Early childhood education and care services
In Queensland, early childhood education and care services deliver educational programs and child care for children from birth to 12 years old.
Kindergarten
These services typically provide an approved kindergarten program for children in the year before Prep. They:
- usually operate during school hours each school term
- may offer 2 programs a week, with up to 22 children in each group (depending on approved capacity)
- have their own fee structures.
Long day care
These services provide education and care for children from birth to 12 years old. They:
- usually operate at least 10 hours a day, Monday to Friday, for at least 48 weeks a year
- may offer before and after school care and vacation care
- have their own fee structures
- may offer an approved kindergarten program.
Long day care services may group children according to their age.
Family day care
These services offer education and care in registered carers’ homes. Family day care may be provided for:
- children from birth to 12 years old
- the full day, part day, overnight or weekends
- up to 7 children—including 4 children not yet in school.
Family day care providers have individual working hours and fee structures.
Read more about these services on the Family Day Care Association of Queensland website or call (07) 3847 6900.
Outside school hours care
These services may provide education and care before and after school hours, during school holidays and on pupil-free days. Services deliver programs:
- for children in primary school
- in a variety of locations (e.g. schools, youth clubs, community centres)
- generally for up to 2 hours before school, 3.5 hours after school and 10 hours a day during school holidays.
Providers of outside school hours care have individual working hours and fee structures.
Limited hours care
This education and care is for short periods on a casual basis (e.g. to allow parents to work part-time, or attend appointments). Limited hours care is provided for:
- children from birth to school age
- up to 20 hours a week
- up to 30 children at a time.
It is usually community or local government managed.
Providers of limited hours care have individual working hours and fee structures.
These services may offer an approved kindergarten program.
Queensland Government-funded limited hours care services are excluded from the National Quality Framework but must comply with state legislative requirements under the Child Care Act 2002.
Read more about childcare regulation.
Read more about childcare staff qualifications.
Pre-Prep in Indigenous communities
These education and care programs are for Indigenous children in the year before they attend full-time school. Pre-Prep is:
- for kindergarten-aged children living in 35 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
- usually delivered in community kindergartens, child care centres and schools.
Find out where pre-Prep is offered and read about the Queensland Government’s Bound for Success initiative.
Regulation (services approved under national law)
Most education and care services in Australia are regulated under the National Quality Framework. It applies to most services including long day care, family day care, outside school hours care, pre-Prep and kindergarten services.
The legislation, introduced in 2012, includes:
- national learning frameworks to help educators to deliver quality learning programs
- national standards—including requirements for more early childhood educators and for them to have higher qualifications
- a quality rating system for services—including being assessed by the department and, from 2013, having their National Quality Standard rating published on the mychild website.
Read about the National Quality Framework and how its implementation affects service providers in Queensland.
A small number of services are regulated under the Child Care Act 2002 and some are unregulated.
Read more about early childhood regulation.
Read more about early childhood staff qualifications.
