Free Kinder commences in 2023, making three-and four-year-old kinder programs free for all Victorian children. This reform means that from 2023, all Victorian children can access: between 5-15 hours a week of free kinder in a three-year old program. The number of hours available will vary depending on the capacity of the local ECEC service, except for children eligible for Early Start Kindergarten (ESK) where access to 15-hour kindergarten programs remains. By 2029, all ECEC services will be offering the full 15-hour kinder program. 15 hours a week of free kinder in a four-year old program. This reform makes the kinder program free for all families. Where a child is accessing kinder in a long day care setting, parents and carers may incur additional costs for the hours spent at the service outside of the kinder program. The Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS) will still need to be considered for children attending kinder in a long day care setting.

  Early Start Kindergarten (ESK)
There is no change to ESK with the roll-out of three-year-old or Free Kinder in 2023. Early Start Kindergarten (ESK) continues to provide all eligible children access to 15 hours a week of free kinder in their first year.

Children are eligible for ESK if they are three by 30 April in the year they will start kinder and: are from a refugee or asylum seeker background, or identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, or they or their family are known to Child Protection. ESK can be accessed in a stand alone kinder or long day care. Find more information about ESK in a long day care here.

  Why is it important to continue notifying the ECEC service of a child’s ESK eligibility if kinder is free from 2023? Early Start Kindergarten (ESK) ensures eligible children are: guaranteed access to 15 hours a week of kinder, where the three-year-old kinder program may only be available for shorter periods prioritised for a kinder place under the Priority of Access guidelines able to access a kinder program led by a qualified Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) registered teacher. ESK funds may also be used to support the family by covering: enrolment fees, including any gap fees not covered by CCS additional out-of-pocket costs for families such as excursions/incursions resources to create a culturally safe environment and support the family’s inclusion. ESK also enables the ECEC service to access increased School Readiness Funding which allows them to purchase tailored supports for their service, such as: additional educators to assist in reducing child to staff ratios a bicultural educator professional development, including training related to trauma and culturally safe practices. ESK Extension Grants provides eligible children similar support in their four-year-old kinder year, so it is important to advise the ECEC service of a child’s eligibility at any stage in their kinder journey.

  How does a family access the ESK grant? To access the ESK grant, a family can self-identify or any professional working with the family can notify a service (verbally or in writing) that the child meets one of the ESK criteria. The kinder will then apply for the grant directly and the family do not need to complete any additional paperwork outside of the typical enrolment process.

DET’s interactive map can be used to search for a Victorian Government funded kinder nearest to a family. Contact details for the service are included on the map so they can be contacted directly to ask about their enrolment process.
  Unsure about a child’s kinder eligibility, or need support accessing a kinder service?

Contact your local Early Childhood Improvement Branch (ECIB)
Want more information in this newsletter on the Best Start, Best Life kindergarten reforms?

Contact Harriet Wilson, the Senior Early Years Project Officer at the Centre at [email protected]

The THRIVARY app provides parents, carers, families, and professionals access to early childhood development information and resources that have been reviewed by subject matter experts. Thrivary has been developed by Reimagine Australia (formally Early Childhood Intervention Australia) and has been co-designed with families and early childhood practitioners over two years. Thrivary can be shared with families to build their confidence in understanding their child’s development and learning through play at home.

THRIVARY:

For each developmental area (movement, communication, social-emotional, cognitive, everyday skills), Thrivary provides examples of developmentally appropriate activities parents and carers can incorporate into their home routines to support their children’s learning and development.

Read more about the app here

The National Centre for Action on Child Sexual Abuse are working to help keep children and young people safe, and are looking to learn from young people themselves about the best ways to hear their voices and get their input on projects, policy and the research the National Centre will produce in future. 

The Engage Project is a research opportunity for young people to connect with the National Centre for Action on Child Sexual Abuse (The National Centre) and let us know how we can best work with children and young people to hear their voices and learn from their experiences.

Click here to learn more.

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

How are you using the Safe & Together™ Model in your practice?

The Safe & Together Institute together with Berry Street, The Centre for Excellence in Child & Family Welfare and Safe and Equal are proud to partner to bring you the 6th Asia Pacific Safe & Together™ Model Conference.

Featuring David Mandel, Executive Director, Safe & Together Institute, we are developing a program that will showcase a range of international and local speakers who will share how they are implementing the Safe & Together™ Model, how it is influencing their practice and enhancing the safety and wellbeing of children. 

The program will be rich in content and interesting to all levels of familiarity with the Model including attendees of prior conferences, professionals who have undergone training and those new to the model. It will include keynote presentations, concurrent sessions that focus on skill building and discussion as well as networking opportunities. We will also be offering pre-conference masterclasses to kick start your learning journey.

We invite you to share your experience and learning by submitting a conference abstract to present a workshop at the conference.
Submissions close: Monday 21 November 2022

Click here to submit your abstract

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