Sydney child care - I'm baffled

[Fouette]

I'm a sahm in south sydney (Under a name change - I'm an old Comrade). Dd is just 3 and I can't figure out te child care options. Id like dd to go to a nursery type thing twice a week but just for mornings (or afternoons).

I don't really want her gone for a whole day at this stage.

Does this exist in Sydney? All the childcare seems to advertise itself from say 9 - 3 or 8 - 4. I only want it for socialisation so this seems a tad excessive!

My friend in Melbourne is sending her boy to a kindy (same age) twice a week for 3 hours. Am I not searching for the right phrase or am I just confused!

I don't think it does. We have an Occasional Care centre for over 2s that does mornings and afternoons but I haven't seen one anywhere else. Have you looked into Family Day Care? They are run by councils but are basically just childminding. They normally have 4 children at a time though and have their own organised playgroups, etc.
it's a nightmare, particularly in Sydney. Try looking for part time work when you need child care, it's like a vicious circle!!

Check your local Kindergarten Union centres. Our local ones do half days but it depends on the centre.

When I was in south Sydney a couple of yrs ago I couldn't find half-day care except at the occasional care centre which I wasn't keen on using. We used a family day care (not every day) but had to pay for the full day. DS1 liked going though so we did move on to longer hours fairly quickly but never used the full day which was 8am - 5pm.

A lot of children start preschool at 3. We got DS1 into The Point at Oyster Bay - if that is near you it is really brilliant! For 3yrs they do two days a week. You can do half days but again have to pay the full day rate.

The three year old provision in Melbourne is quite hard to come by, increasingly so with the increase in the hours for the four year olds.

I managed to find an occasional care place, but it's not what I wanted as it was different children all the time. Then I opted for a day care place. Like you I was only doing it for her benefit so I just took her for about four hours a day once a week.

None of it was ideal but it was the best I could do.

Yes it exists if you enrol in a early learning centre with pre kindy/daycare. Between 10-3 they are doing pre kindy stuff and outside those hours daycare stuff. Some enrolled in pre kindy only, others in longer hours so basically you choose what time you pick up and drop off. Fees are daily though, irrespective of how many hours you attend. If doing pre kindy only you need to drop off by 10 and pick up at 3.

My son goes 745-4pm as he loves the running around time the best.

Hi Fouette, I have just moved here with a 18mo and 3yo, but am in Lower North Shore. I'm looking for exactly the same thing for my DD, so I'll be watching this thread with interest.

How long have you been here? I am also a SAHM and am hoping to find some playgroups locally to meet people.

As a sahm why not just go to a playgroup then you can both socialise? Before you know it she will be at school and the precious days of being home will be gone :0( not sure what the big thing is about sending little kids out of the home? Kindy at 4 is surely just fine?

Sydney City Council should have a web page on Childcare in your council area. Most places for under threes are either family daycare (in homes, regulated by your local family daycare organization), long day care - which from the age of 3-4 evolves into a more structured kindergarten program - from birth to five years, or kindergarten only centers which can be not for profit (eg KU), council run or affiliated with a school, or private. Kindergarten-only centres often offer half day programmes for 3 year olds, but often have long waiting lists. I preferred long daycare at a non profit, because you get the kindy programming with long hour options and holiday cover, which would be more important if you were working out of the home. All have horrendous waiting lists so get your name down ASAP at a few, and then keep in regular touch in case a vacancy comes up. Good luck!

hi fouette, the only places I hear about half days are council occasional care centres. Family daycare may also be an option but would depend on the educator. Most kindys/preschools are 9-3 or similar, and kids generally attend for 2 or 3 days. You could also use long day care, and pick DD up after half the day, but my experience in Sydney so far is that you'd be charged for full day anyway. it is a total minefield, I agree!

I used this website (not for Sydney though). I had a few daycare places contact me with vacancies. Might be worth a try.

www.careforkids.com.au