Kinder Supports for all Victorian children

Koorie Kids Shine

Koorie Kids Shine is a program that promotes the value of kinder to Aboriginal parents and the community.

Aboriginal children aged 3 and 4 are eligible for 15 hours of Free Kinder each week.

To be eligible, a child must turn 3 or 4 years old by 30 April in the year they go to kinder.

To learn more about Koorie Kids Shine or to order material free of charge, please visit: Early childhood education programs supporting Aboriginal children.

Supporting cultural and linguistically diverse families

There are a range of resources and programs available to support families from cultural and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds to access and participate in kinder.

The resources include information about initiatives such as Free Kinder and the benefits of 2 years of kinder.

Information about kinder in your language

The department has also funded 22 local councils to employ CALD outreach workers.

CALD outreach workers address barriers to kinder 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.

For more information on the CALD Outreach Initiative families can contact their participating local council directly or the department at early.years.participation@education.vic.gov.au

See the list of local councils involved in the CALD Outreach Initiative.

Early Start Kindergarten

Early Start Kindergarten (ESK) provides eligible children with 15 hours of free or low-cost kinder each week for 2 years before starting school.

To be eligible for ESK, children must be from a refugee or asylum seeker background, identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, or the family have had contact with Child Protection.

If a child is eligible for ESK, they should be enrolled in ESK, even where free kindergarten and/or 15 hours per week of funded Three-Year-Old Kindergarten is offered. This ensures that:

• ESK eligible children and families are provided priority of access.

ESK eligible children without up-to-date immunisation information can enrol while they undertake catch-up immunisations or apply for a medical exemption under the relevant grace periods of:

• 63 days under the Australian Government’s No Jab No Pay
• 16 weeks under the Victorian Government’s No Jab No Play

Early childhood services may receive additional supports and can maximise available funding to support placements for ESK eligible children.

Access to Early Learning

Access to Early Learning is an early intervention program for vulnerable 3-year-old children from families with complex needs. It supports these children to get the full benefits of attending a quality kinder program.

Through Access to Early Learning, degree qualified facilitators provide a full year of support to:

• help children to access 15 hours per week of quality Three-Year-Old Kindergarten programs at low cost or no cost
• help families find ways to support children to attend kinder regularly
• visit families at home to help parents and carers with activities to build on what their child is learning
• provide mentoring and professional learning for teachers who support children in the local service system.

Children are eligible for Access to Early Learning if they are 3 years old by 30 April in the year they are enrolled to attend the program and have 2 or more complex needs, which include:

• contact with Child Protection
• child and/or parent with intellectual or physical disability
• history of family violence
• mental health concerns
• sexual assault
• alcohol and drug abuse.