Audience
Department-wide
Purpose
This policy supports the governance, delivery and oversight of State Delivered Kindergartens (SDK) in Queensland state schools. It outlines the Department of Education's obligations to comply with early childhood legislation (State and National), regulations, frameworks, and guidelines when delivering kindergarten in state schools.
Policy statement
The Queensland Government is committed to providing all children a strong start by ensuring that all eligible children, regardless of where they live, have access to a high-quality, safe, and inclusive approved kindergarten program.
The department is the provider of kindergarten where there is market failure, unique challenges experienced by families in accessing kindergarten or non-viability in geographically isolated communities.
The department prioritises the safety, rights, and best interests of children as a paramount consideration in all decisions and actions related to the operation of SDK.
Principles
The following principles align with the approach and requirements set out in the National Quality Framework (NQF) and Child Safe Organisations Act 2024 (Qld).
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Principle
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What this means for the department
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Access and equity
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State Delivered Kindergarten programs ensure all children have access to a kindergarten program in the year before school, no matter where they live.
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Child focus
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Ensuring that the safety, rights, and best interests of the child are paramount. Children are seen as capable, successful learners and able to participate in decisions that affect them, including their learning, safety, and wellbeing.
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Inclusive and safe
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Children of all abilities (including children with disabilities) and social and cultural backgrounds are supported to participate in an inclusive, equitable, culturally safe, and respectful kindergarten environment that recognises their diverse learning capabilities and values their identities and cultures. Strong family and community engagement are central to children's health, learning, and wellbeing.
Employees, volunteers, and visitors are equipped with the knowledge and skills to keep children safe including protecting children from harm and meeting reporting obligations.
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Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures are valued
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The cultural safety of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kindergarten children and their families is protected. Employees honour diverse cultures and languages, and programs offer many opportunities for First Nations perspectives to be respected and valued.
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Collaborative
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Schools seek partnerships with parents, families and local communities developing respectful relationships to support children of all cultural and family backgrounds to participate in a safe and respectful kindergarten environment that meets the needs of the local community.
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Continuous improvement
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Schools delivering a kindergarten program access dedicated workforce training, resources, and support to drive continuous improvement and delivery of a quality kindergarten program.
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Requirements
Kindergarten is a part-time educational program that promotes social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development and wellbeing for children in the year prior to Prep. SDK is delivered by registered teachers and, where necessary, by or in collaboration with a qualified Early Childhood Teacher. Delivery is supported by teacher aides and aligns with an approved learning framework (the Queensland Kindergarten Learning Guideline supported by Foundations for Success). A transition statement is prepared for each child and provided to families at the end of the kindergarten year.
Eligibility criteria - schools
A state school must be prescribed under the
Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 (Qld) (EGPA) and Education (General Provisions) Regulation 2017 to deliver kindergarten.
To be eligible to deliver kindergarten, a school must be a prescribed school located:
- at least 40 kilometres by road from the nearest approved kindergarten, or
- in a selected, discrete Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, or
- in other selected communities where there have been barriers to accessing kindergarten.
Eligibility for registration - child
Under the EGPA, a child must turn 4 years of age by 30 June in the year they are registered to attend kindergarten. An application for registration of a kindergarten age child in SDK must be made to the school principal, using the approved form. The program is provided at no charge to eligible children.
Where an eligible child is enrolled in an approved kindergarten program, in both a funded sessional kindergarten and a funded long day care service, the sessional kindergarten will receive funding for the child. A child who is enrolled in an SDK is not eligible for Free Kindy in a sessional kindergarten or long day care service, as they are already accessing a free kindergarten program through the SDK.
Legislation
The legislation that applies to the delivery of a kindergarten program is based on the number of children participating.
Kindergarten delivered for up to 4 kindergarten children at the same time is subject to the stand-alone care requirements of the
Education and Care Services Act 2013 (Qld) (ECS Act). The department is the provider for the purposes of SDK delivered under the ECS Act.
Kindergarten delivered for 5 or more kindergarten children at the same time is subject to the requirements of the
Education and Care Services National Law (Queensland) Act 2011
(National Law). Kindergarten must not be provided to more than 4 children at the same time unless the school holds a Service Approval under the National Law. The State of Queensland (Acting through the Department of Education) is the Approved Provider of SDKs regulated under the National Law and other authorities set out in the National Quality Framework.
For SDKs operating under the National Law, certain roles are assigned to regional and school employees to meet legislative obligations. Regional and central SDK teams will support employees to meet their legislative obligations in these positions. The Regional Director (RD) must be approved by the Regulatory Authority as the Person in Management or Control (PMC) to act on behalf of the approved provider. Supporting positions are:
- nominated supervisor (usually the principal, appointed by the RD)
- educational leader (usually a teacher, appointed by the RD)
- person in day-to-day control (appointed by principal or RD).
In addition to the number of children registered, the setting in which kindergarten is delivered – composite or non-composite – impacts the legislative requirements applicable to the service.
SDKs aim to create environments that prioritise the safety and wellbeing of children and protect them from harm, through enacting the Queensland Child safe standards, Universal principle, and Reportable conduct scheme (to meet obligations prescribed under the Child Safe Organisations Act 2024 (Qld).
Operation
Schools are approved and funded to deliver kindergarten in accordance with the QKLG and National Quality Standard in a defined delivery model specific to the kindergarten size and setting.
Each kindergarten child is counted as half of a full-time equivalent registration and attends an average of 15 hours per week, or 600 hours over a school year. Schools receive support and extra resources to deliver an inclusive, quality kindergarten program.
The health, safety and wellbeing of each child is paramount. Under the National Law, kindergartens are required to implement a suite of operational policies and procedures covering set matters including health and safety requirements, staffing arrangements, interactions with children, and governance and leadership. As the Approved Provider for SDKs, the department develops and maintains this suite accessible on the SDK SharePoint site (Authorised DoE employees only). This suite of nationally required documents, alongside the department-wide policies, procedures and resources enable SDKs to meet legislative obligations and support staff to deliver a quality kindergarten program. Families are supplied with a copy of these policies and procedures on request.
The Early Childhood, Regulation and Communication Division, in partnership with regional offices, supports schools to implement the requirements to effectively manage SDK and ensure compliance with relevant legislation. To support quality outcomes for all children, schools are also assisted to engage in the continuous improvement of their kindergarten program.
Definitions
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Term
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Definition
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Approved provider
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A person/entity who holds a provider approval (National Law). A provider approval authorises a person to apply for one or more service approvals and is valid in all jurisdictions. The State of Queensland (Acting through the Department of Education) is the approved provider for SDK.
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Approved learning framework
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The Queensland kindergarten learning guideline (QKLG) is the required curriculum for kindergarten (supported by Foundations for Success). The QKLG describes a set of five learning and development areas that align to the five broad learning outcomes identified in the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF). It adopts a holistic perspective on teaching and learning that promotes social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development and wellbeing.
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Composite class setting
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Integrated delivery of a kindergarten program in a classroom where full‑time education is being delivered to school children.
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Foundations for Success
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Aligned to the EYLF, Foundations for Success supports the QKLG and is a practical guideline to extend and enrich learning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the kindergarten year.
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Kindergarten
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A part-time early childhood educational program for children in the year before Prep.
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Kindergarten child
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A child who will be 4 years old by 30 June in the year proposed for the child’s participation in SDK.
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Non-composite class setting
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Delivery of a kindergarten program in a purpose-built kindergarten building/classroom established to accommodate a straight kindergarten class.
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National Quality Framework
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National system for regulating early learning and school age care. The National Quality Framework includes the National Law and National Regulations, the National Quality Standard, an assessment and quality rating process and national learning frameworks.
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Prescribed school
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As per section 419A of the EGPA, a prescribed school is:
- a state school that, immediately before the commencement of section 419A in 2009, was providing a program:
- focused on literacy and numeracy to prepare a child for education in the preparatory year; and
- approved by the Minister for the school; or
- a state school prescribed under a regulation.
The EGPA provides the Minister may approve a program focused on literacy and numeracy for preparing a child for education in the preparatory year, to be a kindergarten learning program for a prescribed state school. In order for a state school to commence delivery of a kindergarten learning program, it must be prescribed in a regulation.
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State Delivered Kindergarten (SDK)
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The program under which prescribed state schools operate face-to-face kindergarten in either a composite or non-composite class setting.
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Legislation
Delegations/Authorisations
Other resources
Superseded versions
Previous seven years shown. Minor version updates not included.
1.0 State Delivered Kindergarten