Childcare cheat sheet - types of early childhood education and care services.

 

The Australian childcare system offers parents and carers a dazzling range of high-quality options and it’s very likely you’ll find the perfect provider for your little tyke. 

However, as with everything, a little bit of research goes a long way.  

Regardless of whether you are a childcare rookie or the parent of a child ‘graduating’ to big school this cheat sheet is a useful place to start as it discusses the main types of formal care available to families.    

Centre-based care 

For most parents this may be what first springs to mind when they think about childcare and it’s helpful to know that centre-based services are also called childcare centres and long day care.  

Centre-based care providers offer early learning in a purpose-built facility, for regular hours every day (often 6am-6pm).  

Providers vary greatly in what they offer, but many include meals and nappies, which makes them super convenient and means less to remember at drop-off.    

Centre-based services do very well for working parents and offer loads of advantages including regular hours, qualified educators, and opportunities for children to participate in structured and unstructured play-based learning with their peers.  

Centre-based providers operate under the National Quality Framework and are subject to an assessment and ratings process, which aims to encourage constant improvement.    

Some centre-based services also offer sessional and/or occasional care, which is a great option for parents who don’t need ongoing long day care.  

Sessional care enables parents to choose and pay for a regular shorter childcare day, for example 9 hours instead of the standard 12 hours. Highly flexible occasional care provides parents with an opportunity to drop their child off for an hour, or a morning, on a casual basis depending on their needs. 

While centre-based care can be (very) expensive, the Child Care Subsidy improves affordability by reducing the cost so families only pay the gap between what their provider charges and the subsidy amount.   

If you think centre-based care would work well for your kidlet search KindiCare now.  

Family day care  

Family day care offers children an opportunity to participate in high-quality early education in the comfort and coziness of a home environment.  

Family day care educators are qualified and experienced child care professionals who provide childcare for small groups of children (usually less than four children below school age*) at a time.  

This smaller, and potentially quieter, setting can suit some children well and family day care provides a real opportunity for close and ongoing relationships between educators and children as they spend their days together.    

Family day care operates under the same National Quality Framework and assessment process as centre-based care and parents are eligible for the Child Care Subsidy.  

In addition, educators work with an approved service that carries out regular visits to check on children’s progress and provide resourcing and support.   

Due to their size, family day care providers can be more flexible than centre-based care services and, in addition to standard hours, may offer weekend, overnight, holiday and/or part-time care depending on an educator’s availability and parent needs.  

However, it’s worth keeping in mind that you will need to find back-up care if your educator becomes unwell or takes a holiday.  

If you think family day care could be fantastic for your family search KindiCare now! 

*Family day care educators are permitted to care for three additional school-aged children outside school hours  

Preschool  

Preschool is just for ‘big’ little kids and children typically attend aged 3-5 in the years before making the transition to primary school. Depending on where you live preschool might be called kindergarten or prep. 

Often children bring their own lunch, and the focus is on supporting youngsters to develop the independence and skills necessary to make a successful transition to primary school.  

The way preschool operates varies state-by-state and service-by-service, so you’ll need to do a bit of digging once you’ve found a provider you like to make sure they meet all your needs.  

For example, standalone preschools typically follow school hours and may shut for the holidays, however, preschool programs delivered within long day care services will have a different model. 

Preschool programs are delivered by qualified early education teachers and universally focus on supporting children through play-based learning, however, some programs may be inspired by a particular philosophy, such as Montessori or Steiner.  

In recognition of the benefits of preschool, and to encourage more children to attend, the federal government is providing top-up funding to the states and territories to support the delivery of 15 hours of preschool per week for all children in the year before they start school until 2025.  

While the hours are guaranteed, costs vary according to location and how the program is being provided, so you’ll need to check with your preschool of preference for exact details.    

Find a perfect preschool for your little person on KindiCare.  

Outside school hours care  

Outside school hours care (OSHC) is what it says on the box and the saviour of many a working parent! With 12 weeks of school holidays to fill every year and a standard 4 week leave period the struggle is real and OSHC programs step up to fill the gap.    

OSHC providers offer education and care to school-aged children in the hours before and after school as well as during holidays. OSHC can be co-located in primary schools, or it may be on a separate premises. 

The focus in OSHC is play and exploration in a relaxing and fun environment and children are encouraged to spend time with their friends and participate in a range of structured and unstructured activities.  

Many kids love OSHC as it offers an extended time with friends and during the holidays children often have an opportunity to go on full-day excursions and participate in themed activities.   

OSHC providers are subject to the National Quality Framework, receive a quality rating and also attract the Child Care Subsidy, which is good news for parents as it significantly reduces the cost.  

OSHC can be hard to come by so if you think you’ll need spot search KindiCare now. 

In-home care 

If you work non-standard hours, are geographically remote or have complex family needs that make it tricky for you to access mainstream childcare then in-home care might be an option.  

This very flexible form of care is delivered in the homes of the families who need it by qualified educators, however spaces are capped and hard to come by.  

Service providers like Leor, which is owned by one of Australia's largest early learning providers G8 Education, offer specialised in home early childhood education and care services and NDIS support. Leor delivers high quality education and care with early childhood educators that come to your home, to bring childcare to you.

To apply for in-home care families must be eligible for the Child Care Subsidy and must be able to demonstrate that other childcare options don’t meet their needs.  

Parents can receive support with this process through a network of In-Home Care Support Agencies who advocate for families, especially those with challenging circumstances.  

Check KindiCare to learn about in-home care providers in your area. 

Nannies and nanny sharing 

Nannies are experienced, and often qualified, childcare professionals who take care of kids in their own homes, sometimes they live with the families they work for and they can be employed on a part-time or full-time basis.  

Nannies are a wonderful option for parents looking for an additional team member to help with raising children and oftentimes the bonds between families and nannies are strong and enduring.  

In addition to caring and educating your children, nannies will often help with kid-related domestics, such as cooking their meals, bath time, homework and transportation to activities.  

If a full-time nanny isn’t an option for you then a nanny share arrangement with another family could work well. This can take many forms, you can share your nanny on the same day and split the cost or the nanny could work for each family at different times during the week.  

While it can be tricky finding a compatible family to nanny-share with, once you are up and running these arrangements can work very well.   

Au pairs 

If you have a bit of extra space in your home and like the idea of sharing your family life with a young foreign national, then an au pair might be just the ticket.  

Au pairs receive board and a small allowance in exchange for undertaking childcare and some domestic jobs. It’s important to note that au pairs may not have experience or qualifications and this should be kept in mind especially if you have a very young baby.  

On arrival to Australia, au pairs receive a 12 month Working Holiday Visa, however, some au pairs may like to travel for a few months at the end and not complete their placement.