General News
10 June, 2024
Enrolments open for 2025 pre-prep program
If you're interested in learning more about Pre-Prep, visit the Pre-Prep information booth at Goldsworthy Park, Nhill, on Wednesday 12 June
Hindmarsh Shire is one of Victoria’s first local government areas to transition four-year-old kinder to Pre-Prep, offering up to 15 hours more free kindergarten per week as the new program rolls out.
Pre-Prep will involve a year of play-based learning led by qualified teachers, and will see local four-year-olds offered more time and opportunities for socialising, learning, and preparing for their journey in formal education.
From next year, four-year-olds in the Hindmarsh region will be eligible for 16 to 30 hours of kindergarten each week, up from 15 hours.
Like the roll-out of three-year-old kinder, Pre-Prep will be introduced gradually to provide time for organisations to build additional infrastructure and the strong, stable workforce needed to successfully deliver the program alongside early childhood.
Free Kinder is available in Pre-Prep programs at both standalone (sessional) and long-day care centres, and families who enrol their children at a long-day care centre will receive a fee offset.
The recent roll-out of three-year-old kinder has been welcomed across the state, and last year saw 89 per cent of eligible children enrolled.
Once Pre-Prep is fully integrated, children will have access to 1800 hours of funded kindergarten before starting school - comprising 15 hours per week of three-year-old kinder and 30 hours per week of pre-prep.
If you're interested in learning more about Pre-Prep, visit vic.gov.au/pre-prep