Taken from the Office of Early Childhood Education and Care website (http://deta.qld.gov.au/earlychildhood/families/long-
Long day care services provide full or part time care and education for children from birth to school age, including before and after school care, depending on the individual service.
Services generally operate for at least 10 hours a day from Monday to Friday for a minimum of 48 weeks each year.
Children are usually grouped together in rooms according to their age and developmental stage.
Like all centre-
Learning programs are designed and provided by staff who are required to hold relevant
qualifications specified by legislation. Parents should speak to the individual service
regarding the qualifications held by staff members. Some long day care services offer
an approved kindergarten program delivered by an early childhood teacher for kindy-
The majority of long day care services are Australian Government approved child care services, which means families using the service may be eligible for Child Care Benefit and Child Care Rebate. For more information on these benefits, visit the Family Assistance Office website External Link.
From 1 January 2012, the National Quality Framework (NQF) will apply to all long day care, family day care, outside school hours care and kindergarten services. The NQF will introduce a new quality rating system for services and new national standards that will include more educators to educate and care for children and enhanced educator qualification requirements. Read the National Quality Framework fact sheets for more information.
Settling into an early childhood education and care service is a big event in both a child and parent's life.
The Getting Started suite of fact sheets has some helpful information and tips to help you prepare for your child's first day and this exciting new chapter in both your lives.
Beginner's guide to early education and care services -
Choosing a quality service -
Getting started in early childhood education and care -
New to Child Care? - Start here
