Tuesday, 15 August 2023

Ministers statements: early childhood education

Ingrid STITT (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Early Childhood and Pre-Prep, Minister for Environment) (12:15): I rise to update the house on the work being undertaken to give more Victorian families access to affordable, high-quality and convenient child care. We are stepping in to deliver unprecedented investment in early childhood education to help our littlest Victorians and their families access quality early education and care through the delivery of our 50 government owned and operated early learning centres.

Last week I was pleased to announce the service offering for the first four of our 50 centres. Opening in 2025, the services in Sunshine, Fawkner, Eaglehawk North and Murtoa will offer child care and three- and four-year-old kinder, and more than 400 children each day will benefit from these changes. Each service will include space for maternal and child health and allied health, ensuring that families will be able to access the services they need in a convenient one-stop location. The service offering for each local facility has been decided in consultation with local government and school communities, ensuring that these services are tailored to the needs of local communities. The four centres will be brought to life by Brand Architects of East Melbourne, who have been appointed to design all four facilities.

Of course we are getting on with the work to deliver all 50 centres by 2028. Thirty locations have already been announced, and the final 20 are to be confirmed by the end of this year. I am really excited to see these facilities come to life, and I look forward to updating the house further very soon.