Kindy Uplift is sponsored by Queensland Government (Early Childhood Education and Care). Kindy Uplift enables kindergarten services across Queensland to respond to the educational and developmental needs of kindergarten children.

Skip to Primary Navigation Skip to Secondary Navigation Early Childhood Education and Care Queensland kindergarten services that have obtained Kindergarten Program Provider approval prior to 30 September 2025 and that are participating in Free Kindy are eligible to receive Kindy Uplift funding in 2026.

Early years services funding Results based accountability Child eligibility criteria Long day care services application process Sessional kindergartens application process Statement of fees requirements Funding essentials for long day care providers Funding essentials for sessional kindergartens Culturally safe, inclusive and responsive kindergarten programs Disability and inclusion support programs Early childhood guidance program Kindergarten Inclusion Support Scheme Kindergarten Inclusion Service National Disability Insurance Scheme Rural, remote and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander programs EdGrants Online—a smarter grants management system Acknowledging Queensland Government funding Early Years Services grants management via QGrants Terms and conditions for QGrants applications Terms and conditions QGrants claims Minor capital works grants for sessional kindergartens Zone 1 - Publishing Page Content + Above/Below Content ​​​​Kindy Uplift funding is provided to respond to children's learning and development needs through evidence-based initiatives that lift outcomes for kindergarten children.

Kindy Uplift can be used to fund professional development, programs, resources and supports to build teacher and educator capability and support inclusion in all approved kindergarten programs, including sessional and long day care kindergarten services. ​ ​ Kindy Uplift priority areas Kindy Uplift funding will be used to strengthen children's access to, and meaningful participation in, the full range of kindergarten experiences.

Services will demonstrate how Kindy Uplift funding is used to improve outcomes for kindergarten children, through data-informed planning. Kindy Uplift focuses on 6 priority areas that align with the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) V2. 0 and learning outcomes.

Culturally safe, inclusive and responsive kindergarten programs​​​ Embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives —creating culturally safe places, working in intercultural ways through pedagogy and practice, engaging with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and embedding perspectives in planning and implementation of curriculum.

Equity and Access for all —recognising and responding to the needs of children more likely to experience educational disadvantage within the service and community. This includes consideration to family diversity, cultural and linguistic differences and any barriers to meaningful engagement and participation.

Social and emotional learning —social learning involves the development of children's communication skills, social skills, social regulation skills and awareness of others. Emotional learning is focused on identifying and regulating emotions and understanding the emotions of others.

Physicality —the skills and abilities that support children to learn to move with stability, control and awareness of their environment and to manage the control of objects. Physicality includes gross motor development, fine motor development and integrates consideration of sensory learning. Executive function —a set of cognitive skills that enable children to sustain focus, control impulses, and achieve goals.

These skills are important for learning and include working memory, inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility, observable through behaviours such as persistence, adaptability and problem solving. Language and literacy —how children use words, gestures, sounds and symbols in order to express their thoughts and communicate effectively, both receptively and expressively.

Mathematics and numeracy —the development of understandings about numbers, quantity, concepts of time, length, distance, capacity and area in everyday play. Kindergarten services who are eligible for Kindy Uplift may be contacted by suppliers of professional learning and practice supports.

It is important to note that the department does not have an approved or preferred list of suppliers, nor does it endorse any providers of professional learning and practice supports. It is the role of participating kindergarten services and their advisory support organisations to work together to evaluate the appropriateness of a supplier of professional learning and practice supports for the service and their community context.

Eligible kindergarten services are responsible for their own due diligence and for managing associated risks. Insurances, blue cards and suitably qualified staff are key aspects to check before engaging a supplier. Caution should be applied to any materials that market a supplier as a Department of Education Kindy Uplift 'approved supplier'.

Kindy Uplift 2026—planning Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) addendum template Teacher and educator self-reflection tool Evaluation and critical reflection Planning and implementation—embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives Kindy Uplift 2026: Advisory support guide For more information about Kindy Uplift, contact kindyuplift@qed. qld. gov.au .

Last updated 30 March 2026