Wednesday, 8 February 2023

Ministers statements: early childhood education

Ingrid STITT (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Early Childhood and Pre-Prep, Minister for Environment) (12:46): Free kinder is now a permanent feature of our kindergarten system, and I could not be prouder. Last Tuesday I joined the Premier at Will Will Rook Preschool in Glenroy to announce that 97 per cent of kindergarten services, including long day care and sessional kinder, have opted in to free kinder this year. That means up to 140,000 children and families will be able to access a high-quality preschool education for free. Under this $270 million initiative, children enrolled in three-year-old kinder at participating services will receive between 5 and 15 hours of learning each week, and for those in four-year-old kinder they will receive the full 15 hours.

The impact of this will be life changing. We know that families are struggling with the cost of living, and free kinder will make sure that no child misses out regardless of their means in terms of their family. It will mean that families will save up to $2500 per year per child. All the research tells us that 90 per cent of a child’s brain develops before the age of five, and that is why we are making sure that cost is no barrier to children getting the early education they need for the best start in life. In 2021 we did offer free kinder, and we saw the participation rates lift and families who had not previously participated in kinder enrolling their children for the very first time. Free kinder is part of our nation-leading Best Start, Best Life reforms, and I am proud that our government is committed to ensuring that every Victorian child will get the very best start in life.