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Our Kinder offers free 3 and 4 year old kindergarten programs for 15 hours a week.
Sessional Kinder with the convenience of Before and After Kinder and Holiday Care
Children are able to attend for just the kinder sessions or to stay with us for longer periods of time in our Before and After Kinder Care program. We also offer care in the holidays.
Registrations for 2025 are currently being accepted!
Our program is play based and child centred. We use current ideas and experiences initiated by the children in their play and build on this learning in further play development.
Two separate kindergarten rooms open out to a wonderful natural outside play space, with specially designed equipment to encourage discovery, imagination and activity. There is plenty of space to create, investigate and to play collaboratively, across our multi-level playground.
Whether it’s feeling the breeze rush past on the swings, excavating sand, creating imaginary worlds for dinosaurs, experimenting with water flows, dancing on the raised platform or running on lush grass, children will want to do it all! Our playground has been planned to maximise fun, play and adventure.
Nature Play and Bush Kinder
Building on our emphasis on nature play, we’re excited to be introducing a Bush Kinder program in 2025.
Making life easier – from Kinder to Swimming Lesson!
To assist families in scheduling their child’s important swim lesson, we offer a special program for children aged 3+ during our sessional kinder hours.
Our staff will take care of getting your child ready for their lesson
and take them to the Swim School, where they will then remain on Pool Deck. On
completion of the swimming lesson they will then get your child ready to
re-join their kinder session.
A wonderful place to grow and learn for life!
Our Kinder programs embrace the joy of the everyday, of the small successes, of the big milestones and everything in between. Our kindergarten is a great place for growing and developing the skills for learning for life!
Our Before and After Kinder programs are approved for CCS. Find out more here.
40 Water St, Brown Hill, VIC 3350
Phone: (03) 4320 0850
Email: info@ylearnandswim.org.au
Centre hours: 7am – 6pm;
Monday – Friday
We offer high quality free 3 and 4 year old play-based kindergarten programs. Our free programs are for 15 hours a week, with Before and After Kinder Care also offered within our Long Day Care program.
Our inclusive curriculum supports social, emotional, cognitive, physical and creative learning. We also celebrate a variety of cultural events throughout the year.
Y Learn and Swim’s early learning team are enthusiastic, committed and passionate about the education and care of children.
Our recruitment process ensures that all staff are not only suitably qualified but aspire to the Y’s values of Honesty, Respect, Caring and Responsibility.
We have an Educational Leader supported by a team comprised of Bachelor, Diploma and/or Certificate III Qualified staff. We’re also supported by a Regional Director and a Pedagogical leader to ensure that we’re delivering the highest quality program in line with the latest educational developments.
Free 4 year old and 3 year old kindergarten programs are offered on the days and times below. These are mixed-age groups.
Tuesday and Wednesday
8.30am – 4.00pm
Tuesday and Thursday
8.30am – 4.00pm
Wednesday and Thursday
8.30am – 4.00pm
During their time at Kindergarten, children discover and develop a wide variety of skills and experiences. The early years are critical in laying the foundation for children’s achievement in schooling and into adulthood.
There is a wide body of evidence showing that children’s education and care affects a child’s health, wellbeing and competence throughout their lives.
To find out more about the benefits for your child in attending a Kindergarten program see here.
Attending kindergarten is an important step for your child. It will help them learn skills that they will build on throughout life as well as strengthening their enthusiasm for learning. Your child’s teacher will talk to you about your child and your family, and together you will develop a plan that suits your child’s individual needs.
Our Educators use the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework to achieve the best outcomes for all the children. This Framework identifies five learning outcomes:
Young children learn about the world through play. It provides opportunity for children to use their imagination and practise important skills, whilst extending their social and emotional development, and wellbeing. Teachers and educators help children become curious, creative and confident about learning.
We welcome enquiries. Please get in touch if you’d like to know more about our approach or our program.
Research shows that engaging children in high-quality early learning experiences benefits all children and their families. View this page for more details.
Speak to a maternal Child Health Nurse, Kindergarten Teacher or Pre-School Field Officer if you are unsure of your child’s readiness.
| If your child was born during | Year eligible to attend a 4 year old program |
| 1.5.2019 – 30.4.2020 | 2024 |
| 1.5.2020 – 30.4.2021 | 2025 |
| 1.5.2021 – 30.4.2022 | 2026 |
| 1.5.2022 – 30.4.2023 | 2027 |
A second year of funded Four Year Old Kindergarten may be considered when a child shows delays in learning and development outcome areas in the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework, and when:
The DE (Department of Education) provides more details here.
Early Years Management organisations manage services for community kindergartens and some early childhood services.
The aim of an Early Years Management (EYM) provider is to build and maintain a strong and sustainable universal kindergarten system for children, families and local communities.
The EYM is the Licensed Provider under the Department of Education. The EYM is responsible for ensuring that each of their managed services is meeting and providing adquate care under each Legislation, Regulation and Law for Early Childhood.
Y Kinders is the EYM of the Y Ballarat, supporting and managing kindergartens across the state of Victoria.
For more information about Y Kinders as an EYM visit our Y Kinders’ Join Us page.
The DE (Department of Education) provides more information about the EYM framework on their website.
Y Learn and Swim’s Kindergarten’s enrolment registration process is managed centrally by the City of Ballarat’s Central Kindergarten Registrations and is supported by the Y Kinders’ enrolment team. More information can be found here.
We offer Before and After Kinder Care as part of our Long Day Care program.
The first step is to register with City of Ballarat Central Enrolments for kindergarten.
When contacted by our Enrolments Team about your kindergarten place, let them know that you would also like to enrol in Before and/or After Kinder Care. They will guide you through the process.
We offer a special program for children aged 3+ during our sessional kinder hours to assist families.
Our staff will take care of getting your child ready for their swimming lesson and take them to the Swim School, where they will then remain on Pool Deck. On completion of the swimming lesson they will then get your child ready to re-join their kinder session.
The Kindergarten Inclusion Support Service offers supplementary assistance to kindergartens to support the inclusion of a child with additional needs into the program. Applications are made by the Kindergarten Teacher in consultation with parents, early childhood intervention agencies and Preschool Field Officers.
Applications are made in the year prior to the child starting kindergarten and strict criteria exist for an application to be made. Please speak to the Preschool Field Officer for further information on funding availability to children with special needs.
The No Jab, No Play legislation requires that in order to finalise enrolment for your child in long day care, kindergarten, family day care or occasional care you must provide the service with an Immunisation History Statement from the Australian Immunisation Register which that shows your child is:
What is this document used for?
Under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008, we are unable to confirm an enrolment of a child unless the child has certification with age appropriately immunisation or has approved exemption. The Immunisation Record accessed through the Australian Immunisataion Register, will be stored on the child’s enrolment for reference.
Immunisation History Statements can be obtained from:
Can the Child Health Record be submitted to show immunisation?
Early Childhood services are no longer able to accept Child Health Records as an immunisation record.
Immunisation History Statement requirements
The Medicare logo and Australian Government crest must be present and identifiable to be considered a valid Immunisation History Statement. For example, if the Statement is on the second page of a letter from Medicare, both pages need to be presented to the service to confirm enrolment.
Families who do not hold a Medicare card must call the AIR to request an Immunisation History Statement.
A translation and interpreting service is available by calling 131 450, Monday-Friday, 8.30am-4.45pm.
You may be eligible for the Support Period Exemption. Certain Criteria must be met to qualify.
Who is eligible for the support period (previously known as the “grace period”)?
Children experiencing vulnerability and disadvantage are eligible to enrol in a service under a support period, without having provided proof of up to date immunisation. The support period provisions allow the family to continue to access early childhood education and care services while receiving information and assistance to get their child’s immunisations up to date and to obtain the required immunisation documentation that needs to be provided to the service.
Children eligible to be enrolled under the support/grace period include:
More information about the support/grace period is available here.
We understand that starting kindergarten can be a big step for your child and your family. Especially if this is your child’s introduction to early education. From enrolling, orientation and anticipating the important first day, these all form the path to your child commencing in our kindergarten program.
You’re likely to have many questions, need more details or want to connect with us to find out more.
Link through to further information, or we’re also here to help!
Y Learn and Swim’s Kindergarten’s enrolment registration process is managed centrally by the City of Ballarat’s Central Kindergarten Registrations and is supported by the Y Kinders’ enrolment team. For assistance or queries relating to your child’s enrolment, please contact 4320 0850 or email info@ylearnandswim.org.au.
The Y has been delivering Early Learning Programs for over 20 years and is passionate about creating safe, fun, educational environments where children can thrive. At the Y, we believe in the power of inspired young people and we feel there is no better time to begin inspiring than in an Early Learning program!
The Y Ballarat is independently reviewed by the Australian Childhood Foundation to ensure our services are safe for all children and young people.
