The Kindergarten Parent Opinion Survey is an annual online survey that seeks feedback from parents of children who are enrolled in a funded kindergarten program in Victoria.
All funded kindergarten providers, including long day care centres and independent schools, are asked to provide details of the survey to parents of children enrolled in the four year old kindergarten program and encourage them to participate. The survey includes questions on parent satisfaction with their kindergarten service, the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework and the National Quality Framework.
The results are used for reporting in the Victorian Budget papers and may be used by services for planning and improving service quality.
The 2017 Kindergarten Parent Opinion Survey took place from 23 October to 12 November and was administered by the Social Research Centre.
2017 Survey results
A summary of the 2017 survey results can be found below. Kindergarten services will be contacted directly with their specific results.
Download the 2017 survey results summary as an infograph (pdf - 443.32kb)
Parents' overall views
- 91% of parents are satisfied with the education their child receives from the kindergarten service
- 93% of parents think that the overall quality of education offered from the kindergarten service was good (as opposed to fair or poor quality)
- 95% of parents think attending kindergarten is important for their child’s education
- The top 3 factors that parents indicated are important when choosing a kindergarten are service location (61%), service reputation (59%) and session days/times (46%)
- 10% of parents indicated the service they were using offered the only places available for their child at the time of enrolment.
Parents' experiences
- 96% of parents agree that the kindergarten service was very friendly towards children, families and visitors
- 96% of parents indicated that teachers and educators at their child’s kindergarten discuss their child’s progress with them several times a year or more frequently
- 74% of parent’s agree that the kindergarten service help's their child’s learning at home (16% disagree)
- 90% of parents agree that the service helps prepare their child for transition to school next year (7% disagree).
- 91% of parents are likely to recommend their kindergarten service to other families
About the children
- 94% of parents agree that educators consider the children’s views, interests and feelings
- 95% of parents agree that educators have a good relationship with the children
2016 Survey results
A summary of the 2016 survey results can be found below.
Download the 2016 survey results summary as an infograph (pdf - 206.22kb)
Parents' overall views
- 88% of parents are satisfied with the education their child receives from the kindergarten service
- 89% of parents think that the overall quality of education offered from the kindergarten service was good (as opposed to fair or poor quality)
- 96% of parents think attending kindergarten is important for their child’s education
- The top 3 factors that parents indicated are important when choosing a kindergarten are service location (60%), service reputation (55%) and session days/times (45%)
- 13% of parents indicated the service they were using offered the only places available for their child at the time of enrolment.
Parents' experiences
- 91% of parents think that the kindergarten service was very friendly towards children, families and visitors (as opposed to moderately friendly or not very friendly)
- 62% of parents indicated that the service shares a lot of decision making with them about the child’s learning and wellbeing (as opposed to a moderate amount or not at all / a little)
- 93% of parents indicated that teachers and educators at their child’s kindergarten discuss their child’s progress with them several times a year or more frequently
- Parent’s think that the kindergarten service supports children’s learning at home a lot (39%), a moderate amount (30%) and not at all / a little (31%)
- 63% of parents indicated that the service helps parents a lot in preparing their child for school next year (as opposed to a moderate amount or not at all / a little).
About the children
- 85% of parents think that educators consider the children’s views, interests and feelings a lot (as opposed to a moderate amount or not at all / a little)
- 88% of parents think that educators develop a good relationship with the children a lot (as opposed to a moderate amount or not at all / a little)
- 80% of parents indicated that the child is learning a lot of skills they need at their age (as opposed to a moderate amount or not at all / a little).
Further information
Ensuring every child has access to quality kindergarten is at the forefront of the Education State, see:
Education State Early Childhood Reform Plan.