A day before Victoria goes to the polls, Premier Daniel Andrews has promised to deliver Three-Year-Old Kinder to ensure that “Victorian kids are ready for school and set for life, while also saving families thousands of dollars in standalone kinder fees”.
In a press release, the Premier said, “With 90 per cent of a child’s brain developing before the age of five, early education has a profound effect on the way our kids develop.
“We’re also making three and four-year-old kinder free—saving families up to $2500 per child, per year—and opening 50 new government-owned and operated childcare centres, providing a low-cost, high-quality option for parents.”
He said Labor’s plan makes it easier, and cheaper, to give our kids the very best start. That’s why a re-elected Andrews Labor Government will support every kinder in our state as part of a $24 million investment, he added.
That includes almost $15 million to deliver a one-off $5,000 grant to every kinder in Victoria, helping them purchase new toys and equipment for play-based learning.
“We’ll also make sure young Victorians from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds can maintain a strong connection to their culture, with $3.7 million to create 10 new bilingual kinders across the state.
“A further $3.6 million will help establish an extra 150 Bush Kinder programs each year. These $6,000 grants will see more kinders set up nature programs, giving our kids more opportunity to get outdoors, climb trees and get grubby.
“And because every parent knows how important play is, Labor will create eight new toy libraries and support existing toy libraries with grants of up to $10,000, helping them purchase new toys with an investment of $1.9 million.”
Andrews said, “We know families are struggling with the cost of living. Free Kinder and 50 new government-owned and operated childcare centres will help make sure no child misses out, – at the same time saving families thousands of dollars.”
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