The following information may be helpful when talking to families about when and how to enrol in kindergarten programs. The enrolment may be directly through the service or the Central Registration and Enrolment Scheme (CRES) provider. It may also be helpful to support families’ engagement and attendance at kindergarten.
Children can attend kindergarten programs in the 2 years before they start school.
Families with children born between January and April can choose which year to start Three-Year-Old Kindergarten. These children can start in the same year they turn 3, or in the year they turn 4.
Some families may not realise that enrolment for Three-Year-Old Kindergarten occurs the year before, in many cases when their child is 2.
When discussing the best time for children to start kinder, encourage parents and carers to plan ahead, consider the age they would like their child to start school and seek further advice from early childhood professionals if required.
Resources
- When to start kindergarten:(opens in a new window) for information about when children can start kindergarten. Show parents and carers the ‘Starting age calculator’ listed under ‘Starting kindergarten’.
- Sending your child to kinder:(opens in a new window) for information about the benefits of kindergarten and how to find a program.
Some kindergarten services are part of a Central Registration and Enrolment Scheme (CRES), which is usually delivered by the local council.
CRES provides a single point of contact for families to apply for multiple kindergarten services in their area and helps support children to secure a place that best suits their needs.
If your service participates in a CRES, share the following information with families:
- how to register for kindergarten via CRES and the supports available
- registration for kindergarten usually happens in March to May, but families can register for kindergarten at any time of year
- families will receive updates by email or text message when their child is offered a kindergarten place, often in early August (your CRES provider will confirm their timelines). The CRES team will advise about the timelines for responding to the offer
- families can choose to reject the offer they receive and ask for another offer in the next round. Second round offers often come out in early September
- once a family accepts a kindergarten place for their child, the kindergarten service will help with the enrolment process and prepare them for day one.
If your service does not participate in a CRES, consider sharing with families how to enrol at your service, and key dates for enrolment.
It may be useful for families to know that they can seek help with kindergarten registration and enrolment from their local CRES provider (or kindergarten service, as applicable), Maternal and Child Health nurse and other support services that the family is connected in with.
Some families, including families from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds, may experience barriers to enrolling in kindergarten. The ‘Engaging with culturally and linguistically diverse families’ chapter of this guide highlights resources available to support families from CALD backgrounds to enrol and participate in kindergarten.
Funded kindergartens and eligible early years support services, including CRES providers, can use an interpreter to support parents and carers who speak a language other than English or use Auslan to register and enrol in kindergarten. An interpreter can support families to understand the requirements and policies of your service (for example, in relation to starting age, proof of address, and immunisation) and can assist with completing enrolment forms. Using an interpreter can help build trust, support families to feel included and encourage participation in your service.
Kindergartens can also access written document translations to support families who speak a language other than English to register and enrol in kindergarten. Early Childhood Language Services are funded by the Department of Education to support with this at no cost to funded services (see the link below for more detail).
Resources
- Kindergarten Central Registration and Enrolment:(opens in a new window) for best practice guides and a list of councils with a CRES
- Use an interpreter in early childhood education services:(opens in a new window) for information about accessing free telephone, video and on-site interpreters, and free written documentation translation
- How to enrol in kindergarten:(opens in a new window) for information for families about how to enrol, including documents needed and information on the ‘No Jab, No Play’ policy
- Find a kinder program:(opens in a new window) for the ‘Find a Kindergarten Program’ interactive map.
The department has communication materials available to support services to promote enrolments. These include social media tiles, posters, postcards, infographics and factsheets, and translated materials.
When promoting enrolments, you may share key information about the importance and benefits of kindergarten and let families know Free Kinder is available.
Include information about your Three- and Four-Year-Old Kindergarten, and Pre-Prep program hours and timetable and promote any open days.
Resources
- Communicating about kindergarten to your community(opens in a new window): for resources to promote your kindergarten programs and enrolments
- Conversations with Families about Pre-Prep resource: for information to support you in your discussions with families about Pre-Prep
- shout.finsbury.com.au(opens in a new window): to order printed materials for your service from the Victorian Kindergarten Resource Portal, free of charge and delivered to your service.
While kindergarten attendance is non-compulsory, regular kindergarten attendance gives children more opportunities to access the many benefits of quality kindergarten. Children who have consistent attendance patterns in kindergarten are also more likely to maintain their level of participation once they commence school.
Services should continue to engage with children and families in a way that is non-judgemental, strengths-based and meets families where they are at. It is important that families do not feel that their attendance and reasons for absence are being monitored.
Services should also avoid actions that may lead to families feeling pressured, targeted or marginalised as a result of the level of their child’s kindergarten attendance. This means fostering open communication, building trust and providing culturally sensitive support that acknowledges individual circumstances and needs.
Enrolment and orientation are good opportunities to connect and understand the cultural values, expectations and experiences of each family. These key early interactions lay the foundations for a collaborative relationship with parents and carers and will help them feel like they belong at kindergarten, that they are listened to, and will receive the information and support they need.
To support families and children experiencing vulnerability in establishing consistent attendance, services should work to understand the barriers they face to attending and ensure:
- ongoing kindergarten engagement that is responsive to a family/carer and child’s circumstances
- educators are equipped to deliver a program that is inclusive of the individual context, abilities and needs of all children, including employing trauma-informed practice where appropriate
- every child experiences success in their learning and development.
Where a child’s attendance has been reduced, strengths-based and culturally safe goals should be developed to support increased attendance, aligned with the child’s Individual Learning Plan and responsive to their developmental and wellbeing needs.
Beginning in 2025, kindergartens must report attendance data to the Victorian Department of Education via Arrival. The department will use this information to support kindergarten attendance as part of the Preschool Reform Agreement, so that all Victorian children receive the full learning and development benefits of a quality early childhood education.
Long day care services that already provide attendance data to the Australian Government via the Child Care Subsidy System (CCSS), are not required to provide attendance data through Arrival.
Kindergarten funding is not tied to the collection and reporting of attendance information.
Resources
- Kindergarten funding guide: the Managing engagement with families chapter (page 24-25) may support you to promote engagement and attendance.
- Expanding your early childhood education programs - Change management toolkit: includes information that can support understanding the importance of attendance, as well as additional hours.
- Arrival: attendance data collection: for information and resources services can use to support families and carers with the transition to digital sign in and sign out in Arrival.
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