An ambitious early childhood education overhaul has been announced by the State government in an attempt to support families currently crippled by the cost of the system.
The investment comes with a $9 billion dollar price tag going over the next decade to expand the ‘Best Star, Best Life’ program with three major initiatives:
• Making kinder free across the state
• Delivering a new year of universal Pre-Prep for 4-year-olds
• Establishing 50 government operated childcare centres
Premier Daniel Andrews the massive reforms are about setting kids up for the future and investing in women.
“These are big changes, but they just make sense – giving our kids the very best start in life and delivering early education and care that actually works for families,” Mr Andrews said.
The announcement now means from 2023, any family with a three or four-year-old will pay nothing for kinder – a saving of up to $2,500 per child every year.
Three-Year-Old Kinder is already rolling out across the state, expanding universal access to 15 hours of government funded kinder every week – and from next year, it will be free.
Four-Year-Old Kinder will also be free, providing much-needed relief for family budgets and giving more women a choice to return to the workforce.
Reform of the early education will also take place over the next decade, with four year old kinder to transition to ‘Pre-Prep’ increasing to a universal 30 hour a week program.
Minister for Early Childhood Ingrid Stitt said early education has the most profound impact on a child’s development.
“Moving to 30 hours of play-based learning when they’re four will give our littlest Victorians the best start, so they get the best opportunities in life,” Ms Stitt said.
The Albanese Federal Government is introducing better childcare subsidies for families that taper off less drastically as household income increases.
In concert with those changes, and to help address the current shortage of available childcare places, the Andrews Labor Government will establish 50 government-owned and affordable integrated childcare centres in areas to deliver childcare, kinder and Pre-Prep, to open from 2025.
The Casey electorate will benefit from this as the government will base these new centres in areas that were named as ‘childcare deserts’ by the Mitchell Institute, which Star Mail reported on in May this year.
Where possible, the centres will be co-located with schools to avoid the double-drop off, and alongside hospitals, TAFEs and major employers to create convenient access for working parents.
Not every parent works Monday to Friday, nine to five so where there is demand, centres will operate extended hours and on weekends.
Minister for Women Gabrielle Williams said childcare system have held working women back for too long.
“Affordable and accessible childcare is vital to giving women more options – meaning they have more economic power and driving gender equality across every aspect of work and life,” Ms Williams said.
The Victorian Pre-Prep Taskforce will be established in the coming weeks and bring staff, unions, early childhood experts, local government, kinder and long day care providers and other stakeholders to the table to help design the Pre-Prep curriculum and inform the implementation of the program.
