Gardiner Preschool is a sessional, stand-alone kindergarten. We offer a 3-year-old kindergarten program and a 4-year-old funded kindergarten program. 

Our programs at Gardiner Preschool are play based and child led. Children learn best through experimenting, exploring, inquiring and wondering all within the realms of play. At Gardiner, you won’t see any formal learning through flash cards and worksheets; your child will simply be given the space to flourish and simply be. 

Our teaching staff will observe each child and get to know what they like, what they dislike, what they’re good at and what they may need encouraging with. Based on these observations, the teachers will implement intentional teaching opportunities to extend children’s learning, but this doesn’t mean that there isn’t room for children’s ideas and interests to flourish. If a child comes in with an interest or idea, the teacher will simply incorporate that idea into the current program and structure experiences around that interest. 

We provide structured routines at Gardiner that allow for flexibility. The children generally move through transitions together in kinder, however these transitions will occur over a period of time, to allow for children to finish their play in one area, before transitioning to the next routine. This means that while children will generally be either inside or outside as a group, at times, children will have the choice to be inside or outside, allowing them agency and flexibility to choose where they go. Meal times, while technically are flexible for children to decide, are generally enjoyed together. We will set up picnic rugs when children begin to indicate they are hungry, and children can choose to come and have morning tea or lunch, depending on time and when they are ready. We find generally once one child starts eating, many follow, so although it begins as a flexible option, we often end up enjoying our meal times together. We also have whole group mat times, while also creating smaller group times for children who want to engage in a smaller group. However, within each of these transitions and routines, there is individual flexibility. Not all children can or want to sit on a mat for a period of time, so we will have quiet activities at a table or area nearby if they need to retreat for a time. They remain close enough to see what is happening on the mat and they can join in again when they choose. 

No. Families are responsible for providing a morning tea snack and lunch box for their child. For morning tea, we ask for a nutritious snack ie. fruit, veggies, crackers and cheese, etc for your child to eat. If they can eat it whole, that is fine, otherwise we ask that you send it cut in a small separate container. For lunches, we encourage nutritious options with as little packaging as possible. We have a refrigerator and microwave in each room, so if you need anything kept cool or heated up, we can accommodate for this. 

Yes. We are a nut-free centre, so we ask that you do not send any food with nuts or nut products in your child’s lunches or snacks. This includes foods such as Nutella, almond meal, crushed nuts on top of museli bars, etc. 

If a child suffers from anaphylaxis to a certain food, then there will be a centre-wide ban on that food for that year, to ensure the child’s safety. If a child suffers an allergy to a certain food, then the ban will be localised to that room or group. For any allergies or anaphylaxis, a risk minimisation plan will be developed for that child to outline strategies to limit the chance of cross infection and exposure. All staff undertake anaphylaxis and auto injector pen training each year. 

No. We are a community run kindergarten run by a Committee of Management made up of volunteer parents, and managed daily by a Nominated Supervisor. We are a not-for-profit organisation, run by the community for the community. We encourage any parent who wishes, to join the committee and help shape the culture of our kinder. 

No. We run on the school term, so are closed all school holidays and Christmas holidays. 

Long day care centres are open for extended hours from early morning to early evening and children will arrive and leave at varying times. Children will also attend on different days, so a child’s friendship group may not always be there on days they attend. Parent’s often comment that they don’t see other families, as drop off and pick up times are varied. Class groups can consist of a varied age group eg. 3-5 years, so experiences and activities will be planned to accommodate multiple age groups.  

Sessional kindergartens run for a set time and all children arrive and leave at the same time. All children attend every session, so children are assured that their friends will be there every time they go to kinder. Parents are also dropping off and picking up at the same time, so can meet other families and form social connections that often extend into the school years. A sessional kindergarten group consists of children of the same age group, which allows experiences and activities to be planned age appropriate to your child’s age. 

We are big advocates for sessional kindergarten and think it is well worth working around the session times. 

4YO: Yes. Our 4YO program is a federally funded program for 15hrs per week. The Government provides kindergartens per capita funding for each child to access one year of funded kindergarten in the year before school. You can only access funding through one provider, and funding is set up as a Kinder funding, so if your child is attending a funded program at a long day care centre, as well as Gardiner Preschool, you will have to nominate which program you receive funding for, and pay full fee at the alternative program. We do ask that you claim the funding from us, as this money is put directly back into the program and is the only option we have of reducing your fees. An unfunded place will usually cost upwards of $2000 per term.

3YO: Yes. Gardiner Preschool participates in the Free Kinder initiative, meaning all children receive up to 15hrs of Kinder a week for free. When there are more than 15hrs offered per week in a program, then term fees are set as a gap fee to cover the extra hours. 

We are a Not-For-Profit organisation and our fees and budget is set to simply cover costs. The Federal Government funds up to 15hrs of kindergarten per week for each child in the year before school, however, our funded 4YO program runs for 22.5hrs per week. As a service, we need to cover the gap payment for the extra 6hrs per week as well as prioritising the provision of high quality resources and programs. Any incursions and excursions, as well as extra curricular programs that we provide are covered in our fee payment as well, so parents don't have any extra payments throughout the year. It's all tied up in the one term payment. 

If you are comparing fees across services, you need to look at the hours offered for the program and break it down to the cost per hour per week. You will find that we are comparable to other 22.5hr programs offered in the community.