Give your child a Flying Start with 3-year-old preschool
Flying Start for Kids
From 2026, families across South Australia will start gaining access to a new teacher-led 3-year-old preschool program. The program is supported by the Government of South Australia and designed to help every child build confidence, curiosity and the skills they need to thrive in learning and in life.
The government’s investment in 3-year-old preschool will lift the quality of early childhood education across the state through investment in staff with higher qualifications, professional development, and extra supports for families and children through a Preschool Boost program.
Play is how 3-year-olds learn best.
Watch the video to discover all the ways play can help children develop key dispositions for learning such as creativity, curiosity and confidence.
3-year-old preschool explained
3-year-old preschool is a play-based early learning program, led by a qualified early childhood teacher, working alongside early childhood educators, to create a nurturing and engaging learning environment.
A typical day might include:
- fun, purposeful activities that encourage social skills, exploration, and curiosity
- opportunities for child-led discovery that helps children become confident communicators and involved learners
- a safe and supportive environment for developing self-identity and emotional resilience
- outdoor play to support health, wellbeing and exploration
- celebrating Aboriginal and other cultures.
Find out when your child will be eligible for 3-year-old preschool
Starting preschool calculator
Enter your child’s date of birth to calculate a potential start for 3-year-old preschool.
Starting preschool calculator
Enter your child's date of birth below.
Looks like your child could start 3-year-old preschool from term ,
Children will have access to up to 8 terms or 2 years of preschool in the 2 years before school.
Aboriginal children, and children who are or have been in care, continue to be entitled to access a government preschool program any time after their third birthday.
3-year-old preschool will roll out in stages from 2026, with access in the first year dependent on whether a place is available at a Flying Start partner preschool in your area.
Find out more about 3-year-old preschool at our parents page
Explore all 2026 Flying Start 3-year-old preschool partner servicesLooks like you child could start 4-year-old preschool in term ,
All children are eligible to a place in a government sessional preschool in the year before full time school (4-year-old preschool).
Aboriginal children, and children who are or have been in care, continue to be entitled to access a government preschool program any time after their third birthday.
Visit the Department for Education preschool finder toolAre you looking for a long day care or non-government sessional service?
Visit Starting Blocks to find a long day care serviceExplore all 2026 Flying Start 3-year-old preschool partner services below
View all Flying Start 3-year-old servicesExtra support for your child’s service
If your child’s service is delivering 3-year-old preschool from 2026, they will get access to a range of additional supports to help them deliver a quality preschool program. This includes:
- Preschool Boost: extra funding to support partnering 3-year-old services to support the needs of children and families, for example to access occupational or speech therapy.
- Paid professional development: increased access to professional learning opportunities for teachers and educators, as well as backfill contributions to support teachers to take time off to learn and plan.
- Quality uplift :for services who need it, additional support will be provided to improve their practices and operations to meet the National Quality Standards.
If your child’s service is not yet delivering 3-year-old preschool, they will still receive support to help them prepare for delivery in future years. This support is accessible for all centre-based services, whether or not they are partnering to deliver 3-year-old preschool in 2026:
- Preschool Toolkit: access to preschool teaching and learning resources so teachers and educators can create high-quality programs for 3- and 4-year-olds
- Workforce support: more than $100 million investment into growing a quality early childhood workforce, including professional development pathways for aspiring or experienced leaders.
- Infrastructure support: $40 million over 4 years to support the building of new or expanded facilities in services and locations with identified need, for example through grants to eligible organisations.
3-year-old preschool roll-out overview
| When | Where | Hours | Program | Cost |
From 2026 to 2032 | Universal 3-year-old preschool will roll out in stages from 2026, starting with partnering long day care services across the state, and government and other sessional preschools in regional areas. | 3-year-old preschool will generally be for 15 hours per week / 600 hours per year – but services can offer between 6-15 hours during the roll-out, depending on preschool capacity | Quality, teacher-led, play-based and age-appropriate learning. | Fees will be set individually by the provider. If you access preschool through a partnering long day care preschool program, you can claim the Commonwealth Childcare Subsidy (CCS)** |
From 2032 and beyond | 3-year-old preschool will be available across South Australia for all families. | 15 hours a week*, 600 hours per year. | Quality, teacher-led, play-based and age-appropriate learning. | Fees will be set individually by the provider. If you access preschool through a partnering long day care preschool program, you can claim the Commonwealth Childcare Subsidy (CCS)** |
*Up to 30 hours will be available for children who need it the most.
Find out more
3-year-old preschool will roll out in stages from 2026, starting with partnering long day care services across the state, and government and other sessional preschools in regional areas and three metro demonstration sites.
In 2026, more than 200 long day care services and 45 government preschools will begin offering the Flying Start 3-year-old preschool program.
Services delivering 3-year-old preschool from 2026 are located across metropolitan, regional and rural South Australia.
More long day care and preschool services will start offering the program every year, expanding the offer for families. All children will have access to a place by 2032.
Long day care services partnering in 2026 have been prioritised based on 2 things:
- their quality, including their National Quality standards rating and ability to deliver a teacher-led program
- their location, to ensure a broad geographic spread, with a focus on reaching communities where children are likely to benefit most from access to 3-year-old preschool programs in the early years of the roll-out.
The roll-out in government and other sessional preschools will start with regional and rural areas in 2026 and 2027 (plus 3 metro demo sites), the greater Adelaide area in 2028, and metro Adelaide starting in 2029 and 2030.
The roll-out will expand each year, with additional services joining annually until universal access is achieved by 2032.
This staged approach is needed to allow time to grow the necessary workforce and infrastructure, supporting every child to have a flying start in life, no matter where they live.
If your child attends a long day care service that has partnered with the government to deliver 3-year-old preschool, they will receive their program there.
If your child is not enrolled in a long day care that has partnered with the government to deliver 3-year-old preschool, you may be able to attend a government or non-government preschool or long day care service offering the program.
A child cannot be enrolled in 2 funded 3-year-old preschool programs at the same time (at both a long day care service and a government service).
Aboriginal children, and children who are or have been in care, continue to be entitled to access a government preschool program any time after their third birthday.
There is no change to your 4-year-old's government preschool entitlement. All children continue to be entitled to a place in a government preschool in the year before full time school (4-year-old preschool). Families can also choose to receive their funded 4-year-old preschool place in a partnered non-government long day care or sessional service.
Visit the Department for Education 4-year-old preschool finder or Starting Blocks to find out more.
The government is investing $1.9 billion into lifting outcomes in early childhood, supporting every South Australian child to have the best start in life.
The Royal Commission into Early Childhood Education and Care found that 2 years of preschool are more beneficial than one. Children who attend 2 years of quality preschool show stronger cognitive, social and emotional development, and are better prepared for school.
Visit Supporting your child to thrive for other activities to support your child’s flying start.
Fees for the 3-year-old preschool program in long day care and sessional preschools will continue to be set by individual providers, as they are for 4-year-old preschool programs.
The South Australian Government is investing in:
- the additional cost of preschool programs being teacher-led
- additional planning time for teaching staff leading the preschool program/s
- professional learning and support for leaders, early childhood teachers and educators
- Preschool Boost funding for partnering services to access quality, evidence-informed programs and resources tailored to meet the needs of local children and families.
These supports are designed to support the quality of all services and improve outcomes for young children in South Australia.
By partnering with the government to deliver 3-year-old preschool, partnered long day care services will not need to raise their fees in order to offer you and your child this higher quality program.
Have a question?
Contact: OECD.engage@sa.gov.au