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July 2, 2026
Last updated: July 2026
The most useful questions to ask on a preschool tour cover five things: the National Quality Standard (NQS) rating, educator qualifications and ratios, the daily program, health and safety practices, and how fees and subsidies work. A short tour rarely covers all of this on its own, so it helps to bring your questions written down.
Ask directly about the centre's current NQS rating across all seven quality areas. Confirm the actual educator-to-child ratio for your child's age group. In NSW, the minimum is 1 educator to 10 children aged three years and up. Ask to see the daily routine, so you know how much of the day is genuinely educational rather than just supervised play.
Also ask how the service manages illness, allergies and pick-up authorisation, and what fees look like once the Child Care Subsidy and, where eligible, Start Strong apply. This guide sets out these questions by topic, with a full checklist at the end.
If you are still weighing up which centre is right for your family, our guide to choosing the right preschool in Castle Hill covers what to look for beyond the tour itself.
A preschool's National Quality Standard rating is the clearest, government-verified measure of its quality, so it is worth asking about directly rather than relying on a service's own marketing claims. Every approved education and care service in Australia is assessed and rated by its state regulatory authority against seven quality areas: educational program and practice, children's health and safety, physical environment, staffing arrangements, relationships with children, collaborative partnerships with families and communities, and governance and leadership.
Worth asking:
A service rated "Working Towards" has one or more areas flagged for improvement. "Meeting" means it provides quality education and care across all seven areas. "Exceeding" means it goes beyond the standard in at least four of the seven areas. A quality service should be able to state its rating plainly and explain what it is doing to maintain it.
Educator quality and ratios determine how much individual attention your child receives, so ask about both the qualifications on staff and the actual ratio in your child's room, not just the regulatory minimum. In NSW, the minimum ratio for children aged 36 months up to and including preschool age is 1 educator to 10 children. This is a national minimum, not a quality benchmark, so it is worth asking whether a service routinely operates better than it.
Worth asking:
The daily program tells you whether a service delivers genuine educational value or largely minds children, so ask to see it and ask how it is planned. A quality program is built around each child's interests and abilities under the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF), with routines flexible enough to meet individual needs rather than a fixed timetable applied to every child regardless of age.
Worth asking:
Health and safety policies protect your child every day they are in care, so ask to see them rather than assume they exist. Quality services can show written policies on illness, allergies, sun protection and emergency procedures without hesitation.
Worth asking:
Fees are only part of the true cost of care, so ask what is included, what happens on absences and public holidays, and how government subsidies apply before comparing prices between centres. The Child Care Subsidy and, for eligible NSW families, Start Strong fee relief can both reduce your out-of-pocket cost, but the way they interact varies by household, so ask the service to walk you through the mechanics rather than quoting a headline fee in isolation.
Worth asking:
If you are also deciding between long day care and a sessional preschool, our guide to childcare vs preschool vs long day care in Castle Hill explains the difference.
If you can only ask one thing, ask to see the current NQS rating across all seven quality areas and the actual educator ratio in your child's room. Together these tell you more about day-to-day quality than a brochure or a website ever will.
It can help you see how educators interact with children in real time, but it is also fine to visit alone first and bring your child on a second, shorter visit once you have shortlisted a service.
No. It is a reasonable, expected question. A quality service should be able to show you its current rating and Quality Improvement Plan without hesitation.
There is no fixed number, but visiting two or three services lets you compare ratios, programs and atmosphere directly rather than judging one centre in isolation.
Be cautious if staff cannot describe the daily program, cannot name the current NQS rating, avoid questions about ratios, or if the environment feels chaotic or under-supervised during your visit.
Most quality services prefer a booked tour so an educator or director can give you proper time and show you the program without disrupting the children's day, so it is best to book ahead.
Kings Road Long Day Preschool has been part of Castle Hill since 1989, and every question above is one we expect and welcome on a tour. We are Meeting the National Quality Standard, and our educator ratios run at 1:8 or better, ahead of the NSW regulatory minimum of 1:10. Our teaching team includes two Early Childhood Teachers, more than the one required for a service our size, alongside Diploma and Certificate III qualified educators. Children move through Wallaby Class (3 to 4 years) and Kangaroo Class (4 to 5 years) under our Learning for Life approach, built around the Three Rs of Respect, Responsibility and Resilience. We operate 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, as a small centre by design, with a maximum of 32 children, in an inclusive, multicultural community. We are always happy to talk through how the Child Care Subsidy and Start Strong fee relief apply to your family before you compare us with anywhere else.
Ready to see it for yourself? Book a tour or get in touch and we will walk you through all of it.
