Kindergarten programs in Western Australia

Western Australia has achieved universal enrolment of 4 year olds in kindergarten. However, a much smaller proportion of 3 year olds attend early education and care (ECEC) than the national average.

Key facts

• 54 per cent of 3 year olds are enrolled in ECEC (in long day care, sessional kindergarten and family day care)
• 21.5 per cent of 3 year olds are enrolled in kindergarten programs
• 100 per cent of children are enrolled in kindergarten programs in the year before full-time school
• 64 per cent are attending for 15 hours or more (noting data is collected in a reference week and is likely to under-estimate actual attendance across the year)
• The majority of children attend government and non-government schools to access kindergarten in WA. A small proportion of children attend kindergarten programs through long day care settings.
• Total per-child expenditure in WA is considerably higher than the national average

Proportion of 3 year olds enrolled in all ECEC and preschool

Graph text alternative:

Graph showing the proportion of 3 year olds enrolled in all ECEC and preschool. The data shows that in Western Australia, 54% of 3 years olds are in ECEC and 21.5% of 3 year olds are in preschool. By comparison, Australia-wide 66% of 3 year olds are in ECEC and 21.3% of 3 year old are in preschool.

Fact sheets in this series

• An additional year of preschool - an achievable reform
• Designing a preschool program
• Preschool programs for 3 year olds
• International preschool programs for 3 year olds
• Kindergarten programs in Queensland
• Kindergarten programs in Tasmania
• Kindergarten programs in Victoria
• Kindergarten programs in Western Australia
• The impact of two years of preschool
• Two years are better than one
• Preschool programs in the Northern Territory
• Preschool programs in New South Wales
• Preschool programs in South Australia
• Preschool programs in the ACT.