Funded Kindergarten Program

Kinder 3 and Kinder 4 both operate a funded kindergarten program every day. 

  • Children must attend a 3-year-old funded Kindergarten for at least 15 hours per week in the year before 4-year-old Kindergarten, which can be achieved at Glen Iris Childcare and Kindergarten by attending at least 2 full days each week. 
  • Children must attend a 4-year-old funded Kindergarten for at least 15 hours per week in the year before primary school, which can be achieved at Glen Iris Childcare and Kindergarten by attending at least 2 full days each week.

View our Kindergarten Programs at Glen Iris Information Booklet.

 

Learning Through Play

Our play-based program is interactive and exploratory, involving interaction with a rich variety of materials and equipment. We also incorporate as many ‘real life’, meaningful play experiences as possible, e.g., woodwork, threading, home corner, dramatic play Children learn vital skills through a play-based curriculum as they are encouraged to make choices and share in decision making. Their progress is monitored by their participation in hands-on experiences and observational assessments, not by worksheets or academic- based routines.

Early literacy, numeracy, STEM, and creative art experiences are provided in our daily program, both intentionally and spontaneously. We don't have specific times in the day where we focus on academic skills or knowledge as we know that children learn all they need to know through play (with gentle intentional teaching by educators). The indoor and outdoor areas are used throughout the entire day. Outdoor play focuses on play-based learning, too, but also allows more scope for gross motor play such as running, skipping, balancing, climbing etc. The focus outside is also on interacting with nature and caring for plants and animals.

3 & 4 Year Old Kindergarten Subsidy

Free Kinder supports families to access a funded kindergarten program by:

  • providing a free 15-hour program to four-year-old children enrolled at a sessional service
  • providing a free 5-to-15-hour program to three-year-old children enrolled at a sessional service (subject to the length of funded program offered)
  • offsetting the funded kindergarten program component of parent fees for three and four-year-old children enrolled at a childcare service.

What's Changing? 

The Best Start, Best Life reform will help all Victorian children dream even bigger through increased access to quality early childhood education and care. A critical part of the reform is Free Kinder, which will support access to two years of high-quality kindergarten programs for all Victorian children by making this free. All early childhood education and care providers that deliver a funded kindergarten program in Victoria are eligible to receive Free Kinder funding from 2023, subject to meeting specified terms and conditions. To receive Free Kinder funding, service providers will be required to opt in to provide Free Kinder and accept the terms and conditions of funding via the process detailed below.

 Child Eligibility

The Department of Education and Training will make Free Kinder payments to participating service providers, not directly to families. These payments will be made through the Kindergarten Information Management System (KIMS) as regular payments to ensure participating services can offer a free program. Families can only access a funded kindergarten program at one service at a time in line with normal kindergarten funding guidelines. This includes requiring that a parent/carer for all enrolled children sign a form (provided by the centre) to confirm that this is their funded kindergarten program.