Applying for a place at Raleigh St

If you have familiarised yourself with our Centre and the programs we run (early childhood education and 3 and 4-year-old kinder) and decided you'd like your child to attend at Raleigh St, you can add your name to our waiting list.

Darebin Council operates the Centralised Waiting List on behalf of Raleigh St and 7 other Community-run early childhood education and kinder facilities. Families can apply to the Centralised Waiting List from the birth of their child onwards, and names are placed on the waiting list for childcare in the order of receipt of application, so it pays to add your child's name as early as you can after they are born.

Please note:

The average wait time on our waiting list for childcare can reach up to 12-18 months
The Centre is currently fully booked for under 3 year olds, but places will open up in 2025
Most new families are offered a place starting in mid-January. Mid-year placements are rare
Please contact the staff at Darebin Council Centralised Waitlist regarding your place on the list
Completion of an application does not guarantee placement
A separate application must be completed for each child

How to apply for a place on the Childcare waitlist:

Visit the City of Darebin website to learn the most up to date information about applying for childcare in a community-run centre in the Darebin Council area.

If you are looking for kinder:

Raleigh St offers both sessional and integrated kindergarten programs for 3 and 4-year-olds from 2025. We will provide kindergarten for 3 and 4 year olds at 2A Raleigh St, a dedicated children's space located a short 140m walk down the road from our current location (near the corner of High St). Kinder sessions will be 7.5hrs a day, so two days of attendance are required to meet the 15hrs a week of kinder for 4 year olds. Children attending our integrated kinder program can attend more than 2 days a week and will receive care for the hours before and after the kinder program each day.

Applications for our 3 and 4-year-old kindergarten programs open on 1st February in the year prior to attendance and can be made right up until the beginning of the year of attendance. To be considered in the first round of offers please apply before the 30th June. Visit City of Darebin to find out details on applying for Kinder in the Darebin area. Please note that if you are interested in applying for sessional kinder in 2025, the portal is now set up for sessional enrolments at Raleigh St.

The portal to add your child's name to the childcare / kinder waitlist is accessible here.

Once you have been offered a place in Child Care or integrated Kindergarten, please follow the instructions here to apply for Child Care Subsidy.