Healthy Kindy Kids information for parents and carers

Free vision, hearing, speech and language screening for children in Queensland kindergartens.

Free screening at kindergarten

Children attending kindergartens that display the approved kindy tick, can get free vision, hearing, speech and language screening as part of the Healthy Kindy Kids program.

Vision, hearing, speech and language issues can impact your child’s future learning at school. Screening helps us find any issues early.

During screening, we will:

• take a picture of your child’s eyes using a device like a camera
• play a hearing game with headphones and a tablet
• play a language game on a tablet to see how your child uses words and sentences.

We do the screening at kindergarten to make it easier for you and your child. If we identify any concerns, we can connect you with the right support services.

Our team includes trained screeners and a senior health professional. They’ll either:

• hold a blue card (Queensland's Working with Children Check)
• be registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).

When will Healthy Kindy Kids be available?

Healthy Kindy Kids is rolling out statewide and will be offered across Queensland by the end of 2028. Your local Healthy Kindy Kids team will contact your child's kindergarten when the program starts in your area.

Before the Healthy Kindy Kids visit

Your child's kindergarten will let you know we’re coming a few weeks before we visit. The screening team will usually be at the kindergarten for a few days to see as many children as possible.

You’ll get:

• information about screening
• a consent form to sign
• a parent or carer questionnaire to fill in.

The questionnaire helps us understand your child’s development for their age.

If you or your child needs an interpreter, we can organise one for free.

If your child isn’t able to attend on the dates we’re coming, they can still get a 4-to-5-year health check at your local child and family health service or with your GP.

How we do screening

You don't need to be at the screening, but you can if you’d like to. Let your child’s kindergarten know if you plan to be there. If you’re not there, one of the kindergarten’s staff members will help your child during the activities.

The activities will be built into your child’s normal day. We’ll work around what works best for them. Sometimes, we’ll do the 3 screening activities at different times during the day.

Screening is quick and fun, but it isn’t a detailed assessment or diagnosis.

After screening, your child will get a ‘pass’ or ‘refer’ result. If your child gets a refer result, we'll connect you with services in your area. A refer result doesn't always mean there’s a problem, but it’s a good idea to look into it.

Vision screening

We'll take a picture of your child's eyes using a device like a camera. It will measure your child's eyes to check for anything outside the normal range for their age.

If your child gets a ‘refer’ result on their vision screen, we'll recommend taking your child to an eye health professional (optometrist). Our team will connect you with services in your area.

Your child’s eyes will be screened again at school as part of the Prep Vision Screening Program. Their eyes will keep developing until they’re adults, so regular eye checks are important.

Hearing screening

Your child will do hearing screening on a digital tablet while wearing headphones. It's a fun game that screens their hearing in each ear.

If your child gets a ‘refer’ result, we'll support you with the next steps. Sometimes a second hearing screen is recommended because:

• it's noisy in the room when we do the screening
• your child might have a blocked ear due to illness.

Language screening

Language screening is done on a digital tablet. It checks how well your child understands and uses words, sentences and instructions.

The results will be either:

• pass: no concern
• advice: we'll give you and your kindergarten suggestions to help your child’s language development
• refer: we'll recommend further assessment and let you know where they can be done.

Getting your child's results

You’ll get a written summary of your child’s results after screening.

If we have any concerns, we’ll support you with the next steps which may include:

• further screening
• support from your GP or other community health professionals
• referrals to specialist services.

Most of the time, we will refer you to free services.

It's important to remember that screening:

• isn't always 100% accurate
• may miss a problem or give a false alarm
• is a snapshot of your child’s development at one point in time; changes can happen as they grow.

If you're worried about your child's vision, hearing, speech or language at any time, talk to your GP or child and family health nurse.

Other health checks

As well as having a Healthy Kindy Kids screen, all children should get regular health and development checks with a GP or child health nurse.

The 4- to 5-year-old check in the red book looks more closely at your child’s overall growth and development. It’s important to do this check with your child and family health nurse or GP.

Learn more about routine health checks for children on the Pregnancy, Birth and Baby website.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children can get a free 715 health check every year. Learn more about 715 health checks on the Australian Government website.

Contact us

If you have any questions about the Healthy Kindy Kids program, email healthykindykids@health.qld.gov.au.