Helping Local Kids Get the Most Out of Kinder

Every Victorian child attending a funded kindergarten program in Narre Warren South will get the most out of their learning and development thanks to the final stage of the $160 million Australian-first School Readiness Funding rollout.

Member for Narre Warren South Gary Maas MP, has proudly announced that 33 early childhood services offering funded kinder in 2021 in the Narre Warren South electorate will share in almost $700,000 of early childhood School Readiness Funding.

The 33 early childhood services include various Goodstart Early Learning centres, Strathaird Kindergarten, Bridgewater Kindergarten, Hillsmeade Primary School Early Learning Centre, Coral Drive Kindergarten and various Community Kids Early Education Centres.

The total funding allocated to each service is dependent on the number of children enrolled who face educational disadvantage.

This is the first time the funding will be made available to all funded kindergartens in Victoria, with the program now a permanent feature of Victoria’s early childhood education system.

Australian research shows that one in five Victorian children start school developmentally vulnerable and once behind, they tend to stay behind. This needs-based funding aims to reduce the impact of educational disadvantage on children’s learning and development and improve outcomes in communication, wellbeing, and access and participation.

School readiness funding will allow Victorian kindergarten providers to tap into the expertise of speech and occupational therapists, language and literacy professionals and child psychologists, who can then boost the capability of both parents and teachers.

Victoria’s success as the Education State starts in the early years – so that’s why the Victorian Government has also invested $5 billion over a decade to deliver 15 hours of Three-Year-Old Kindergarten to all children.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Early Childhood Ingrid Stitt

“We are providing funding to kinders across the state to ensure they have the supports they need so every Victorian child gets the most out of early childhood education.” 

“We’re helping them early, so they can get the most out of kinder and start at school on track and on par with their peers.”

Quotes attributable to Member for Narre Warren South Gary Maas MP

“We know how important it is to ensure that every child gets the most out of their educational environments, and that starts young. This funding will help provide Victorian children with access to high-quality early childhood education with the specialist services they need to thrive.”

“The Narre Warren South area is home to fantastic kindergartens and this funding will help them to continue delivering high-quality services to our community.”

 

12 November 2020