Getting your service 3-year-old preschool ready
Rolling out 3-year-old preschool
We are progressively rolling out 3-year-old preschool from 2026. By 2032, all children will have access to preschool in the 2 years before school.
The new preschool model for 3- and 4-year-olds in will include:
- a teacher-led quality preschool program
- support from allied health and other professionals
- early identification of a child’s developmental needs on site, with organised pathways to interventions
- organised family and community supports for those who need it.
Find out more about the 3-year-old preschool roll-out.
Helping providers get ready for 3-year-old preschool
The Office for Early Childhood Development is here to support you to prepare for the 3-year-old preschool roll-out. Our first step is consulting with the sector on the funding and partnering approach. This will define how we will partner with providers to deliver quality 3- and 4-year-old preschool from 2026 and beyond.
The best thing that providers and services can do in the immediate term is to continue to focus on providing a high quality, inclusive Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) program. This includes supporting and retaining the workforce – for example, supporting staff to complete their existing study, upskill to the next level of qualification, undertake their practicum or traineeship with you, undertake professional development, and benefit from good leadership, management and support for wellbeing in your service.
Our aim is for all children to have access to 2 years of 15-hour a week preschool programs by 2032, and to have high levels of uptake by services to support this while maintaining a focus on quality, support for the workforce, and service connection. We’re working to create a strong early childhood system for services to be a part of, whether they be long day care services, government or non-government preschools, or services that deliver mix of both.
Support the OECD can offer service providers to meet quality expectations
Work will begin in 2025 on providing professional development and networking opportunities across the early childhood education sector. Services will be regularly updated so educators and teachers across the system have access to the latest evidence-based information and professional learning opportunities.
We will provide a range of pedagogical and curriculum resources and tools to support service delivery of high quality 3-year-old preschool programs in preparation for the 2026 to 2032 roll-out.
The government released the Early Childhood Workforce Strategy in June 2024, to support the recognition, growth and retention of South Australia’s skilled early learning professionals.