FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Our program is designed to be attended alongside your child's current Kindy or daycare program. However, here at Learnful, we differ from Kindy & daycare because our sessions engage children in a lot more structured play that has been thoughtfully planned to intentionally achieve our ‘Prep readiness toolkit of critical skills'. This fills in any skill gaps your child may have from unstructured play at Kindy, and best prepares them for their future at school.
Kindy focuses on open-ended play-based learning which is so important for our little ones. However the problem is that Prep has continued to evolve while Kindy has stayed very much the same. So there is now a big difference between Kindy and Prep. That's where Learnful comes in — our program has been purposefully designed through a primary school lens as a step closer to school. We teach children the foundation skills Prep teachers expect: fine motor development, independence, resilience and self-help skills, early literacy and numeracy, correct pencil grip and name writing & sound awareness. Just as importantly, we provide consistent Prep-like classroom routines and expectations, so children become familiar with what “big school” feels like.
Our program is still play-based, fun, and developmentally appropriate — but everything is delivered within a structured environment that gently introduces children to the focus and routines of Prep. What makes Learnful very unique is that all classes are taught by bachelor-qualified former Prep teachers who know first-hand exactly what little ones need to thrive in school. With small class sizes (maximum of 8 students), we are able to give each child the attention and support they need to grow in confidence and capability.
3, 4 or 5 years of age. Children are welcome to enrol into our Busy Bees program as soon as they turn 3 and are toilet trained. In the year before they start Prep, they will graduate to our Learnful Learners 4&5-year-old program. 4 & 5 year old children can enrol in our Learnful Learners program at any time.
Around the time a child turns 3, there is a key window of opportunity to enhance their learning, development, social skills and emotional well-being, but by the time they are 5, around 90% of their brain development has already occurred. Therefore, 3 years old is a wonderful time to start purposeful play to develop a love of learning, which is exactly what our 3-year-old Busy Bees program does.
International research overwhelmingly concludes that two years of early education before Prep has greater potential to increase a child’s outcomes across all learning areas, therefore the ideal enrolment at Learnful would be for the two full calendar years before your child attends Prep.
We recommend children attend one session per week initially, and ideally complete a full academic year with us to make the most out of our program. If we feel your child could benefit from an additional class, we will discuss this option with you.
If time is not on your side, a term or semester before they start school will still make a substantial difference to your child's preparation for school. However, please keep in mind that due to demand, classes are usually at maximum capacity around mid-year, so enrolling your child sooner rather than later will avoid disappointment.
Yes! If we have availability in a class, we are happy to offer trail sessions. These sessions run for 2 hours and are priced at $78 (ex GST) which is the cost of our usual class. Please get in contact with us if you would like to book in a trial session.
We want you and your child to feel as comfortable as possible, therefore parents are warmly welcome to come inside the classroom for the first 5-10 minutes of their child's very first session - this is a lovely time to engage in a fun activity together to help your little one settle in. Once they seem comfortable, we gentle encourage you to say a cheerful "see you soon" and head off, as this helps build positive drop-off routines and supports their growing independence for school. If your little one struggles with separation, we can come up with a plan to best support them together. If you feel you'd like to stay on site for their very first session, you can wait on our upstairs balcony area until the class is finished. However, as this is a school readiness program where we are encouraging independent learners, parents are not invited to stay on site after the initial session. At the end of each lesson, we ask families to please leave promptly (or after a quick chat) as the teacher will need time to prepare the classroom for the next class.
Yes. We provide individualised written feedback on your child’s progress at the end of every term so you can clearly see how they are developing across all areas of school readiness.
In addition, we keep parents closely connected through our private Parents & Carers Facebook page. Each week, we share:
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Videos explaining what your child is learning in class
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Photos of your child engaged in activities
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Resources you can use at home
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Helpful school readiness tips & tricks
This ensures you always feel informed, supported, and part of your child’s learning journey.
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If your child is sick, or unable to attend one of their classes for any reason, we will happily schedule a make-up session for them (subject to availability of spots in classes). We kindly ask parents to notify the class teacher before the scheduled session class time in order to be offered a make-up session. Families are allowed 2 make-up sessions per term if needed. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide you with a refund or credit for missed classes due to any reason. This is because of the time and resources already spent in planning and creating learning experiences for your individual child for the full term enrollment.
If the classroom teacher is sick, the class will be covered by one of our other teachers. If no teachers are available, a make-up session will be provided. If this time doesn't suit you, we will happily offer a refund for the class that was cancelled.
If after 3 lessons at Learnful, you or your child are dissatisfied with the program, we will refund the remaining classes of the term for you. If your teacher feels our class environment isn't the right fit for your child (this may be because they believe your little one would benefit from additional support or a different environment initially), we will refund the remainder of your enrolment fees and discuss further options with you that are in the best interests of your child.
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