bristolsydney Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 Hi We are emigrating to Sydney (around North Ryde area) in January and will have a 2 year old and a 3 month old. Have been trying to establish costs and types of childcare/nursery provision in Oz but am struggling - can anyone help? Is there an Ofsted equivalent in Australia that gives a comparative rating of the nurseries? What should I be looking for if not (qualifications etc)? What is an average half day or daily rate for a child (we would be looking to get our 2 year in somewhere fairly quickly but will probably wait until the youngest is nearer 1 before enrolling them as well)? When does pre-school start and does the Government subsidise any hours? Any help much appreciated. Thanks bristolsydney Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wellers and Whitehead Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 Not an expert as no children, but childcare jobs ask that you have a certificate 3 in childcare, maybe google it see what it actually is..takes about 10mths-1 year to get ive been told but dont know the ins and outs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Delamere19 Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 I would be interested in finding out the costs too as I have an almost 2 yr old son. x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKC Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 We pay $83 per day for our daughter to attend daycare. She is 4 and is in the pre-school room. There isn't any funding here for pre-school, but you can get help with the cost of daycare if you are a permanent resident and you work. There are dedicated pre-schools which do 9-3 I think, but I don't think that there is any help with the cost of this. You will probably pay a bit more for your younger one to attend daycare. It isn't called nursery here which may be why you are struggling to find info. I don't think there is an ofsted equivalent here for pre-school, no formal learning is done until the first year of school usually (kindergarten). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurls Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 http://mychild.gov.au/ is the website to go to for daycare. You should be able to look up by area and it will give you a list of places, the rates and what is included etc. Good to give you an idea. It also shows vacancies but I tend to take this with a pinch of salt because it doesn't take into account their wait lists (in Canberra anyway). You can find out more about Child Care Benefit and Child Care Rebate here http://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/subjects/assistance-with-child-care-fees http://www.deewr.gov.au/Earlychildhood/Resources/Pages/CCfactsheetkit.aspx I don't know about preschools in NSW as I'm in ACT and I'm fairly sure it's different, but I would probably start by looking here. http://www.preschoolsnsw.org.au/ Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bristolsydney Posted September 3, 2012 Author Share Posted September 3, 2012 Thanks for this Jurls - will check out those website and go from there! http://mychild.gov.au/ is the website to go to for daycare. You should be able to look up by area and it will give you a list of places, the rates and what is included etc. Good to give you an idea. It also shows vacancies but I tend to take this with a pinch of salt because it doesn't take into account their wait lists (in Canberra anyway). You can find out more about Child Care Benefit and Child Care Rebate here http://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/subjects/assistance-with-child-care-fees http://www.deewr.gov.au/Earlychildhood/Resources/Pages/CCfactsheetkit.aspx I don't know about preschools in NSW as I'm in ACT and I'm fairly sure it's different, but I would probably start by looking here. http://www.preschoolsnsw.org.au/ Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katkat Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 Hi, I've just moved back to the UK after 2 years in Sydney. While we were there I did agency casual work in Pre schools and Long Day Care centres around the Northern Beaches / North Shore/ North Sydney, so can probably answer some of your questions. There is an inspection body (ACECQA - they have a website with links to info about the curriculum etc.)) who are a little bit like Ofsted (they call it accreditation, not inspection) but they have only just taken over responsibility for this and centres are finding it a bit new and scary- they seem to be more rigorous than before. Accreditation reports aren't published like inspection reports are here but I think the centres will show you if you ask. There is a fairly new Early Years curriculum, and lots of new regulations- by next year all staff must have or be working for a Level 3 qualification, and every centre must have an Early Childhood Teacher. Staff/ child ratios are higher than in the UK (1-4 for under 1's). Many places have very long waiting lists so it's worth looking very early and getting on the lists. Prices vary but seemed expensive to me. I know most parents seem to get about half the fees back from the government but not sure how that works. If you are on a temporary visa you won't get any rebate. The other thing it's worth stating is that I worked in lots of different places and found standards really varied. There were lots of places that I found very depressing to work in and were not nice environments for the children. The smaller pre schools were often better than the Long Day Care centres (what we call Nurseries) but the hours are shorter so might not suit you if you want to work. (Your kids are too young for pre school yet anyway). There are good places if you are prepared to look around (and they have any spaces!). I know there is one place in North Ryde in Macquarie Park that is linked to the University there and is involved in training the Early Childhood Teachers- it's supposed to be very good. I think it's called Mia Mia - might be worth looking at them? Good luck, hope you enjoy Sydney, we loved it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toozwego Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Hi katkat we are moving to Sydney in January 2013 and have a 1year old and a 2 year old. I was hoping to childmind when we get there, do you know if this is possible? I know here you have to be registered with ofsted and have crb checks is that the same in oz? And I have heard it is 4 children per minder, is that correct? Also I like to do a lot with my children eg parks and activities are there any restrictions for this sort of thing? Sorry for all the questions I am just struggling to find any recent and relevant information online!! Many thanks x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katkat Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 Hi katkatwe are moving to Sydney in January 2013 and have a 1year old and a 2 year old. I was hoping to childmind when we get there, do you know if this is possible? I know here you have to be registered with ofsted and have crb checks is that the same in oz? And I have heard it is 4 children per minder, is that correct? Also I like to do a lot with my children eg parks and activities are there any restrictions for this sort of thing? Sorry for all the questions I am just struggling to find any recent and relevant information online!!Many thanksxChild minding is called family day care in Australia and it is regulated in a similar way to the uk but I don't know too much about it I'm afraid. I would look at the ACECQA web site as a starting point. You would definitely need a working with children check which I think you organise for yourself via the NSW police website. The ratios are higher and yes you can have 4 children under 2 I think. Sorry I can't be much more help! I was a chikdminder before we went to Australia but never considered setting up in Sydney because I knew we weren't going to be there long enough to make it worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wellers and Whitehead Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 Child minding is called family day care in Australia and it is regulated in a similar way to the uk but I don't know too much about it I'm afraid. I would look at the ACECQA web site as a starting point. You would definitely need a working with children check which I think you organise for yourself via the NSW police website. The ratios are higher and yes you can have 4 children under 2 I think. Sorry I can't be much more help! I was a chikdminder before we went to Australia but never considered setting up in Sydney because I knew we weren't going to be there long enough to make it worth it. I don't regard family day carers /child minders as high in Oz, partly due to the fact that a working with children check is not pass or fail like in the UK, it is currently (changing early/mid next year) up to the employer if he wishes to employ somebody. Eg..if the working with children check comes back as the family day carer as a significant risk and the employer wishes to employ them, they can as it stands. I would ask to look at the outcome of the working with children check If you are putting children in somebodies care. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wellers and Whitehead Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Hi katkatwe are moving to Sydney in January 2013 and have a 1year old and a 2 year old. I was hoping to childmind when we get there, do you know if this is possible? I know here you have to be registered with ofsted and have crb checks is that the same in oz? And I have heard it is 4 children per minder, is that correct? Also I like to do a lot with my children eg parks and activities are there any restrictions for this sort of thing? Sorry for all the questions I am just struggling to find any recent and relevant information online!! Many thanks x For child related employment in Oz, you will need a working with children check, equivalent of crb check. In most cases it will only take a few days to come back as long as you have no child related offences/charges, otherwise it can take several weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwkl Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 Little bit late but you would need to get on to waiting lists early as places fill up quickly. Nursery is called day care and can be long (which covers a working day) or normal (covers school hours) but will vary from place to place. Some places have 'nursery' section and also pre-school (name for older children just prior to starting school) section. January is start of school term so the older pre-schoolers will be leaving to start Kindergarten (first year of school) and free up spaces. Prices vary but as an guide, suburbs daily rate is ~$85, CBD & Lower north shore area ~£120. Depending on your circumstances you can claim rebate and child care benefit which reduces costs by about 50%. The quality of staff will really vary, ideally you need to arrange visits and assess the staff and place yourself. We've been happy with KU http://www.ku.com.au Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hames Posted September 12, 2015 Share Posted September 12, 2015 My daughter went to KU (a North Shore branch), and we had a very positive experience there. We ended up putting her name down at several in the area & then just took the first spot that was offered to us. I get the impression that KU is very popular, so it's probably in your best interest to get some applications in soon. Visit here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hames Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 (edited) All the private preschools i know of in that area have already filled all their places with most sending out their offers in September or October. You need to get into it quick to have even a small chance of a place as most of them have people on the waiting lists hoping for a cancellation. Edited November 16, 2015 by Marisawright Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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