Choosing an early childhood service

Consider the following to help you to choose what type of early childhood service best suits your family:

• how old your child will be when they go to education and care
• number of hours of care each day
• number of days each week, and preferred days
• how far you want to travel
• age your child will start kinder
• whether you want your child to go to the same service for child care and kinder years.

There are steps you can take to find a service that’s right for your family, including:

Find services

The location of a service will be an important consideration – you may want a service that is close to home, work or study. Online tools are available to look at service options in your local area. You can also contact your local council for information.

• To learn about child care options in your area visit the Australian Government Starting Blocks website: Find children's education and care
• To learn about kinder program options in your area, visit the Victorian Government’s Find a Kinder website: Find A Kinder Program - Department of Education. When considering kinder programs, look for the Kinder Tick.

Service rating

Check the service rating under the National Quality Standard at: Find children's education and care

Learn about the ratings at: Understand Service Quality Ratings

Contact your preferred service or local council to learn more. You can arrange a tour of the service or go to an open day. This allows you to ask questions and get a feel for the place.

What to look for when you visit:

When you visit a service, look for the following:

• the environment should be welcoming, and feel safe and inclusive
• the service should support individual children's learning and wellbeing
• you should see the teacher and educators are engaged with the children and enjoying their company
• the indoor and outdoor spaces should be secure, clean and well maintained.

Information on display:

The service should have information about their operations, policies and procedures on display. You can also ask them for a copy. These policies should be child- and family-focused. They should also be sensitive to each family's cultural and social background. Look for child safety, inclusion and diversity messages.

The following information must be on display:

• name and position of the responsible person in charge of the service at any given time
• name of each nominated supervisor of the service
• name of the educational leader at the service
• name and telephone number of the person at the service who manages complaints
• contact details of the Regulatory Authority
• if applicable –
  • a notice stating that a child who has been diagnosed as at risk of anaphylaxis is enrolled at the service; and
  • a notice stating that there has been an occurrence of an infectious disease at the service premises
• name of the approved provider and their provider approval number and any conditions on their provider approval
• service name and service approval number, and any conditions on their service approval
• hours and days of operation
• current rating levels for each quality area stated in the National Quality Standard (NQS) and the overall rating of the service
• any waivers from regulatory requirements held by the service.