Kindergarten prepares 3 and 4 year old children for school. Find centres in the City of Yarra that offer free integrated and sessional programs.
Kindergarten is an important step to support children's social skills, learning, health and wellbeing before starting primary school. At kindergarten, your child will learn to:
- become strong and independent
- play with other children
- respect others
- understand their feelings
- be part of a group
- develop language, reading, writing and counting skills.
Qualified educators run our kindergarten programs, which are guided by the Early Years Learning Framework and the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework.
Please note:
- kindergarten is for 3- and 4-year-old children.
- the Victorian Government funds 15 hours each week.
- sessional programs run at specific times each week.
- integrated programs run over in long day care centres over a full day.
Our list of children’s centres in Yarra [ PDF, 235.66 KB] includes all Council and independent providers.
NEED HELP DECIDING IF YOUR CHILD IS READY FOR KINDER?
Are you looking for support with family decision making?
Would you like to explore all things kinder?
Do you want more information on the concept of “readiness”?
Join us for a free online discussion with a panel of professionals who will share their thoughts on what kindergarten readiness looks like.
Together we will:
- Develop an understanding of what learning looks like in a kindergarten environment
- Navigate the kindergarten system to choose the right place for your child
- Understand when is best for your child to commence kindergarten
- Additional community resources you could explore.
DATE Tuesday 29 April 2025 1pm – 2:30pm
LOCATION Online via Teams
REGISTER Reserve your spot at https://www.trybooking.com/CXHBH
NEED HELP PREPARING YOUR CHILD FOR PREP?
The transition from kinder to prep is an exciting time.
Regardless of your experience in early childhood education, there are things you can do to prepare your family for the leap into prep.
It can also feel quite overwhelming and can be challenging to decide if now is the ‘right time’.
Join us for the free online discussion with a panel of professionals who will share their thoughts on what school readiness looks like. Together we will discuss:
- School readiness skills
- Essential building blocks for developing resilience
- What to expect on your first day of school
- Additional resources you could explore.
DATE Thursday 18 September 2025 6.30pm – 8pm
LOCATION Online via Teams
REGISTER https://www.trybooking.com/CXHBT
The Early Start Kindergarten program is for 3 year old children who are either:
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- known to Child Protection or have been referred to Child First by Child Protection
- from a refugee or asylum seeker background
The program provides up to 15 hours of kindergarten per week and is free for eligible children.
Our kindergarten programs are inclusive. They encourage and provide children of all abilities genuine opportunities to access and participate in kindergarten and promote a sense of belonging and respect for diversity.
If your child needs extra support to participate in kindergarten, assistance is available.
Register online
Please follow the links below to register your child. We will let you know as soon as we have a place available.
Please note there are separate forms for kindergarten and long day care.
Before you start
Please have the following documents ready for upload:
- your current Health Care Card (concession card), if you have one
- a referral letter from a doctor or medical practitioner if your child was diagnosed with a chronic or serious health issue that impacts your capacity to care for them
No. It’s free to register your child for kindergarten.
Our Priority of Access Policy ensures that we offer childcare and kindergarten places to children and families with the greatest need.
This policy is to ensure there is a fair and equitable process for the management and allocation of places within Yarra
We will contact you via email or SMS if a place becomes available for your child. You will have three days to respond to this offer.
You can accept the offer verbally. Once you have confirmed that you want the kindergarten place offered, we will email you an invitation to enrol via our Xplor app.
The email will tell you how to use the Xplor app.
If your child is already enrolled in a childcare service in the City of Yarra, you will get a welcome email directly from this service.
Yes. The No Jab, No Play law allows only fully immunised children to enrol in childcare, long day care, kindergarten, family day care, casual care or occasional care in Victoria.
What to do:
- You must provide the service with a current Immunisation History Statement from the Australian Immunisation Register.
- The statement must show that your child is up to date with all vaccinations for their age or that they’re able to receive.
You can print a copy of your child’s Immunisation History Statement from your myGov account.
Yarra Council offers regular immunisation sessions. Visit our Immunisation Service page to learn more.