FAQs

Each year we participate in the Darebin City Council ‘Twilight Open Evening’, which is usually held in March.  Otherwise, you can book a time for a tour here or contact us to arrange a mutually convenient time.

Yes.  However for four year old kinder the Government funding will only apply to one program – in other words, you will have to pay full fees (without any funding applied) to one of the services that your child attends.  There is no funding for three year old kinder so you will need to pay full fees for each service your child attends.

The maximum number of children in each of our groups is 22.  Sessions do not run concurrently so each group has exclusive use of the entire space (indoor and outdoor) for their sessions.

Yes.  The “No Jab No Play” law requires all children to be age-appropriately immunised before enrolment in an early childhood service can be confirmed. Once you have been offered a place you will be required to submit your Immunisation History Statement from the Australian Immunisation Register to confirm your child’s enrolment.

Parents can print a copy of their child’s statement from their

• myGov account or
• Call the AIR on 1800 653 809
• Visit a Medicare or Centrelink office

No, we don’t.  However, with our large and beautiful outdoor space and our Edible Garden program children are introduced to the ideas of nature, sustainability, biodiversity, water, energy, nutrition and waste all in our own backyard.  The layout and size of our outdoor area allows children to explore and discover both individually and as a group.

Currently there is no government funding for three year old kindergarten.

The Victorian Government currently provides funding for 15 hours of four year old kindergarten.  This is paid to the kinder directly and is used to fund a portion of the cost of providing the program.  The fees as outlined are the amounts payable after the funding has been taken in to consideration. Other funding applicable such as for those with Concession Cards need to be applied for separately.

The Victorian government is currently funding 4 year old kindergarten for 2021 meaning there are no fees payable. Partial funding is available for 3 year old kinder reducing the fees to $140 per term.

Below is an outline of our fee structure for 2020, which is how our fees structure would usually work:

For 2021 our fees are $410 per term (partially funded) for three year old kinder and $435 per term (fully funded) for four year old kinder.

Victorian State Government funding contributes to the cost of four year old kinder.  This is paid to the kindergarten direct. The $435 per term is what is payable by families. Eligible concession card holders will attend kindergarten free of charge in the funded 4 year old program only.  All other fees including the enrolment deposit and maintenance fee are still payable.

In addition to the term fees, an enrolment deposit is payable to confirm your child’s place (this is refunded against term 4 fees) and a $45 maintenance fee is payable per family.

No.  As we only have one room this is fully dedicated to the sessions required to run our three year old group and our two four year old groups.  Our current staffing levels do not allow us to offer care beyond the session times.

Incursions are a part of our kinder program for both three year old and four year old kindergarten.  These are experiences/activities led by a specialist who comes to kinder as a guest to deliver a particular learning outcome that we believe is important for the children to experience.  These range in type and number every year but may include music and movement classes, yoga, gardening (such as worm farming and composting), puppet shows or a chicken hatching program. If a parent has a particular skill they would like to share we welcome this and would love to discuss it further.  Companies that specialise in kindergarten incursions are also used. Typically we have one excursion for the four year old groups towards the end of the year. The last few years this has been to the Melbourne Museum. Other years we have visited the Collingwood Children’s Farm.

First and foremost, the Committee of Management is the active representative and advocate for all parents/carers of children at Clyde Street Kindergarten.  The Committee is a group of parents who have each volunteered their time to act as the voice, eyes and ears in the day-to-day running of the kinder.

Specifically, some of the key areas the Committee looks after include: the financial management of the kinder, staffing, legal and regulatory obligations, maintenance of the facilities and marketing initiatives.

Further to this, the Committee tends to the planning and running of a host of social activities that embody the CSK spirit and provide meaningful opportunities for us as a community to connect throughout the year.

Some of these social activities, together with other fundraising initiatives also generate funds that, although not essential to the basic financial bottom line, help enormously in providing all those ‘nice to have things’ that keep our children engaged and our environment exemplary.

The minimum requirement is attendance at one meeting a month which runs for around three hours and is held in the evening.  However, most members become active in one of the subcommittees and this will require additional commitment. All committee members receive a dedicated committee email address and it is expected that this will be managed accordingly.  Like most things, the more you put in, the more you get out. An average of two hours a week is on the low side – some very passionate members members may spend up to ten hours a week during busy times.

Yes!  There are a large number of ways in which families can be involved.  The Committee regularly calls on families for assistance – be it baking a cake for our mother’s day cake stall, cooking sausages, mowing the lawns or sourcing raffle/auction prizes.  During kinder sessions parents are invited to be a ‘parent helper’ during their child’s session or to be a guest presenter to share a skill or a hobby that they have.  There are several program based events that families will be invited to attend over the course of the year. We are always looking out for passionate gardeners to help with maintaining our Edible Garden.

These vary year to year but currently we have our Fish and Chip night at the start of the year and our end of year family picnic to close the year out.  Our Mum’s catch up night is a popular one (possibly due to the inclusion of pizza and wine) and similarly the Dads have enjoyed the local delights of Thornbury as well.

Our proximity to Wales Street and Holy Spirit Primary Schools has made these both very popular choices for our community.  However, increasingly we are seeing children attend many other schools including; Penders Grove Primary, St Mary’s, Bell Primary, Fairfield Primary and Preston South Primary. Regardless of which primary school you choose for your family, we will communicate your child’s transition requirements accordingly.