The Brimbank City Council local government area (LGA) is one of the most multicultural areas in Victoria. Nearly half its population is born overseas and more than 55% speak a language other than English at home. More than 160 different languages are spoken in the municipality.
Each year, the council runs a Kindergarten Readiness Month campaign to help families learn about the value of kindergarten, the availability of Free Kinder, and how to register and enrol.
For culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) families, kindergarten may be unfamiliar or different from early learning options in their home country. Kindergarten Readiness Month helps local parents and carers understand the importance of Three- and Four-Year-Old Kindergarten for their child’s learning and development.
Creating community awareness
Each year during Kindergarten Readiness Month, all sessional kindergarten services across Brimbank are encouraged to hold open days to coincide with registrations opening.
The campaign is developed in collaboration with Brimbank LGA’s early years providers and stakeholders through its Central Registration and Enrolment Scheme.
At the open days, educators welcome families, give tours and answer questions. Some services give out information packs, and interpreters are available to support families.
This year, 36 kindergarten services took part. They held 90-minute open days at various times to suit working families.
The Kindergarten Readiness Month campaign begins with 2 weeks of outreach activities to raise awareness and invite families to open days along with directly supporting them with the kindergarten registration process.
These included information sessions run by the council’s CALD outreach worker and early years teams, in collaboration with the local Maternal and Child Health Service and preschool field officers. The sessions were held in libraries, community centres and leisure centres.
The council’s early years team also reached multicultural families through translated flyers, billboards, targeted promotions with agencies supporting CALD families, stakeholder events and school hubs.
Positive impact
Rakhi Khanna, the council’s early years programs, planning and partnership coordinator, said the campaign made a strong impression on local families this year.
‘We have seen a 500% increase in 2025 of families attending an open day as compared to 2024,’ Rakhi said.
‘We had 585 adults and 348 children attend a kindergarten open day across the 2 weeks which was remarkable – one kindergarten welcomed 80 families.’
Early planning with partners, strong promotion, active outreach and direct engagement with local kindergarten educators contributed to this significant increase in participation.
‘The council is committed to building parent and caregiver confidence and understanding the importance of Three- and Four-Year-Old Kindergarten for their child’s learning and development,’ Rakhi said.
Find out more
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