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Gowrie Victoria Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about starting your child's learning journey with us. You can find FAQs for each specific centre on their pages.
At Gowrie Victoria, a child’s physical, psychological and cultural safety comes before everything else in their learning and development. Our commitment starts at recruitment, with rigorous pre-employment screening, including reference checks and Working with Children Checks, for every staff member and volunteer. We also rely on a documented code of conduct and ongoing child safe training, backed by risk management practices designed to catch problems early.
We build services where children feel safe to share their culture, raise concerns, take part in decisions about their care and connect with the children around them. Families are part of the process too, with clear ways to raise concerns and complaint handling processes everyone understands.
Racism, discrimination, abuse and neglect have no place in our services. We report every allegation as required by law, and share information when required to keep children safe.
For children enrolled in Sessional Kindergarten programs at Gowrie there is no cost. It’s completely free!
For children enrolled in our integrated kindergarten programs you will receive a kindergarten subsidy (approximately $2,101) that will offset the kindergarten program component of your out-of-pocket fees, this will be applied directly to your account in installments over the year.
Families accessing an integrated kindergarten program may be eligible for Child Care Subsidy (CCS) which is a government subsidy to support families to pay integrated kindergarten fees.
For daily fees at each of our centres, please see the FAQs on their pages.
Gowrie Victoria accepts enrolment requests any time of year. Once we have determined the booking request for your child and a place becomes available, you’ll be emailed a letter of offer. If you require childcare immediately and a place is available, we will be happy to offer you that place. If a place is not available or your enrolment is for next year, please join our waiting list.
For further information, or to make a general enrolment enquiry, please contact your preferred Gowrie early learning centre.
To ensure a fair, equitable and transparent process, Gowrie Victoria follows the Commonwealth Government Priority of Access Guidelines:
- Priority 1: a child at risk of serious abuse or neglect
- Priority 2: a child of a single parent or parents who satisfy the work/training/study test
- Priority 3: any other child
If you would like to place your child on the waiting list, please register your details online through the links on the service pages below and you will receive an email confirmation of your waitlist booking.
Gowrie offers long day childcare, alongside integrated and sessional kindergarten programs. Both kindergarten options feature the same play-based, teacher-led curriculum tailored to your child’s needs.
Key differences and benefits:
- sessional kinder operates only during school terms.
- integrated kinder runs 50 weeks a year.
- integrated programs provide continuity of care, allowing children to maintain established friendships and secure relationships with familiar educators from birth to school.
Choose the schedule that best suits your family’s circumstances.
For 3-year-old pre-kindergarten your child must be three years old on or before 30th April in the year that they are to attend the program. If your child turns three after the kindergarten year starts, some of our programs may require a delayed attendance until the child’s third birthday.
A child is eligible to attend a 4-year-old state-funded kindergarten program when they turn four on or before 30th April in the year before they attend school.
At Gowrie, our teachers and educators tailor the curriculum to each individual child, allowing children to explore, experiment and discover the world around them in a meaningful and engaging way. Here is how play-based learning supports different areas of your child’s development, preparing them for their transition to school:
- cognitive development: engaging in play helps children build problem-solving skills, think critically, and use their imagination to explore complex concepts.
- social and emotional growth: through interactions with peers and familiar educators, children learn to share, negotiate, build empathy, and develop resilience.
- language and communication: play encourages children to express their ideas, expand their vocabulary, and learn how to actively listen to others.
- physical development: activities like climbing, running, building, or drawing help refine both gross and fine motor skills, building coordination and physical confidence.
Please provide the following each day:
- a clearly named bag that must go home at the end of each day
- drink bottle and a spare change of clothes
- wide-brimmed hat, plus a jacket and beanie during the colder months
- apply sunscreen to your child before you sign them in for the day. Educators will help children re-apply sunscreen as necessary throughout the session. Please note that our SunSmart policy applies whenever the UV rating is three or above.
Gowrie provides multi-age groups in some services, which bring together children aged three to five years old offering a unique opportunity for learning and development. Educators adapt the curriculum and their teaching strategies to support individual children’s development and maximise the educational benefits for the group.
Mixed-age grouping supports younger children over time build their confidence as they engage and interact with children of the same age and older peers. Play across mixed age groups is often more complex as older children extend younger children’s ideas or younger children follow the ideas suggested and contribute to the play supporting language development.
Early Start Kindergarten gives eligible children 15 hours of free or low-cost kindergarten per week for two years before starting school.
To be eligible, your child must be three by 30th April in the year they start kindergarten and meet one of the following criteria:
- be from a refugee or asylum seeker background
- identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander
- your family has had contact with Child Protection
No. A child can only be enrolled to receive kindergarten funding at one kindergarten service. Families will confirm their acceptance of funding upon enrolment and further information will be provided on this.
If your child is attending more than one service, you will need to nominate which service you would like to accept funding for, and a signed nomination form will be completed upon enrolment.
