In a major win for working parents, the Malinauskas Labor Government will begin a trial to support families with out of hours preschool care for children this year, with 20 locations across South Australia.
The trial of Kindy Care will start in July following a recommendation from the Royal Commission into Early Childhood Education and Care – headed by former Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
The Royal Commission heard from a wide range of stakeholders, who highlighted the need for government preschools to better meet the changing needs of working families.
Government preschools are run using a sessional model that usually offers preschool from around 9am-3pm. In contrast, most non-government preschools offer long day care, from around 7am-6pm. This makes decisions for working families more difficult due to accessibility.
Kindy Care will help support families who are increasingly needing care for their children outside regular preschool hours of 9am-3pm. The program will allow children to maintain continuity, reduce transitions and engage in out of hours care appropriate to their developmental needs – and will provide valuable feedback to determine a broader rollout.
Fees for Kindy Care are expected to largely reflect the fees payable at school OSHC services. Parents may be eligible for financial assistance through the Child Care Subsidy, which can reduce out-of-pocket costs for some parents to as little as $5 per session.
Increasing workforce participation is a key ambition of these reforms, with more families having access to OSHC at the heart of ensuring more parents are able to work.
The Malinauskas Labor Government is taking immediate action to expand out of school hours care by improving access to government OSHC, including for students with disabilities and complex needs and modernising OSHC qualification requirements.
The Kindy Care trial is being undertaken with the support of the Federal Government, with Education Minister Jason Clare providing provisions for families using the trial to access Child Care Subsidy.
The trial sites of Kindy Care across South Australia will be located at:
- Renmark North Preschool
- Loxton Preschool Centre
- Millicent North Kindergarten
- Park Terrace Kindergarten
- Salisbury Heights Preschool
- Bridgewater Kindergarten
- Cumberland Preschool Kindergarten
- Fairview Park Kindergarten
- Lantana Kindergarten
- Magill Kindergarten
- Ocean View College Children’s Centre
- Clarence Park Community Kindergarten
- Adams Road Children’s Centre
- Dernancourt Kindergarten
- Gabmididi Manoo Children and Family Centre
- Gawler & District B-12 Children’s Centre
- Gladigau Park Kindergarten
- Seaview Downs Preschool
- Wattle Park Kindergarten
- Glossop Community Preschool
Preschools nominated their service for consideration to participate in the trials via a statewide expression of interest process.
Quotes
Attributable to Peter Malinauskas
We are utterly committed to delivering pre-school services which deliver significant benefits for our kids. But we also want to make preschool better for parents too.
I know first-hand that the current hours of preschool do not always meet the needs of working parents.
We want to provide those working parents with options, making it easier for them to manage busy lives, while ensuring their children have the best start to a high quality education.
Attributable to Blair Boyer
This an exciting reform that will lead the nation. It builds upon our existing investment into improving government preschool facilities and out of hours care, providing families with greater options and a higher quality of education and care.
The Royal Commission into Early Education and Care highlighted the need for government preschools to provide care options that meet the changing needs of working families.
We have committed more than $10 million to increase support for OSHC services on public school sites and to reform how these services are governed. In addition to this, we are also changing the structure of required OSHC qualifications so more staff will be available to ease workforce shortages.
Attributable to Federal Education Minister Jason Clare
The early years of a child’s life are extremely important, and I am pleased to see the South Australian Government pursuing this important initiative.
Expanding access to out of hours preschool care is good for children, good for families and good for the economy.
Attributable to Fairview Park Kindergarten Director Michelle Slatter
We are excited to be chosen to take part in this trial as we know that our families will benefit greatly from the provision of Kindy Care.
We are thrilled that we can expand the services that we currently offer our children and families.
It is important to us that we can provide continuity for children who access both Preschool and Kindy Care and that these children will have less transitions to navigate throughout the day.
