Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know where I am on the waitlist?

If you are concerned about where you are on the waitlist and the likelihood of obtaining a place at the kinder you may call the enrolment officer, however, he/she will not give you an exact position on the waiting list but rather a probability of being offered a position. The reason for this is that the number of siblings on the waiting list frequently changes.

It’s August and I haven’t received an offer yet, should I contact the kinder?

The likelihood is that we have not yet reached your name on the waiting list. You may call the enrolment officer to confirm this.

Is there anything I can do if we are unsuccessful in receiving a place?

On occasions children withdraw from positions that they have accepted. We then refer back to our waiting list and make the position available to the next child in line.

We recommend that you wait list your child at other kindergartens in the area (note that their waiting lists may open at different times).

We understand the importance of kinder and we empathise with you if your child does not receive a place at our kinder. Unfortunately places are limited and to ensure that we are fair to everyone we have a fair selection criteria and a transparent process as outlined in Selection Criteria.

We hope that you will be successful at another kinder within the area. If you are unsuccessful we suggest that you contact the City of Port Phillip to discuss the availability of positions within the area.

Rationale for decision regarding entry date for 3 year old Kindergarten

Middle Park Kindergarten's Committee of Management adopted the policy, in December 2005, that a child commencing at the Kindergarten in the 3 year old group must have turned 3 by January 31st in the year he/she is to commence. This change came as a result of much deliberation and consideration.

We have outlined our rationale for the decision below. We hope this will assist you to better understand and respect the decision made:

• A child cannot commence 3 year old Kindergarten group until they have turned 3. Generally the Kindergarten year commences in the last week of January. This would mean a child whose birthday falls in the months Feb, March and April can miss up to a complete term or more of Kindergarten. This can be difficult/unsettling for a new child to enter when other children have settled into the routine of Kindergarten and established relationships.

• We are not trying to penalize younger children, we are trying to foster their development. We find that the younger children are often immature and have difficulty with the social and emotional aspects of coping with Kindergarten. The extra few months of maturity can make a big difference to their ability to cope with Kindergarten.

• In the past, we have found that those children who repeated 3 year old Kinder were the younger children. This is not ideal as we have such large waitlists/demand for positions.

• It is an expectation that children commencing in the 3 year old group are toilet trained. Older children are more likely to be fully toilet trained, some who have just turned 3 are not quite trained when they commence Kindergarten. Kindergarten does not have the facilities to change nappies; staff are not trained to change nappies and legally we do not have the staff ratios to accommodate changing nappies.

We hope that this better helps explain that the policy was adopted not to penalise children whose birthdays fall after January 31st but rather to ensure he/she is better prepared to commence Kindergarten and to have a more positive and rewarding experience.

Why are entry dates for the 3 year old and 4 year old Kinder groups different?

For children to commence 4 year old Kindergarten, children must have turned 4 by April 30th. This is the same cut-off date for starting school. As 4 year old Kindergarten is compulsory we need to be in-line for the ‘natural’ follow on into school.