The kindergartens in Bentleigh,Bentleigh East,Carnegie and Centre Road are all tentatively offering a Saturday kinder program from 8.30am to 4pm,to be confirmed in the next fortnight.
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MacMaster warned pressure would grow on kinder providers as the government program expanded.
“As great as free kinder is,it has absolutely increased our demand and we have to work more closely with councils and the government about infrastructure because ... this pressure is going to increase.”
City of Glen Eira community wellbeing director Mark Saunders said there had been overwhelming demand for three-year-old kinder in the municipality.
At least five kindergarten providers in Glen Eira are close to capacity.
Early Childhood Australia chief executive Sam Page said she was aware of high demands for three- and four-year-old kindergarten programs.
“Saturday kindergarten may be a completely appropriate response to community needs,however,quality and community-responsive planning should be at the core of early childhood delivery,” she said.
Rachael Hedger,a senior lecturer in early children education and care at Flinders University,said Saturday kinder could work as long as the child had family time on other days.
“But you wouldn’t want to do it on top of weekday kinder because children need rest and downtime,” she said.
Bridie McKenna Parry previously ran a playgroup in Glen Eira and has her middle child booked to start three-year-old kinder in the neighbouring Stonnington municipality next year.
Her centre was not offering weekend sessions,but she was supportive of the concept and believed it could work well for some families,particularly parents who were shift workers.
“I think we should always try to be encouraging women to be in the workplace,” McKenna Parry said.
“Making kinder accessible by having it on the weekend means that children can still get the best start and mum can work and earn some money.”
McKenna Parry said she would have turned down a Saturday spot had she been offered because her husband works on Sundays. But she said many families could benefit from Saturday kinder and centres should consider parents’ work when allocating spots.
“Lots of women’s careers get stalled because of childcare arrangements,” she said.
One mother,who asked not to be identified because she was worried about securing a place,said she was offered Thursday and Saturday,or Friday and Saturday spots for her child,who is starting three-year-old kinder in Glen Eira next year.
She said Saturday kinder could work for some shift workers,but said many families would want to spend weekends with their children.
“The majority of people are wanting to keep those weekends as a special time to spend with their young people,not exclude one of them,” she said.
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The mother is now considering putting her child into one day of kindergarten at her preferred centre and then going to a different centre for a day of long daycare. She won’t get her final offer until September or October.
Kindergarten is not compulsory in Victoria,but it is strongly encouraged that children attend two years of preschool to prepare for school.
The government is rolling outfive to 15 hours of free kindergarten for three-year-olds across the state and 15 hours for four-year-olds. Over a 10-year period,four-year-old kinder will increase to 30 hours.
The government says services will progressively scale up hours as the infrastructure and workforce capacity grows,which will be reviewed each year.
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Community not-for-profit and council-run kindergartens and private long day care centres can all offer government-funded kindergarten programs.
Community Child Care Association executive director Julie Price said community-based long day care services did not offer Saturday services,and she said the practice was not widespread.
But Price said some kinders were offering longer,7½-hour sessions,so the 15 hours could be delivered in two days,freeing up physical space for other groups.
Australian Education Union Victorian branch president Meredith Peace said centres should consult employees before proposing any changes to working hours,to ensure appropriate penalty rates and conditions were in place.
A Department of Education spokesperson said government-funded kindergarten programs were available at thousands of services across Victoria and there was sufficient capacity to meet current demand.
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