A trial to support families with out of hours preschool care for children will begin this year, with 20 locations across South Australia.

The trial of Kindy Care will start in July following a recommendation from the Royal Commission into Early Childhood Education and Care.

The Royal Commission heard from a wide range of stakeholders, who highlighted the need for government preschools to better meet the changing needs of working families.

Government preschools are run using a sessional model that usually offers preschool from around 9am-3pm. In contrast, most non-government preschools offer long day care, from around 7am-6pm. This makes decisions for working families more difficult due to accessibility.

Kindy Care will help support families who are increasingly needing care for their children outside regular preschool hours of 9am-3pm. The program will allow children to maintain continuity, reduce transitions and engage in out of hours care appropriate to their developmental needs – and will provide valuable feedback to determine a broader rollout.

Fees for Kindy Care are expected to largely reflect the fees payable at school OSHC services. Parents may be eligible for financial assistance through the Child Care Subsidy, which can reduce out-of-pocket costs for some parents to as little as $5 per session.

Increasing workforce participation is a key ambition of these reforms, with more families having access to OSHC at the heart of ensuring more parents are able to work.

The State Government is taking action to expand out of school hours care by improving access to government OSHC, including for students with disabilities and complex needs and modernising OSHC qualification requirements.

The Kindy Care trial is being undertaken with the support of the Federal Government, providing provisions for families using the trial to access Child Care Subsidy.

The trial sites of Kindy Care across South Australia will be located at:

• Renmark North Preschool
• Loxton Preschool Centre
• Millicent North Kindergarten
• Park Terrace Kindergarten
• Salisbury Heights Preschool
• Bridgewater Kindergarten
• Cumberland Preschool Kindergarten
• Fairview Park Kindergarten
• Lantana Kindergarten
• Magill Kindergarten
• Ocean View College Children’s Centre
• Clarence Park Preschool
• Adams Road Children’s Centre
• Dernancourt Kindergarten
• Gabmididi Manoo Children and Family Centre
• Gawler & District B-12 Children’s Centre
• Gladigau Park Kindergarten
• Seaview Downs Preschool
• Wattle Park Kindergarten
• Glossop Community Preschool

Preschools nominated their service for consideration to participate in the trials via a statewide expression of interest process.

“We are excited to be chosen to take part in this trial as we know that our families will benefit greatly from the provision of Kindy Care,” said Fairview Park Kindergarten Director Michelle Slatter.

“We are thrilled that we can expand the services that we currently offer our children and families.

“It is important to us that we can provide continuity for children who access both Preschool and Kindy Care and that these children will have less transitions to navigate throughout the day.”