Coburg Childrens Centre | Kindergarten

Sessional or Long Day Care Kinder

We offer Long Day Care for children aged 6 months to school commencement and Sessional Kindergarten for children who turn 3 or 4 before 30th April of the year they will be in kindergarten.

If your child is eligible for both, you might be wondering which you should choose. The answer depends on your family’s own situation.
The most important thing to understand is that children will have kindergarten sessions with a qualified teacher in both Long Day Care and Sessional Kindergarten. Kindergarten is integrated into Long Day Care, with kindergarten teachers working with the children each day during term time.

Sessional Kindergarten has fixed hours (two days of 8.30 to 4pm). Long Day Care has longer opening hours (7am to 6pm), so offers more flexibility to families.

Sessional kindergarten is free and we provide the option to purchase additional care before and after sessional kindergarten hours, as well as care during school holidays.

Some of our families enrol their child/ren in Sessional Kindergarten, plus one or more extra days in Long Day Care.

Auslan Program

In 2019, we first received Department of Education funding for the Early Childhood Language Program and introduced learning Auslan (Australian Sign Language) as an additional language in our Kindergarten services. We now provide 2 sessions of Auslan per week during school terms, delivered by a qualified early childhood educator Julie, who is deaf and Auslan is her native language.

Learning Auslan in the early years offers children numerous benefits, including enhanced communication skills, increased language development, and greater social inclusion. By learning Auslan, children develop both verbal and non-verbal communication abilities, supporting them in expressing themselves and understanding others. It also promotes empathy and awareness of diverse communication needs, fostering an inclusive environment where all children feel valued. Early exposure to Auslan helps build cognitive flexibility and strengthens memory, contributing to overall language development and academic success.

Bush Kindergarten

During school terms, our integrated four year old kindergarten children access our Bush Kinder program. The program operates one morning a week during school terms and this day changes every term to maximise the number of children experiencing the program.

Bush Kindergarten responds to a child’s right and need to access natural spaces for optimum learning and development. This is dedicated time for children to be outside in a quality, natural environment.

Attending a Bush Kinder session will offer your child the opportunity to connect to others with kindness and creativity, learn holistically and increase their communication, self-regulation and confidence.

Simultaneously, children will build a positive and protective relationship with our planet Earth, which will enable them to advocate for the survival of plant and animal species that are essential for human survival.

There is no additional cost for this program.