Early Childhood professionals can request inclusion support for children with additional needs who attend a State-funded 3 or 4-year-old Kindergarten program or Early Start Kindergarten.
Parents/Guardians and other health care professionals with parental/guardian consent must request support in collaboration with the child’s educator.
Early Childhood Educators need to complete the following steps to request support for an individual child:
Please use an interpreter to have the conversations with families who do not have English as their primary language.
Early childhood services can book an interpreter through Language Loop portal or calling 9280 1955.
Early Childhood Teachers or other professionals must discuss their reasons for requesting PSFO support with the child’s parent/guardian prior to submitting the form.
Complete the request for support referral form with the family.
Please complete the form in consultation with the family, there are sections for you both to complete.
PSFO Program Referral Form
Alternatively a printable form can be downloaded here PSFO Referral Form(DOCX, 140KB). Please email this completed form to our service at PSFOTeam@hume.vic.gov.au.
There are six support options available:
PSFOs can support three-year-old children attending a State-funded three-year-old Kindergarten program with parental/guardian consent.
PSFOs can support four-year-old children attending a State-funded four-year-old Kindergarten program with parental/guardian consent.
PSFO’s can support Early Start Kindergarten children attending a State-funded four-year-old kindergarten program with parental/guardian consent.
PSFO’s can support Early Childhood Teachers in relation to the Kindergarten Inclusion support process with parental/guardian consent.
During Term 4 of the year prior to attendance of both three-year-old and four-year-old funded kindergarten programs, Preschool Field Officers can support the transition of children presenting with developmental concerns into kindergarten to enhance an Early Childhood Teachers’ capacity to provide for their access, inclusion, and meaningful participation.
Early Childhood Teachers can call or email the PSFO service for guidance and information without completing a request for support form. We can provide phone support to discuss concerns, guide with referral pathway options, strategies for inclusion, how to approach parents, etc.
Support can be provided by contacting the team via our email PSFOTeam@hume.vic.gov.au.