Tara Murray
A new agreement between the state and federal governments has been signed to ensure Hobsons Bay and Maribyrnong children have access to high-quality four-year-old preschool options.
The preschool reform agreement confirms up to $514 million of commonwealth funding for four-year-old kindergarten in Victoria from 2022 to 2025.
Federal Acting Education and Youth Minister Stuart Robert said the agreement will ensure Victorian children have access to high-quality preschool options and are better prepared for their first year of school.
“This agreement will mean every child in Victoria has the opportunity to attend at least 15 hours of preschool a week in the year before they start school,” Mr Robert said.
“Importantly, this funding is linked to new reforms, including improving preschool participation and developing an outcomes measure, and will benefit all children, regardless of the type of preschool they attend.”
Victorian Minister for Early Childhood Ingrid Stitt said the commonwealth’s contribution would provide funding certainty to parents, educators and the sector.
“‘The evidence is clear – the more we invest in early childhood education, the better start in life Victorian kids get. We’re proud to support their wellbeing, learning and development,” Ms Stitt said.
“This agreement maintains commonwealth funding to the sector and, importantly, will ensure all Victorian children and their families are supported during these significant years.”
The news is welcome news for the Municipal Association of Victoria. MAV president councillor David Clark said the funding agreement would benefit around 330,000 Victorian children the next four years.
“This more stable approach to funding provides certainty for young families. It means our councils – who provide kinder services – can conduct longer-term planning and deliver
optimal services and support,” Cr Clark said.
“The benefits of kinder last a lifetime. All Victorian children deserve quality early education to give them the best start in life. We know kinder kids enjoy happier school transition and do better academically.
“MAV is proud to have advocated hard to secure this funding and today’s announcement is welcome move away from the short-term approach that has dominated the past 10 years of kinder funding.”
