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Preschools in the ACT

The preschool year is often the start of your child’s journey through a quality community-based early childhood education in the ACT. Families, community and fully qualified (4 year trained) educators all have a vital role to play in this exciting journey.

In the ACT, preschool is a single year, non-compulsory, sessional program - operating for 12 hours per week. Parents are offered a choice of spreading the 12 hours over 3 "short" 4-hour days or 2 "long" 6-hour days. At present, twice as many parents are choosing to enroll their child in the 2 "long" day sessions - which means, at times, there is a waiting list for those sessions and those parents will be offered a place in the "short" day program.

Preschool, offering an excellent introduction to schooling, is a unique system in the ACT, that parents jointly operate with the Department of Education and Training. Preschools, whilst administered through a Government Primary School are, community preschools and all children who are aged 4, or will be 4 years of age before April 30th, are eligible to be enrolled - even if parents are not going to choose a Government Primary School for the remainder of their child's compulsory schooling. From 2009, parents will also be able to choose enrolment in an early childhood school.

The Unique Role of the Preschool Parent.
Parents have an enormous role to play in the ACT preschool system and the Preschool Parent Association is an independent community organisation who, in accordance to a historical contractual agreement, is legally responsible for the much of the fiscal day-to-day operation of the preschool - the cleaning, day-to-day fiscal management and the provision of virtually all of the program's resourcing. As such they are part owners of a bi-partisan, sessional year of non-compulsory early childhood education that underpins and supports both Government and Non-Government primary schools. They are not a "P&C" and they undertake a very different role within the preschool year.

2008 - a historical landmark!
The ACT Department of Education and Training will shift their management responsibility, for the provision and management of preschool staffing and buildings, from a separate, dedicated department to the direct management of an ACT Government primary school.  For the first time, parents of preschool-aged children become eligible to be members of the primary school's Parent & Citizen's Association - even if it is only for the preschool year!

In accordance with negotiated changes to the historically-based contractual arrangements - the Preschool Parent Association will no longer be financially responsible for the cleaning of the preschool building, nor will they have to provide the hygiene and office consumables. Yep! NO MORE CLEANING! No more providing toilet rolls and other hygiene consumables! Yep! No more photocopying paper, printer ink cartridges and other office consumables.

The Preschool Parent Association will only be responsible for the provision, management and ownership of their teaching and educational resources and consumables (glitter, paint, paper and glue etc). This maintains an authentic community ownership that is extremely important to the ideology and legal position of a community-based preschool system that meets the needs of all children - regardless of where they will attend for their compulsory years of schooling. However - it is new to the Government primary school system and there will be a need to hold onto what we have and not let it go. Remember the preschool year is non-compulsory and it serves BOTH Government and Non-Government educational systems.

At the beginning of 2008 each ACT Government Primary School will have the enormous benefit of drawing together an active and wider P&C membership PLUS a significant collaborative relationship with an independent community organisation - the Preschool Parent Association - who holds a dedicated focus for the single preschool year. This new arrangement will require some creative thinking, collaborative commitment and a willingness to work more closely together for the benefit of our children.

Children learn in a number of different ways and each at a vastly different pace. The preschool program is specifically designed to cater for these differences and utilises both structured and unstructured play. The teacher’s experience and training is geared to providing the opportunity to engage each child’s creativity to develop self-confidence and the fundamental life skills of teamwork and group interaction.

Preschoolers are totally engaged in mathematics, science, reading, writing, social studies, music and art. This program is resource-intensive and promotes learning as fun, exciting and challenging.

ACT preschool education is based in an emergent curriculum — one that acknowledges that young children are developing in several areas or domains simultaneously. Early brain development research indicates that social-emotional development and cognitive development are interwoven and interdependent with each other.

Enrolment Information
Where are they located?
Gungahlin
Belconnen North
Belconnen South
North Canberra
South Canberra
Woden
Weston Creek
Tuggeranong North
Tuggeranong South
Jervis Bay

© Canberra Preschool Society Inc. 2007

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