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Original Constituency Question from Juliana Addison MP to Parliament –

My constituency question is for the Minister for Early Childhood and Pre-Prep regarding the introduction of 30 hours per week of fully funded universal pre-prep for all Victorian children from 2025. How will this transformation of Victoria’s early education system benefit parents, carers and children in Ballarat?

I am proud our government is committed to supporting families to address the cost-of-living pressures. I know firsthand from when I was working part-time the cost of kinder fees was another expense in our family budget. That is why I am so pleased that from 2023 every Victorian child will have access to free three-year-old and four-year-old kinder. This will provide families with savings of up to $2500 per child, making a real difference for household budgets.

I thank the minister for her commitment to high-quality education and care for all Victorian children regardless of where they live or their household income.

Response from Ingrid Stitt MP, Minister for Early Childhood and Pre-Prep & Minister for Workplace Safety (11 October 2022) –

I am advised that:

I thank the member for her question. I was proud to announce with the Premier an ambitious $9 billion overhaul of early childhood education and care in Victoria, with a massive investment over the next decade to give children the best start in life, as well as saving families money and supporting women to return to the workforce.

The Best Start, Best Life program comprises three major new initiatives:

• Free kindergarten programs will be available for all Victorian three- and four-year-old children at participating services from 2023
• Four-Year-Old Kindergarten transitioning to ‘Pre-Prep’ becoming a universal 30-hour a week program of play-based learning, available to every four-year-old child in Victoria over the next decade
• Establishing 50 new government-owned and affordable early learning centres in locations across Victoria that have the greatest need, and will make it easier for families to access education and care.

This is on top of the $5 billion nation-leading Three-Year-Old Kindergarten reform, which began in 2020 and is due to be fully rolled out by 2029. As a result of the current Three-Year-Old Kindergarten reform, tens of thousands of children across Victoria are now accessing at least five hours of funded Three-Year-Old Kindergarten programs.

This is an important moment in the history of early childhood education and care in Victoria: one that means better educational outcomes for children, including those in Wendouree.

There are currently 57 services with funded kindergarten programs available in the Local Government Area of Ballarat. The Council’s Central Registration and Enrolment service provides valuable support to families, helping them to enrol their children in local kindergarten programs and connect to support services. Each of these important initiatives is backed by funding from the Andrews Labor Government.

Families are struggling with the cost of living, and free kinder will not only help families, but also provide children with access to vital years of early learning. All early childhood education and care providers that deliver a funded kindergarten program in Victoria will be eligible to receive Free Kinder funding from 2023, saving families up to $2,500 per child, every year.

Free Kinder will be available in both standalone and long day care settings for children enrolled in a funded kindergarten program. A 15-hour per week program will be available to four-year-old children and a 5-to-15-hour program per week will be available to three-year-old children.  Free Kinder is part of the Victorian Government’s ongoing reform to early years education in Victoria, to support every child to get the best start for the best life.

The Best Start, Best Life reform also includes a significant infrastructure investment in addition to the $1.68 billion already committed to support the roll-out of Three-Year-Old Kindergarten. The Department of Education and Training is working closely with local governments, providers and other stakeholders to deliver new and expanded facilities where and when they are needed to support the reform.

This is a meaningful change that signals the importance of access to early childhood education programs for all children. It will mean greater opportunities for children to access teacher-led play-based learning which will develop the critical social, emotional, and cognitive skills that can set children up for life.

These investments and initiatives in Ballarat demonstrate the Andrews Labor Government’s commitment to providing the highest quality education opportunities to children.

These achievements would not be possible without the work of Victorian teachers and educators, service staff and those who work behind the scenes at service providers, as well as across the state.  I sincerely thank them for all they do to support the learning, development and wellbeing of children.

I thank the member again for her question, and for her steadfast commitment to securing quality early childhood education and care for children and families in Wendouree, and indeed across Victoria.

 

Watch and read more of my speeches to Parliament here, including responses from ministers on how we’re working for Wendouree.

You can also view videos from Parliament, browse Hansard transcripts, learn about bills and legislation, and much more at the Parliament of Victoria’s website.