What’s the difference between child care and kindergarten/preschool?

In Australia, child care usually refers to long day care for children from around six weeks old until they start school. Most centres are open from 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, all year round. Kindergarten or preschool is an educational program delivered in the year or two before primary school, usually around 15 hours a week during school terms.

The two are not either/or. Many long day care centres deliver a government approved kindergarten program, so your child can attend kindergarten while you keep the hours and year round care that suit your family.

In Australia, child care is a common term used to refer to Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) and is available for children aged from birth to 5 years of age.

Most child care centres across the G8 Education network are long day care centres operating Monday to Friday for children aged from 6 weeks to 6 years. Our approach is guided by the principles, practices and outcomes of the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF). Our programs enrich learning through inclusive environments that offer children diversified play-based learning experiences.

A number of our centres also provide holiday and vacation care for school-aged children. We follow the nationally approved My Time, Our Place Framework for School Age Care, which aims to extend children’s learning and enrich their wellbeing in a positive social environment.

In Australia, an approved kindergarten or preschool program is usually delivered in the year prior to starting primary school.

Kindergarten or preschool education is designed for children aged between three and five. Most children go to preschool when they are four or five, though the age requirement varies from state to state.

The names vary too. What is called kindergarten in Victoria and Queensland is called preschool in New South Wales, where kindergarten means the first year of primary school. The table below sets out the starting ages in each state and territory.

How much you pay depends on where your child attends and which funding applies.

Child Care Subsidy. If your child attends a long day care centre, including one delivering an approved kindergarten program, you may be eligible for the Child Care Subsidy. What you pay depends on your family income, your activity level and the hours you use.

State kindergarten funding. Most states and territories fund a set number of kindergarten hours in the year or two before school. In Queensland and Victoria this can mean little or no cost for the funded hours.

Both together. Families using a long day care centre with an approved kindergarten program may receive state kindergarten funding for the program hours and Child Care Subsidy for the remaining hours. This is often the most affordable way to combine an educational program with the hours a working family needs.

Standalone kindergarten. Because standalone services usually run school hours during school terms only, families who work may need to arrange additional care around them, which adds to the total cost.

There are many benefits to children attending a government approved kindergarten or preschool program in the year prior to commencing school. It helps children transition smoothly to big school, with better emotional and social skills, early literacy and numeracy understandings, self-care skills and the ability to ask and respond to questions.

Attending a long day care centre that provides a kindergarten or preschool program may suit your family better, or you may opt for a standalone kindergarten, depending on your family’s circumstances.

Standalone kindergartens or preschools tend to operate 2 to 3 days a week, and only during school terms and school hours. Most long day care centres are open from 7am to 6pm Monday to Friday with flexible drop off and pick up times, which families enjoy when balancing work.

Many long day care centres across the G8 Education network offer kindergarten or preschool programs that meet the government guidelines in their state or territory. While all our programs align with the Early Years Learning Framework, the kindergarten or preschool program is designed using the G8 Education Practice Statements to further develop your child’s interests, needs, strengths and abilities. University educated, registered early childhood teachers deliver a developmentally appropriate program that caters to each child’s specific learning outcomes. We use a wide variety of play-based learning experiences to provide your child with the opportunity to explore, question, investigate and evaluate.

To find more about G8 Education’s kindergarten and preschool programs, head over here.