Kindergarten programs in Queensland

Queensland has been very successful in ramping up access to 4 year old kindergarten programs, but has limited access to kindergarten programs for 3 year old children - although two thirds are enrolled in early education and care (ECEC).

Key facts

• 68 per cent of 3 year olds are enrolled in ECEC (in long day care, sessional kindergarten and family day care)
• 16 per cent of 3 year olds are enrolled in kindergarten programs
• 100 per cent of children are enrolled in kindergarten programs in the year before school
• 90 per cent are attending for 15 hours or more (noting data is collected in a reference week and is likely to under-estimate actual attendance across the year)
• The majority of children in Queensland attend kindergarten through long day care settings, although there is also a substantial community preschool sector
• Total per-child expenditure in Queensland is substantially below the national average

Proportion of 3 year olds enrolled in all ECEC and preschool

Graph text alternative:

Graph showing the proportion of 3 year olds enrolled in all ECEC and preschool. The data shows that in Queensland, 68% of 3 years olds are in ECEC and 15.7% of 3 year olds are in preschool. By comparison, Australia-wide 66% of 3 year olds are in ECEC and 21.3% of 3 year old are in preschool.

Fact sheets in this series

• An additional year of preschool - an achievable reform
• Designing a preschool program
• Preschool programs for 3 year olds
• International preschool programs for 3 year olds
• Kindergarten programs in Queensland
• Kindergarten programs in Tasmania
• Kindergarten programs in Victoria
• Kindergarten programs in Western Australia
• The impact of two years of preschool
• Two years are better than one
• Preschool programs in the Northern Territory
• Preschool programs in New South Wales
• Preschool programs in South Australia
• Preschool programs in the ACT.