Program requirements - Preschool Plus
Preschool Plus Services are required to comply with the following program requirements.
The Preschool Plus program is a targeted early intervention program funding up to 30 hours per week, or 1,200 hours per year, of high-quality, teacher-led preschool for children most at risk of developmental vulnerability for the two years before full-time school. Preschool Plus enrolments attract higher allocations of Ready Set Preschool and Preschool Boost funding than universal preschool program places, together with Preschool Plus fee relief for eligible families, to amplify the Services’ response to developmental vulnerability.
The state government is using the best available data to identify children who would benefit most from Preschool Plus, and referral pathways will continue to expand and evolve over the life of the reforms. Refer to the Preschool Plus Operational Guidelines for further information regarding referral pathways, intake processes and program administration.
Preschool Plus Partner Services play an important role in supporting access, participation and continuity of preschool enrolment for eligible children. Partner Services are expected to work collaboratively with the OECD to support coordinated access to Preschool Plus places for eligible children, including through approved referral and identification pathways.
Final approval of Services to deliver Preschool Plus rests with the OECD, based on assessment of eligibility, local need and system capacity.
Service eligibility
Partner Providers may be eligible to deliver Preschool Plus in their Service(s) if the:
- Provider meets the partnership requirements under the universal preschool program
- Provider is a Partner Provider approved to deliver the 3- and 4-year-old universal preschool program and receive associated funding
- relevant Service holds a rating of at least Meeting the NQS
- Service can provide 1,200 hours of a teacher-led preschool program per year.
To maintain eligibility to be a Preschool Plus Partner Service, the Partner Service must commit to and deliver on the organisational requirements and the partnership requirements as detailed in service priorities 1 – 3a, as well as maintain a rating of at least Meeting the NQS. A Preschool Plus Partner Service that receives a rating of Working Towards the NQS after partnering to deliver Preschool Plus will be prioritised to participate in the Quality Uplift program.
As each Preschool Plus place utilises 2 universal 15-hour preschool places, Preschool Plus Partner Services may be asked to confirm available preschool capacity to support local planning and placement processes.
Minimum service offer
Preschool Plus Partner Services must offer eligible children a total of 1,200 hours per year of teacher-led programming. As with universal preschool, the teacher must be delivering the program in the room for these hours (except for required breaks).
Program hours can be delivered flexibly across days and weeks of the year, however with a maximum of 8 hours per day and 4 days per week of funded preschool programming, for example (including, but not limited to):
- 8 hours per day x 3 days per week x 50 weeks per year = 1,200 hours per year
- 7.5 hours per day x 4 days per week x 40 weeks per year = 1,200 hours per year
Preschool Plus can be delivered over 50 weeks per year.
Preschool Plus Partner Services should structure their preschool program hours in a way that supports the greatest participation by children and families. Services must notify the OECD of the structure of their preschool program.
Eligible families may choose not to take up the full 1,200 hours offered by a Service. However, a family must enrol in enough days to receive a reasonable proportion (minimum 1,000 hours) of the total 1,200 hours per year to be an eligible Preschool Plus enrolment. This means they must be enrolled in a minimum of 3 days per week, for example (including but not limited to):
- 7 hours per day x 3 days per week x 50 weeks per year = 1,050 hours per year
Where families have chosen to be enrolled in less than 1,200 hours, Services should work with them to encourage and offer uptake of extra hours to maximise their child’s opportunity to receive 1,200 hours per year as appropriate to the family and subject to availability of additional hours at the service. Additional hours could be regularly scheduled or ad hoc days through the year.
If the family wishes to be enrolled in fewer than 1,000 hours per year, they will not be part of the Preschool Plus program and should be offered a universal 3- or 4-year-old preschool place.
Children commencing Preschool Plus after the start of the year may access a reduced number of eligible hours (pro-rated) reflecting the remaining period of enrolment. While up to 1,200 hours remains the full-year benchmark, children will not be excluded from Preschool Plus where this cannot reasonably be achieved due to late commencement.
All eligible Preschool Plus enrolments attract the full Preschool Plus funding allocation, based on a 1,200-hour program, regardless of the child’s enrolled hours.
Managing participation and attendance
Preschool Plus Partner Services should make every effort to support families and children to establish consistent attendance. This includes identifying and minimising any practical and structural barriers that prevent families from accessing preschool.
Preschool Plus Partner Services are expected to support enrolments and proactively engage with families where:
- a child has not commenced, or their attendance is below what is expected
- attendance concerns arise at any time during the 2-year enrolment period.
In these cases, Partner Services should implement appropriate strategies to support ongoing participation and engagement in preschool.
All Preschool Plus enrolments attract Ready Set Preschool funding for outreach to support these activities.
Continued enrolment in Preschool Plus is intended to support children who are actively participating in the program. Where appropriate, Services should work collaboratively with referral agencies, who will also have a role in supporting families to maintain regular participation.
In cases where families unexpectedly do not show up for preschool:
- Preschool Plus Partner Services should attempt to contact the family
- Preschool Plus Partner Services should engage with the referring agency where relevant to contact the family and identify barriers to their participation
- Services experiencing difficulties contacting families or referring agencies can seek support from their Local Teams. Non-attendance and withdrawals from enrolment will be reported through quarterly reference period data reporting.
Preschool Plus Partner Services should consider the following regarding allowable absences:
- Preschool Plus Partner Services should monitor the number of CCS allowable absences a family has incurred
- Proactive conversations should occur between the Preschool Plus Partner Service and the family to make sure they are aware of the impact of exceeding allowable absences
- Families should be notified when they are close to exceeding their allowable absences
- Preschool Plus Partner Services are responsible for notifying their Local Team if a family exceeds their allowable absences.
Child leaves or moves services
Preschool Plus is a 2-year program. To allow for consistency and continuity of learning, it’s expected that children in Preschool Plus remain in the same service for both of their preschool years wherever possible. Where a child moves services, continued Preschool Plus participation is subject to availability and cannot be guaranteed.
If a child exits a Preschool Plus Partner Service or enrolment arrangements change, the services must notify the OECD through relevant processes (refer to the Preschool Plus Operational Guidelines) and update reference period data accordingly including where a child:
- exits the Preschool Plus program but remains enrolled at the Service
- transfers to another preschool service
- stops attending preschool
- relocates interstate, and/or
- otherwise changes enrolment status in line with data collection requirements.
The Preschool Plus Partner Service will continue receiving funding for that child until the end of the last quarter in which they were in the reference data.
Targeted referral pathways (non-Integrated Hubs)
Preschool Plus is delivered in Preschool Plus Partner Services through targeted referral and identification pathways including via:
- Department of Human Services (DHS) – Child Family Support System
- Department for Child Protection – children and families with current or recent involvement with child protection and related support services
- Additional identification pathways that allow a limited number of Partner Services to refer children into Preschool Plus.
Preschool Plus Partner Services are required to prioritise enrolment of eligible children through approved referral and identification pathways as outlined in the Preschool Plus Operational Guidelines.
Priority of access (Integrated Hubs)
The same priority of access criteria as universal 3-year-old preschool is applied in Integrated Hubs for new enrolments in the Preschool Plus program.
In circumstances where a child identified through the referral process lives in an area where an Integrated Hub has been established, and it is the family’s preferred service, they will be prioritised for access among new enrolments in the Integrated Hub (as per the priority of access criteria).
Where capacity remains after priority of access has been applied, Integrated Hubs may offer Preschool Plus places to other children.
Preschool Plus child eligibility exemptions
Preschool Plus has clear requirements relating to child eligibility, participation, service delivery and funding, as set out in this Guide. These requirements are designed to ensure equitable access, program integrity and consistent delivery across Services.
In exceptional circumstances, strict application of these requirements may not meet the needs of a child and a time-bound exemption (or variation) may be approved.
Services seeking an exemption should first seek guidance from their Local Team. Exemptions are not guaranteed and are considered on a case-by-case basis. All exemption decisions are made under delegated authority, are time-limited and documented, and do not establish precedent.
Additional training
In addition to mandatory training requirements for all Partner Services, Services in their first 12 months of delivering Preschool Plus also have access to additional free coaching and implementation supports to build educator confidence and capability to embed trauma-informed strategies into practice.
Included in the package is a backfill contribution of 10 hours.
Participation in the coaching program is optional; however services are strongly encouraged to take part to support improved outcomes for children and families. Services who do not wish to participate may opt out when contacted about this program.