Childcare and schools

Child care

Defence childcare centres
Children of mobile Defence families can receive priority of access to Defence childcare centres around Australia. Defence Community Organisation (DCO) also provides individual case management to help parents with childcare placement. For more information click here. 

More childcare resources
The resources below may help you locate the right childcare service for your family:

• Department of Defence Child Care Centres
• Family Day Care Australia
• My Child

Schools with Defence Aides and Mentors

The Defence School Transition Program provides support to children of ADF members and their families, particularly during their transition into and out of a school on posting or during parental absences due to deployment, exercises or courses.

The in-school aides (for primary schools) and mentors (for high schools) are funded by the Department of Defence through DCO (Defence Community Organisation). They are employed as a member of the school staff by respective schools or education systems within each State or Territory.

Primary schools with Defence School Transition Aides (DSTAs)

Puckapunyal Primary School, Puckapunyal

High schools with Defence Transition Mentors (DTMs)

Seymour College, Seymour

Schools

DCO provides a range of services and resources for Defence children to assist with the transition between schools and education systems when families move, and to provide support for the unique needs of Defence students. You can find information on schooling, including aides and mentors on the DCO website on Education or Your Community pages.

All Victorian children aged between six and 17 must attend school. Grade ‘Prep’ (preparatory year) to Grade six attend primary school. Victorian secondary school is from Year seven to Year 12. To attend a government school in Victoria, your child must be five years of age by 30 April of the year they start school.

• The Australian Schools Directory is a helpful tool to search for all primary and secondary schools in the region.
• The Private Schools Directory provides a guide to private schools in Sale.
• The Victorian Department of Education website is a good source of information on public education in Victoria and includes a list of schools by location