As we shared in our previous edition of Early Childhood Update, Four-Year-Old Kindergarten will gradually transition to Pre-Prep from 2025, with programs across Victoria increasing from 15 to 30 hours each week.
Although Pre-Prep will be rolling out more gradually, the roll-out of Pre-Prep in 2025 has not changed. Services in Ararat Rural City, Gannawarra Shire, Hindmarsh Shire, Murrindindi Shire, Northern Grampians Shire and Yarriambiack Shire can offer between 16 and 30 hours of Pre-Prep in 2025.
While there is no change to when Pre-Prep starts in most rural and regional local government areas (LGAs) between 2026 and 2028, the maximum number of program hours services can offer will increase in stages.
Children who stand to benefit most from kindergarten will continue to be prioritised and receive early access to Pre-Prep, no matter where they live in the state. From 2026, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, children from a refugee or asylum seeker background, and children who have had contact with Child Protection services will have access to up to 25 hours of Pre-Prep a week, increasing to up to 30 hours a week from 2028.
At full roll-out, Pre-Prep will mean that children across Victoria can ultimately access up to 30 hours of kindergarten in the year before school – giving children more time to learn through play and to develop the skills for school and life.
Please refer to this guidance on the adjusted roll-out timeline and the maximum hours of Pre-Prep a service can offer per week for everything you need to know.
Why are we conducting a more gradual roll-out?
The more gradual staging of the roll-out will provide more time to build additional infrastructure and grow a strong and stable workforce to successfully deliver the reforms in partnership with the sector.
What are the benefits of Pre-Prep?
Pre-Prep will see an increase in the hours of teacher-led play-based learning in the year before school that will continue to align with the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework.
Pre-Prep will give children even greater access to the many benefits of early childhood education, including more time to develop important social and emotional skills.
Teachers and educators will have more time with children to be able to provide deeper and more deliberate play experiences, which will give children more opportunities to embed their learning.
A new information sheet, ‘Two years of early childhood education — what the evidence says’ has been developed to help you and your colleagues understand and explain the benefits of early childhood education to families and the community.
Are there any changes to Three-Year-Old Kindergarten and Free Kinder?
There are no changes to the roll-out of Three-Year-Old Kindergarten and Free Kinder, and these programs will continue to benefit families across Victoria.
Services can offer between 5 to 15 hours of funded Three-Year-Old Kindergarten, scaling up to 15 hours per week by 2029.
Promoting Pre-Prep in the 2025 roll-out areas
The department recently held an information stall in a town in each of the 6 local government areas set to deliver Pre-Prep in 2025. This enabled local families and the broader community to ask questions about Pre-Prep, and for promotion of the new initiative and the benefits of early childhood education more broadly.
Throughout May and June, an information stall was held in Kerang (Gannawarra), Alexandra (Murrindindi), Ararat, Stawell (Northern Grampians), Warracknabeal (Yarriambiack) and Nhill (Hindmarsh).
An advertising campaign, including local newspapers, radio, digital and social media, coupled with some outdoor banners on trailers is now live in these areas, promoting Pre-Prep for next year and encouraging families to enrol.
Find out more
For more information, refer to Pre-Prep.
Services and providers can find communications materials to promote Pre-Prep on the Communicating about kindergarten to your community.
Visit the Kindergarten Resources Portal to download digital copies or order printed brochures explaining the Pre-Prep roll-out.
For further enquiries, contact the department’s Change Management team by email: bsbl.change.management@education.vic.gov.au
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