for children who need support to adjust to and feel comfortable in programs. This may include using temporary or permanent support and adjustments.

Families are invited to share information about their child and what they need. This can be related to their learning preferences, wellbeing needs or anything that will support them while they are at kinder.

Families with children with additional needs, medical needs, disability or experience of trauma are encouraged to talk to their kindergarten service about how support can best be provided. See ‘Inclusion in kindergarten programs’ in the ‘Further Resources’ section for more information.

Children can access Pre-Prep in different groups, such as four-year old, three-year old and multi-age groups.
There will be children aged from 3 to 5 years old in multi-age groups.
Having different ages can improve the social and emotional skills of all children. It can help children feel confident to talk to and play with other children.
Because children learn in different ways and at different paces, services get to know each child and teach them in a way that suits them best.
Teachers can adapt programs and use different strategies, such as small group learning, to make sure children’s learning is supported and extended.
Multi-age groups can help teachers focus more on the needs, strengths and interests of children, rather than their age.
Play can be more complex, so children develop a higher level of language and social skills. Older children can develop skills in helping, guiding, and teaching younger children.
Children can learn at a more comfortable pace, focusing on what they can do. The learning environment can also be more cooperative, encouraging children to engage actively, share ideas, and learn from one another.
Multi-age programs can also support children’s preparedness for school. A class in the first year of school can be made up of children starting school at 4-, 5- and 6-years-old – which may mean an 18-month age range. Some primary schools also have ‘composite classes’ or ‘multi-age classes’, which combine different grade levels in the same class.
Rotational groups mean that a child is placed in a small group of children. Their small group will attend on set days and be joined with a mix of other small groups throughout the week.
This means children will always be familiar to others in their small group, providing connectedness and stability
Joining with other groups can provide children with exposure to new ideas and different points of view. This can support children to appreciate the similarities and differences of others.
There will also be a wider range of children to connect and form friendships with. This provides opportunities to further develop important skills such as sharing, taking turns and cooperating.
Children may have the same teacher for some days, and a different teacher on other days. In these instances, teachers work together to make sure children are well supported each day.
Services can provide support and adjustments where needed to help children feel settled and comfortable with being with different groups of children and teachers. This includes engaging children in activities they enjoy.
To support conversations with families, refer to Diagram 1: How rotational models work.
A service has 45 children enrolled in Pre-Prep
The children are divided into 5 small groups of 9.
Each child attends Pre-Prep over 3 days with their small group.
Each day their group joins with 2 other groups, totalling 27 children.
For example, children in Group 1 attend on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On each of these days they are joined by two different groups
Longer days can extend children’s learning, with slower and longer activities and deeper uninterrupted play. This can provide more opportunities for children to socialise and make friends and develop their independence.
Services will support children, parents and carers to help children get used to longer days. This can include children starting later or finishing earlier in the first weeks or bringing a comfort toy.
There will be time for rest as well as activities. Teachers set up routines, so children know what to expect and when, which helps create stability and security.
Teachers will tailor the program to suit and be responsive to individual children’s needs.
Longer days may provide opportunities for additional visits and trips (e.g. road safety, dental health, community visits etc.) and for families to be more involved (e.g. parents and carers can be invited to ‘stay and play’).
At some services, teachers will work together to plan and deliver Pre-Prep to ensure children are well supported. This also means a great range of skills and knowledge can be available to children.
The diverse and specialist expertise of teaching teams can create rich learning environments in which children are exposed to different perspectives and ideas.
Children can benefit from connecting with different teachers during the week and the different strengths they bring.
Programs with teaching teams can offer more flexibility, for example having indoor and outdoor play spaces available to children at the same time.
If there are multiple teachers, services will often let parents and carers know how information will be relayed to them, and who they can go to with questions.

Information about program models

‘Your Guide To’ information sheets on multi-age groups, rotational models, team teaching and teaching longer days.

Updated 1 December 2025