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July 22, 2026
Last updated: July 2026
Children are grouped into two age-based classes: Wallaby Class for three to four year olds, and Kangaroo Class for four to five year olds. Each class has its own routine and learning focus, matched to what children typically need at that stage, set within a shared indoor and outdoor environment rather than separate rooms.
Children generally move from one class to the other at the start of each year, based on their age and whether they are due to start school the following year. A child heading into kindergarten next year will usually spend this year in Kangaroo Class, so the move tends to follow a family's own timeline toward school rather than a fixed birthday.
The two-class structure exists because children develop very differently between three and five years old. It lets educators plan a program and daily rhythm that suits each stage, while keeping the centre small enough that every child is still known well by the people caring for them.
Wallaby Class is for children aged three to four years. At this age, children are building the foundations they will draw on for the rest of their early education: spoken language, early social skills, and confidence moving through a group routine away from home.
The Wallaby program has a particular focus on music and movement, and foundational literacy. Music and movement activities support gross motor development, rhythm, and group participation, all useful groundwork for the more structured learning that follows in Kangaroo Class. Foundational literacy at this age means plenty of songs, stories, rhyme, and vocabulary-building play, rather than formal instruction. For a sense of how a Wallaby Class day actually unfolds, see what a day with us looks like.
Kangaroo Class is for children aged four to five years, in the year or two directly before school. The focus shifts toward school readiness: building the specific skills, routines, and confidence a child will need on their first day of kindergarten.
Kangaroo Class uses the Carnine phonics method, a structured, research-based approach to early literacy, alongside the broader Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) program that runs across the preschool. Children in this class are also given more opportunities to practise independence and self-management, both explicitly named as school-readiness priorities under the EYLF.
Some early learning services group children of different ages together, and there is good evidence that mixing ages can support skills like leadership, empathy and vocabulary in older children, and social modelling for younger ones. This two-class model takes a different, equally well-supported approach: a program calibrated specifically to what three to four year olds need, and a separate one for what four to five year olds need, rather than covering a wider developmental range in one group. Both classes still build their program around how learning happens through play, just calibrated differently for each age group, across the same shared indoor and outdoor spaces.
The approach lines up with the Early Years Learning Framework's "continuity of learning and transitions" practice, which asks educators to organise routines and programs in ways that maximise each child's learning opportunities at their current stage, while managing the move to what comes next thoughtfully rather than abruptly. A two-class structure gives educators a clear, age-appropriate program to plan against for each group, and a defined, supported transition point in between.
No, the regulatory ratio is the same in both classes. Under the national ratio requirements, New South Wales applies a ratio of 1 educator to 10 children for every child aged 36 months up to and including preschool age, a single band that covers both Wallaby (3 to 4 years) and Kangaroo (4 to 5 years) in full. So families shouldn't assume supervision "loosens" as a child gets older within this range, here or anywhere else in NSW.
In practice, both classes are staffed to meet or exceed that requirement, with two Early Childhood Teachers across the program, double the one required for a service of this size.
Class placement is generally decided at the start of each year, based on a child's age and which school year they're heading into. A child due to start kindergarten the following year is typically placed in Kangaroo Class for that final preschool year, so families usually know well in advance which class their child will be in.
Once a child's class for the year is set, moving into Kangaroo Class is usually eased in rather than sprung on them: time spent with the new group and educators beforehand, and a settling-in period once the year begins. This mirrors the approach recommended by ACECQA, Australia's national early childhood regulator, which encourages services to prepare children for a class change through familiarisation and consistent communication between educators and families, rather than an overnight switch.
A few simple things at home make the move between classes easier for most children.
Wallaby Class is for children aged three to four years. Kangaroo Class is for children aged four to five years, generally the one to two years directly before school.
Placement is generally set at the start of each year, based on a child's age and whether they're due to start school the following year, rather than a strict birthday cut-off during the year. If you have questions about which class would suit your child for the year ahead, it's worth raising directly with educators.
Each class has its own educator team. It's a smaller centre by design, with an average staff tenure of 5.4 years, so children tend to be known well by the educators around them throughout their time there, even as they move between classes.
No. The regulatory ratio in NSW is 1 educator to 10 children across the whole 36-months-to-preschool-age band, which covers both classes, and both classes are staffed to meet or exceed that requirement.
Wallaby Class has a strong focus on music and movement and foundational literacy through songs, stories and play. Kangaroo Class shifts toward structured school-readiness skills, including the Carnine phonics method and a stronger focus on independence and self-management, alongside the same EYLF-based program that runs across the preschool.
Because class placement is generally set for the year ahead based on age and school-starting timing, this is worth raising directly with educators, who can talk through what would suit your child's particular situation.
Since 1989, this two-class structure has shaped how children move through their early years here, part of the broader Learning for Life approach and the Three Rs values of Respect, Responsibility and Resilience. Splitting Wallaby and Kangaroo Class isn't an administrative choice. It means a three year old and a nearly-five year old get genuinely different programs, not a scaled-down or scaled-up version of the same one.
Two Early Childhood Teachers run across the program, double what's required for a service this size, and both classes are staffed to meet or exceed the NSW ratio requirement. Placement between the two classes is set each year, so it's worth talking to educators early about which class will suit a child for the year ahead. The preschool is Meeting the National Quality Standard.
The clearest way to understand how the two classes work day to day is to see them in person. Book a tour of Kings Road Long Day Preschool in Castle Hill, or get in touch if you have questions about which class would suit your child, or when a transition between classes might happen.
