As parents and caregivers, in Queensland, we play a pivotal role in shaping our children’s early learning experiences. With a multitude of early childhood education options available, selecting the most suitable setting for your child requires careful consideration. Two prominent choices in Queensland are long day care centre and standalone kindergartens. While both offer enriching and stimulating environments, they differ in their structure, funding options, and overall approach. Understanding these distinctions is necessary to help make an informed decision that aligns with your child’s developmental stage, learning style, and your family’s lifestyle.
Long day care centres offer full-day care for children aged six weeks to five years old, catering to the needs of working parents. This flexibility allows parents to maintain their professional commitments while ensuring their children receive quality care and attention throughout the day. Mount Coolum Early Learning is open from 06:30am-6:00pm to make sure that our families have childcare available around their working days. We are also open during the school holidays.
Standalone kindergartens typically operate during school terms, offering half-day or full-day sessions for children aged four to six years old. This structured approach is ideal for preschoolers preparing for formal schooling.
Mount Coolum Early Learning is open from 06:30am-6:00pm to make sure that our families have childcare available around their working days. We are also open during the school holidays
Understanding the Options: Key Considerations
When making your decision, consider the following factors:
Service Structure: If you require full-day care, long day care is more suitable. For a structured learning environment, standalone kindergarten is a better choice.
Government Funding: Long day care centres are eligible for government subsidies, reducing the cost of care. Standalone kindergartens may also receive funding.
Extra Programs: Long day care centres often offer extra programs, such as language classes or sports activities. Standalone kindergartens may have limited extra programs.
Educators and Staff: At both types of centre you will find a mix of Bachelor qualified teacher
Cert III or Diploma qualified educators.
Curriculum: Both long day care and standalone Kindy follow the Queensland Kindergarten Learning Guidelines.
Kindergarten plays a critical role in preparing children for school readiness. It provides them with a foundation for socialisation, early literacy and numeracy skills, independence and self-regulation, executive functioning skills, and emotional and behavioural development. By attending kindergarten, children are better prepared for the academic and social demands of primary school, and are more likely to succeed in their future educational pursuits – whichever type of Kindergarten you choose we recommend taking a tour of the centre to get a feel for the environments and to meet the educators.
You can book your tour at Mount Coolum Early Learning here.
