Thursday, 7 March 2024

Ministers statements: early childhood education

Lizzie BLANDTHORN (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Children, Minister for Disability) (12:21): I rise to update the house on how the Allan Labor government is investing to build more kindergartens and places and modern early learning facilities through Building Blocks partnerships with local councils.

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Langwarrin Community Centre and announcing a new $14.25 million Building Blocks partnership between the Allan Labor government and the Frankston City Council, alongside the member for Frankston and the member for Hastings in the other place. The partnership will support three new kindergarten projects, creating up to 248 new three- and four-year-old places across the municipality. It includes up to $6.75 million to deliver a new integrated children’s centre at the Langwarrin Community Centre, creating up to 119 kinder places for families, and it will also include services like maternal and child health and parent education programs, bringing together those early years services that are so important for families across the board. Bringing these types of services together makes it easier for parents to navigate those services in the early years for their children and creates a space that is safe for parents and families.

The Baden Powell kindergarten will be redeveloped to create a new three-room kindergarten, with a separate room for maternal and child health services, again bringing together those important early years services in one location. Opening in 2025, this facility will deliver an additional 85 kindergarten places for the local community.

With the addition of the Frankston partnership, the Labor government has now entered Building Blocks partnerships with 13 local councils since 2021. Across the state this means 82 new and expanded kindergartens and more than 10,214 extra kinder places where they are needed most. These projects continue our massive program of building, modernising and expanding kinders across the state. It is the next step in our nation-leading reforms in early learning, which have already delivered two years of free kindergarten for every child. In addition, our Best Start, Best Life reforms are increasing the hours of kindergarten so that every three-year-old will now have between 5 and 15 hours of kindergarten. By 2029 this will be 15 hours for all three-year-olds.