On this page
Playgroups and playcentres promote young children's development through play experiences and provide an opportunity for parents to build supportive networks, make friends and share experiences with other parents.
Community playgroups
Community playgroups are run by families for families of children from birth to 5 years of age.
Community playgroups offer:
- opportunities for parents, carers and young children to meet in a relaxed setting
- a range of play experiences to support children's social, emotional, physical and communication development
- activities to give children lots of time to experiment, explore and interact.
Many SA government preschools and children’s centres offer community playgroups.
Find schools, preschools or other services
Cost
There is a small cost associated with attending community playgroups. Contact your local centre for more information.
Supported playgroups
Supported playgroups are led by a trained facilitator.
Supported playgroups are offered to children from birth to 5 years of age through the Learning Together Communities program and through children’s centres.
Some SA government schools also run supported playgroups with a particular focus on engaging families in their children’s learning through the Playgroups in Schools program.
Some supported playgroups will be open to the local community whilst others may be for a specific group of people.
Find a Learning Together Communities hub
Cost
Most supported playgroups are free of charge to families.
Playcentres
Playcentres may be available in small rural communities that don't have a preschool.
Playcentres are play-based learning environments. They offer activities run by an early childhood worker for children under school age and their families.
They promote children's early learning and development and are managed and staffed by the department.
The Early Years Learning Framework (PDF 703KB) is used as a guide to:
- plan activities
- promote children's early learning and development
- evaluate how children are progressing.
Parents of children must attend and participate in the playgroup activities.
Contact your local school to see if they operate a playcentre.
