Kindergartens in Victoria get the tick of approval under new program showcasing quality

The Victorian Government launched a new program, Kinder Tick, to “make it easier for services to show families that they offer a play-based learning program led by a qualified teacher,” and to help them to identify kinder programs approved to receive Victorian Government funding.

Programs endorsed under the Kinder Tick program must: 

• be led by a qualified teacher
• allow children to benefit from play-based learning
• have a kindergarten program that is funded and approved by the Victorian Government
• offer a program that meets government guidelines and complies with the National Quality Framework.

Kinder Tick is available for Kindergarten programs offered in both long day care and “standalone” preschools. From next week, all Victorian services who are delivering a funded kindergarten program will receive a complimentary signage pack that will include:

• a metal sign
• a vinyl banner
• decal stickers
• an official Victorian Government program funding certificate.

Resources will also be made available to support families to understand more deeply what funded kindergarten programs involve and why they matter to children’s development, building on interest generated ahead of the more comprehensive state-wide rollout of three year old kindergarten.

A communications campaign, designed to support the initiative, will begin in coming weeks. 

Commenting on the initiative, Early Learning and Care Council of Australia (ELACCA) CEO Elisabeth Death said the system would provide clarity on which childcare centres also offered kindergarten programs led by a tertiary qualified teacher. 

“It cuts through some of the myths that currently exist, that you need to move your child from a quality early learning centre into a stand-alone kinder to gain access to a kinder program,” she told The Age.

Services can choose whether or not to display the Kinder Tick, which is separate to a services rating under the National Quality Standard. 

Further information about Kinder Tick is available here. To review the coverage of this story as produced by The Age, please see here.