Town & Country Children’s Centre offers Victorian State Government Approved ‘Free Kinder’ in an Integrated Long Day Care capacity for 3 & 4 year old enrolled children, 5 days per week.
As a Long Day Care (LDC) provider of Childcare & integrated Kindergarten, our 3 and 4 year old Children’s rooms are our ‘Kinder Rooms’, equipped with teachers (Bachelor qualified) that deliver a program based around social and emotional development with the goal of achieving ‘school readiness’. Language, literacy and numeracy resources are also on offer in the forms of experiences and inviting inquiry, to enrich your child’s Kinder experience as they prepare to embark on their primary school journey. Our program and curriculum is based on the National Early Years Learning and Development Framework (EYLDF).
Benefits of enrolling your child for their 3 & 4 year old Kinder with Town & Country Children’s Centre
- Access to longer days of care – we are open from 6.30am – 6.30pm – whether your child attends for integrated Kinder or Long Day Care, you can drop children off and pick them up at times convenient to you.
- Access to the Australian Government Childcare Subsidy (CCS) to reduce your child’s cost of care each day they attend.
- Victorian State Government ‘Free Kinder’ offset/credits (up to $2,000 for the year) to go towards your reducing your child’s fees over the course of the year. This will appear as a credit on your childcare account each term once it is received by the Victorian Government.
- The amount of subsidy you receive depends on how many days your child attends for integrated Kinder at Town & Country Children’s Centre.
- 3 Days – $2,000 credit for the year (Applicable to 3 & 4 YO Kinder)
- 2 Days – $1,333 credit for the year (Applicable to 3 YO Kinder only)
- 1 Day – $667 credit for the year (Applicable to 3 YO Kinder only)
- The amount of subsidy you receive depends on how many days your child attends for integrated Kinder at Town & Country Children’s Centre.
- 5 meals provided each day for each child.
- Access to our service’s additional programs like Playground to Plate®, Art Classes, Bush Kinder, Language Classes, Excursions & Incursions.
Frequently asked questions about Victorian Government Approved Kinder:
1. Why is Kinder at Town & Country Children’s Centre NOT Free like at Council/Local Government Kinders?
- Town & Country Children’s Centre is a Long Day Care (LDC) provider (not a sessional setting), offering integrated Kinder to enrolled children accessing our service between the hours of 6.30am and 6.30pm
- As a long day care provider, we charge a daily fee for long day care which comprises a larger offering (meals, additional programs and longer operating hours) than a sessional setting.
- Integrated Kinder is of no additional cost to families. Families can enjoy a reduction in the cost of long day care from the Federal Childcare Subsidy (CCS) and Victorian State Government FREE Kinder offsets/credits.
2. How do the hours (5, 10, 15 hours) of ‘Government Approved Kinder’ work for three / four year old children?
The minimum hours for a 3 year old State Government approved Funded Kinder place is 5 hours per week. This means that if your child is enrolled at Town & Country Children’s Centre for 3 year old Kinder, they need to be attending for a minimum of one day, where within that day, they will be delivered the ‘5 hour’ kinder program progressively throughout the day. Of course, if it suits your family, you may enrol your 3 year old child for more than one day per week and they will benefit from the integrated Kinder program as well as the other benefits listed above, each day that they attend Town & Country Children’s Centre.
The minimum hours for a 4 year old State Government approved Funded Kinder place is 15 hours per week. This means that your child needs to be enrolled for a minimum of 3 days per week, so that we can deliver the ‘5 hour program’ across the three days of care for which they are enrolled – 3*5=15. Again, if it suits your family, you may enrol your 4 year old child for more than three days per week and they will benefit from the integrated kinder program as well as the other benefits listed above, each day that they attend Town & Country Children’s Centre.
Town & Country Children’s Centre cannot offer 2*7.5 hour sessions over 2 days because our Early Childhood Teachers work a 7.5 hour day, of which 5 hours is allocated to delivering the kinder program to the children, 2 hours of mandated non-contact time which is dedicated to planning and documentation and finally, an hour lunch break.
NB: State Government Approved Kinder ‘hours’ have no bearing on Australian Government approved Childcare Subsidy ‘approved hours per fortnight’.
3. Can my child attend Town & Country Children’s Centre in a childcare capacity even if they are attending a sessional/local government kinder elsewhere?
Yes, requested days can be offered to your child, subject to availability. A place in the Kinder Room where the Victorian Government Approved Kinder program is being delivered may not be available for a child attending in a long day care capacity.
Children that attend Town & Country Children’s Centre Integrated Kinder are prioritised for a place in our dedicated Kinder Rooms.
4. Can the funded kinder place be split between Town & Country Children’s Centre and the local government kinder that my child is enrolled to attend?
No – families can only claim their child’s funded kinder place from one provider in any given Kinder year.
