PRESCHOOL PROGRAM

A preschool program for the purposes of the National ECEC Collection, is defined as a structured, play-based learning program, delivered by a degree qualified teacher, primarily aimed at children in the year before they commence full time schooling. This is irrespective of the type of institution that provides it or whether it is government funded or privately provided. This guide uses the term 'preschool program', notwithstanding that the terminology varies considerably across state and territories.

A preschool program can be delivered in a variety of settings such as stand-alone preschools, preschools within a school (both government and non-government), and preschools within a LDC centre. A child may attend both a preschool and a separate or adjoined child care facility, such as family day care, outside school hours care, vacation care, in-home care and occasional care services. LDC centres may or may not offer a preschool program as part of their service offering. Participation in preschool is not compulsory and is influenced by parental preference and other factors, such as school starting age in the particular jurisdiction.

Terminology and age entry requirements differ across states and territories. These differences are summarised in the following table.
 

	Preschool (Year before full-time schooling)		First year of School (Year prior to Grade 1)
Jurisdiction	Program name	Age entry requirement	Program name	Age entry requirement
New South Wales	Preschool	Generally aged 3 and 4	Kindergarten(b)	5 by 31 July
Victoria	Kindergarten	4 by 30 April	Preparatory (Prep)(b)	5 by 30 April
Queensland	Kindergarten/Pre-Preparatory (Pre-Prep)	4 by 30 June	Preparatory Year (Prep)(c)	5 by 30 June
South Australia	Preschool/Kindergarten	Entry after 4th birthday(e)	Reception(b)	Entry after 5th birthday
Western Australia	Kindergarten	4 by 30 June	Pre Primary(c)	5 by 30 June
Tasmania	Kindergarten	4 by 1 January	Preparatory(d)	5 by 1 January
Northern Territory	Preschool	4 by 30 June(f)	Transition(b)	5 by 30 June
Australian Capital Territory	Preschool	4 by 30 April	Kindergarten(b)	5 by 30 April

(a) Sourced from the 2013 Report on Government Services (SCRGSP, 2013).
(b) Program is compulsory from age 6.
(c) Program is non-compulsory. Children starting school from age 6 can enrol into Year 1.
(d) Program is compulsory from age 5.
(e) Indigenous children and children under the guardianship of the Minister may commence preschool from 3 years of age.
(f) For Indigenous children in remote areas, age requirement is 3 years old by 30 June.


Enrolment in a preschool program

For the purposes of the National ECEC Collection, a child is considered to be enrolled in a preschool program if the child has been offered a place in a preschool program and is actively attending. A child is considered to be attending preschool if they attended the preschool program for at least one hour in the reference period or were absent during the reference period due to illness or extended holiday leave, but expected to return.

Attendance in a preschool program

For the purposes of the National ECEC Collection, a child is considered to be attending if the child is enrolled in a preschool program and has attended the preschool program for at least one hour during the reference period.

Worker

For the purposes of the National ECEC Collection, an ECEC worker is defined at the broadest level as a contact worker who has paid employment with an ECEC service provider (including contract, part-time and full-time workers) who delivered a preschool program in the collection reference period.
 
Teacher

The formal definition of a teacher for the purposes of the national ECEC Collection is still under development. The 2012 National ECEC Collection output definition is defined as; ‘a primary contact worker delivering a face to face structured play-based preschool program education for at least one hour per week during the collection reference period who has a university qualification in early childhood education’. The formal teacher definition is currently being negotiated in the context of future ECEC National Minimum Data Set (NMDS).

More information on worker and teacher specifications can be found in 'Chapter 1: Collection Specifications' of the National Early Childhood Education and Care Collection: Data Collection Guide, 2012 (cat. no 4240.0.55.002).

For more information on how a worker/teacher is defined for each state and territory see Chapter 5: overview of ECEC in Australia.

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