St Paul’s Lutheran Kindergarten in Grovedale is proud to offer high-quality sessional kindergarten to 174 children each week, delivering both 3- and 4-year-old programs alongside a well-established Bush Kinder program that has become a much-loved part of the St Paul’s experience. As we look ahead, there is plenty happening at our kindergarten which is worth sharing with our community.
Building Blocks Improvement Grant
We are delighted to share that St Paul’s has been awarded a Building Blocks Improvement Grant from the Victorian Government, part of a $12.3 million investment supporting 63 kindergartens across the state.
This funding will help bring to life Stages 2 and 3 of the St Paul’s Masterplan, a vision first developed by the service’s Committee of Management back in 2019. The works will connect our outdoor and indoor spaces and add a new accessible bathroom. The project will also deliver a standalone 3-year-old outdoor space and modern staff planning and rest spaces, so our educators have the environments they need to do their best work.
It is a meaningful step in fully utilising our site and finishing what our community set out to achieve as a committee run kindergarten. We are grateful to the Victorian Government for backing early learning in Grovedale. Follow us on social media to keep up with progress as the project takes shape.
More Hours for Our 4-Year-Old Program
In 2026, families at St Paul’s have benefited from increased hours in our 4-Year-Old kindergarten program. This initiative, sometimes known as ‘Pre-Prep’, builds on the standard 15 hours per week of 4-Year-Old Kinder available to Victorian children in the year before school.
At St Paul’s, we are pleased to make these additional hours available through our sessional kindergarten program. As the rollout continues, more hours of 4-Year-Old Kinder will become available to more families over time. This shift reflects the growing evidence that more time in a quality early learning environment supports children’s development, meaning more opportunities for play, exploration and connection in the lead up to school.
Exploring Floorbooks in Our Programming and Documentation
Our educators are currently exploring the use of floorbooks as part of our approach to programming and documentation. A floorbook is a large, shared journal that captures children’s thinking, questions and ideas as a project or investigation unfolds, built collaboratively with the children themselves rather than written about them after the fact.
The philosophy behind floorbooks sits close to our own values as a service. They give children genuine voice and agency, inviting them to revisit their own ideas, see their thinking taken seriously, and watch a learning journey grow over time. Rather than a polished record put together by educators alone, a floorbook is messy, honest and alive, full of children’s own words, drawings and photographs alongside educator reflections. It shifts documentation from something done for families to read, to something done with children, for children.
For our educators, floorbooks also encourage a more responsive style of programming, following the threads that genuinely capture children’s curiosity rather than a predetermined plan. If your learning community is also exploring floorbooks, or you would simply like to compare notes, we would welcome the conversation.
Alongside Living Faith Lutheran Church Geelong, St Paul’s remains focused on our mission of serving the Grovedale community and building a service where our families and educators can flourish.
