Our Preschool


We acknowledge the Ngunnawal and Ngambri People, the traditional custodians, and carers of the land upon which our school stands, and we recognise their spiritual and cultural connection to and relationship with the land that has been passed down for generations. We promise that we will care for and establish a deeper connection to and respect for Country as our teacher while we also value the significance of learning from and relating with Country. We recognise and revere the importance of sustaining our ecosystem and essential and traditional foods and medicines that come from this beautiful land that we share. We thank our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders and elders who continue to guide us on this very important walk.

Our Preschool

Our Preschool is embedded within the O’Connor Cooperative School community. We offer 15 hours a week of preschool education for children in the year before they start school. Our preschool offers a place where children feel safe, secure and supported to express their individual identities and independence.

Preschool Hours

Monday - Wednesday 9:00am - 1:00pm
Thursday 9:00am - 12:00pm

YWCA Canberra provides before and after school care at O'Connor Cooperative School for children from preschool to Year 2. For further information please visit the YWCA website. Children booked into after school care through YWCA will be collected directly from their preschool classroom by YWCA staff.

Early Years Learning Framework

The learning program at O’Connor Cooperative Preschool is shaped using The Early Years Learning Framework, a national document developed to ensure quality education programs are in place to support early learning and development. The Framework's vision is for all children to experience play-based learning that is engaging and builds success for life.

We use The Early Years Learning Framework, in partnership with families and community to develop learning programs that respond to the children’s ideas, interests, strengths and abilities, and recognise that children learn through their play.

The Early Years Learning Framework's vision is for all children to experience play-based learning that is engaging and builds success for life. The Framework describes childhood as a time of belonging, being and becoming.

Belonging is the basis for living a fulfilling life. Children feel they belong because of the relationships they have with their family, community, culture and place.

Being is about living here and now. Childhood is a special time in life and children need time to just 'be'—time to play, try new things and have fun.

Becoming is about the learning and development that young children experience. Children start to form their sense of identity from an early age, which shapes the type of adult they will become.