There are a range of supports for funded kindergartens to enable Victorian children from all backgrounds to access and participate in kindergarten programs. These supports may support your engagement with children in priority cohorts who are eligible for early access to Pre-Prep from 2026.
All services are required to comply with the Child Safe Standards. To create and maintain a child safe organisation, services need to consider how they embed an organisational culture of child safety, including through effective leadership arrangements.
The appropriate sharing of information to support child wellbeing or safety is also enabled through the Child Information Sharing Scheme(opens in a new window).
The Victorian Early Years and Development Framework extends on this further, with services also responsible for creating welcoming and culturally inclusive environments for all children.
School Readiness Funding (SRF) funds a range of programs and supports that aim to address educational disadvantage through building the capacity of educators and families to respond to children’s learning and development needs. SRF supports all funded early childhood education services.
Services can choose from a menu of evidence-informed programs and supports, relating to communication (language, literacy and numeracy), wellbeing (social, emotional and executive function) and access, inclusion and participation.
The amount of SRF that services receive is based on the level of need of children enrolled – this is informed by parental occupation and education data, which is why it’s important for services to accurately collect this information during enrolment.
Early Childhood Improvements Branches work with services to develop a School Readiness Funding Plan.
Resources
- School Readiness Funding:(opens in a new window)for information about how funding is allocated and what it can be used for.
Koorie Kids Shine promotes the value of kindergarten to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and the community. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 3 and 4 can access 15 hours of free kindergarten each week through Early Start Kindergarten.
Koorie Kids Shine also provides information and imagery to engage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families, and has content, including videos, for families and educators.
Contact your local Early Childhood Improvement Branch or Koorie Education Coordinator to support cultural inclusion at your service.
Resources
- Early childhood education programs supporting Aboriginal children: (opens in a new window)for Koorie Kids Shine communication materials (that can be printed or ordered free of charge) and information about Balert Gerrbik: Koorie Families as First Educators and the bupup balak wayipungang initiatives
- Kindergarten for Aboriginal children: Koorie Kids Shine:(opens in a new window) for information and videos about the benefits of kindergarten for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and cultural safety at kindergarten.
There are a range of department resources and programs available to support families from CALD backgrounds to access and participate in kindergarten.
The department has a dedicated communications and engagement program that promotes the benefits of kindergarten to CALD families through targeted outreach, as well as through CALD media channels.
This includes the CALD Outreach Initiative. From January 2025- June 2027 the department is funding 25 local councils to employ CALD outreach workers. CALD outreach workers address barriers to kindergarten access and participation for children and families from CALD backgrounds. They also support families to transition to school, as well as ongoing engagement and participation in education.
Other programs to support engagement with CALD families includes:
- The Foundation House Early Years Program – supports services to work with families from refugee backgrounds through providing resources, professional learning, consultancy and place-based programs.
- The Brotherhood of St Laurence Family Learning Support Program – provides bilingual outreach support to children and families from vulnerable CALD backgrounds living in public housing in some local government areas to connect with early childhood services and to support transition to school.
- Fka Children’s Services (fkaCS) Cultural Inclusion Support – provides advice, referral and support to kindergarten services, to identify and address barriers to the inclusion of multilingual children.
- Early Childhood Language Services – provides access to free on-site, telephone and video interpreters and free written document translation for all department funded kindergarten services.
Resources
- Supporting CALD families to engage in kindergarten:(opens in a new window)forresources and programs to support communication with CALD families about kindergarten and its benefits, including in-language videos, a Community Event toolkit and information on the CALD Outreach Initiative.
- Use an interpreter in early childhood education services:(opens in a new window) for information about accessing free telephone, video and on-site interpreters, free written document translations user guides and Foundation House Tip sheets, including ‘Working effectively with interpreters to support families’
- Early Years: for information about the Foundation House Early Years Program, including the Communities of Practice (CoPs), resources, videos and case studies on supporting children and families from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds to participate in early childhood education
- Family Learning Support Program:(opens in a new window) for more information about the Brotherhood of St Laurence Family Learning Support Program
- fka Children's Services Cultural Inclusion Support Packages:(opens in a new window)for information on fka Children’s Services Cultural inclusion support
- Information about kindergarten in your language:(opens in a new window) for translated information about Free Kinder, the benefits of 2 years of kindergarten, how to enrol and more – there are 30 different languages available.
Early Start Kindergarten (ESK) provides eligible children with 15 hours of free or low-cost kindergarten each week led by a qualified teacher.
To be eligible for ESK, children must:
- be from a refugee or asylum seeker background
- identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, or
- be from a family that has had contact with Child Protection.
Eligible children should be enrolled in ESK, even where Free Kinder or 15 hours per week of funded Three-Year-Old Kindergarten is offered.
As these children will then be eligible for Pre-Prep in 2026, ESK enrolments in 2025 may give your service an indication of how many children will be enrolling in Pre-Prep the following year.
Enrolling children through ESK means they have priority of access and can enrol without up-to-date immunisation information (while they undertake catch-up immunisations) under No Jab, No Play legislation.
Early childhood services may receive additional supports and can maximise available funding to support kindergarten placements for ESK enrolments.
Resources
- Early Start Kindergarten information for professionals:(opens in a new window) for information about ESK eligibility criteria, referral process and funding
- No Jab No Play for early childhood education and care services:(opens in a new window) for more information about immunisation requirements for children enrolled in ESK
- Early Start Kindergarten:(opens in a new window)for information about ESK – translated brochures are available.
LOOKOUT Education Support Centres strengthen the capability of early childhood services, schools, carers, child protection practitioners, and out-of-home care services to improve educational outcomes for children and young people living in out-of-home care.
LOOKOUT Education Support Centres are staffed by multidisciplinary teams, including Early Childhood Learning Advisors, and operate in each of the department’s 4 regions.
Early Childhood Learning Advisors promote and support:
- Early Start Kindergarten
- enrolment and ongoing engagement in quality early childhood education and care settings
- the transition to school process
- inclusive, culturally safe and trauma-informed practice in early childhood education and care settings.
For advice, services should contact the Early Childhood Learning Advisor at their regional LOOKOUT Centre.
Resources
- LOOKOUT Education Support Centres:(opens in a new window) for more information about the support available, and area contact details.
Access to Early Learning (AEL) is an early intervention program for vulnerable 3-year-old children from families with complex needs. It supports these children and families to get the full benefits of attending a quality kindergarten program.
Trained facilitators work with families and services for the full calendar year, using a child-focused and strengths-based approach. Facilitators assist families to support their child to regularly attend kindergarten. They also visit families at home to help parents and carers with activities to build on what their child is learning at kindergarten.
AEL facilitators will work with kindergartens to ensure the child is supported at the service, and professional learning is also available for teachers who support AEL enrolments.
Children are eligible for AEL if they or their families have 2 or more complex needs, including:
- have had contact with Child Protection
- child and/or parent with intellectual or physical disability
- family violence
- mental health concerns
- sexual assault
- alcohol and drug abuse.
For more information about how to refer to the AEL program, please contact your local AEL provider.
All 2025 AEL enrolments are eligible and should be supported to transition to Pre-Prep in 2026.
Resources
- Access to Early Learning:(opens in a new window) for more information about how AEL works (including guidelines and a list of local providers) and its benefits, and details for the 23 sites across Victoria.
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