Supporting families with enrolment

Supporting Victorian 3- and 4-year-old children to enrol in and experience the benefits of a quality, play-based kindergarten program continues to be a priority.

The following information may be helpful when talking to families about when and how to enrol in kindergarten programs, including if this is done directly through the service, local council or Central Registration and Enrolment Scheme (CRES) provider.

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.
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 are usually delivered by local councils.
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 how much time families have to respond to their 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 services 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 their CRES provider, Maternal Child Health nurse and other support service staff and organisations can also help them with the registration process, including gathering documentation.
Some families, including culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) families, may experience barriers to enrolling in kindergarten. The ‘Engaging with culturally and linguistically diverse families’ chapter of this guide highlights resources available to support CALD families to enrol and participate in kindergarten.
Funded kindergartens and eligible early years support services, including CRES providers, can use an interpreter to support CALD families to register and enrol. 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. This is funded by the department at no cost to funded services.
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
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.

Updated 4 December 2024