Welcome to Frances Sullivan Preschool!

Frances Sullivan Preschool is a small and friendly community kindergarten which has been operating in Brooklyn, in Melbourne’s west, since 1963. It is situated in a quiet residential area, yet only a few minutes from the Westgate freeway and close to public transport.

We have a large, shady, open plan outdoor area which offers children an opportunity to explore our natural environment, create their own games, and be involved in active or passive play situations.

Our indoor play area consists of a variety of play spaces including art and craft, building, dramatic play, games, puzzles, books, and so the list goes on … These experiences give the children time to be by themselves through to being involved in group play situations.

9 good reasons to send your child to Frances Sullivan:

1. The most important reason: CHILDREN LOVE COMING!


2. We offer an educational and exciting program based on the needs of each child.


3. Our staff have extensive experience and provide a friendly, play based learning environment.


4. The hours at Frances Sullivan Pre School complement school hours. We operate a 12 hour program, from 9am-3pm on Mondays and Wednesdays.
5. Our teaching program caters for the rich and varied cultural traditions of families in the area.


6. The program at Frances Sullivan Pre School will assist with your child’s transition to school.


7. The children work and play in a large, sunny room which opens onto an attractive, safe and exciting playground.


8. The centre is only a few minutes from Altona Gate Shopping Centre and the Westgate Freeway.


9. Frances Sullivan Preschool (formally Brooklyn Preschool Centre) has been providing a solid foundation to the Brooklyn and surrounding communities since 1963.

Our program

At Frances Sullivan Preschool our program acknowledges individual levels of development and the play experiences are planned accordingly, allowing for individual, small and large group play spaces. We implement a play based curriculum where the children have many opportunities to explore, experiment and practice a range of important skills.

• Independence – our children are encouraged to pack and carry their own kinder bags, take care of their own food packages and water bottle, apply sunscreen and hat and assist with packing up equipment.


• Healthy habits – we encourage healthy habits, applying sunscreen and wearing sun smart hats, providing lots of opportunity for active, physical play, good hygiene practices, and eating healthy foods and drinking lots of water.


• Group cooperation – we believe that it is important for everyone to contribute to taking care of our kinder (including equipment, grounds and other people), as these are important skills when belonging to a community.


• Imaginative play – this happens indoors and outdoors, sometimes planned and with props and other times incidentally imaginative play allows the children to express themselves.


• Creativity – this occurs in several ways and is a great way for children to express themselves.


• Fine and gross motor development – this occurs constantly throughout the day, e.g. digging, swinging, climbing, sitting on the floor, turning pages of a book, drawing, painting, modelling, holding food, etc, etc, etc!


• Self confidence – performance, public speaking, working on challenging experiences.


• Social – helping each other and taking care of others.


• Listening – conversations, discussion groups, story time, directions.

Learning happens all the time. Sometimes it is the result of staff initiated teaching, other times it is child initiated. Some learning is planned for and happens in a formal way, other times it happens on the spur of the moment. We reflect on the learning that is happening and initiate teaching to further that development.