Kindergarten – an important step towards school

A Catholic Early EdCare  kindergarten program will nurture your child’s physical, social, emotional and intellectual development.

  • 06 September 2019

The benefit of a quality kindergarten experience for your child is enormous.

Catholic Early EdCare’s kindergarten program develops your child’s physical, social, intellectual, language and emotional abilities. Kindergarten can be a truly transformational time!  For example, many children begin reticent to get involved in group play or structured activities, but by the end of the year, they have become confident, social learners.

Director of the Gonski Institute for Education, Adrian Piccoli sites in his book, 12 ways your child can get the best out of school, a correlation between children attending quality early childhood education programs and higher achievement, increased high school completion, improved health and better social outcomes.

Specifically, Australian research has shown strong links between attending kindergarten and improved results in numeracy, reading and spelling.

If you are considering whether your child should attend kindergarten another key benefit to consider is the opportunity it provides your child to familiarise themselves with the school experience.

Our kindergartens are at the heart of a broader community, with most located on-site or alongside our Catholic primary schools and have close ties to local parishes and the community.

"At a Catholic Early EdCare kindergarten you will watch your child’s confidence grow."

Throughout their kindergarten year your child’s confidence in the school environment will continually grow as they make regular visits to the school library and prep classrooms as well as attend school assemblies, liturgies, book week parades and other celebrations.

Participation in these activities and visiting the school allows your child to start forming relationships with children of all ages and build confidence in different settings. These connections also provide your child the opportunity to grow as they learn about service to the community and the importance of education and care for those in need.

Professor Deborah Brennan of the University of NSW says a crucial role early childhood education plays, is allowing children to learn self-regulation in the critical years before they start school, an essential skill needed for school and beyond.

Our stand-alone kindergartens offer an approved Queensland Government Kindergarten Program run by university-qualified early childhood teachers. Read more about what your child will learn at a Catholic Early EdCare kindergarten here.

At our sessional kindergartens, children complete a five-day fortnight, during school hours and school terms. If these hours aren’t quite right for you, all of our long day care centres also offer an approved kindergarten program, with extra care hours available before and after.

Our kindergarten program includes a combination of indoor and outdoor play, providing for group and individual activities, morning and afternoon tea, lunch break and rest.

Through these experiences your child will build their knowledge, explore and express new ideas, learn to cooperate with others and develop friendships along the way.

You can learn more about the importance of quality early learning education on The Early Years Count website.

To be eligible for kindergarten your child must turn four by June 30 of that year.

Find your nearest Catholic Early EdCare Kindergarten.