Early childhood education
Bronwyn HALFPENNY (Thomastown) (16:10): Recently I co-hosted a children’s round table together with the Parliamentary Secretary for Children Nathan Lambert, who is here in the chamber to discuss early years education. The forum was attended by parents, educators, administrators, centre directors, and representatives of playgroups and also child and maternal health. I have to say that the breadth of knowledge and the commitment and dedication to early education by these participants was really remarkable. We discussed all aspects of early childhood learning, including support for special needs in NDIS, the positive impact of the Allan Labor government’s free kinder program in supporting better attendance and access to early years education and also of course helping with cost-of-living pressures. We also received really thoughtful feedback on experiences when accessing particular services, the extent of services and the ways that services from all levels of government could be improved.
We all know how important the early years of a child’s life are, and we in the Allan Labor government are all so focused on and committed to giving all children the best start in life. We have got lots of initiatives of course, such as free kinder, building state-of-the-art early childhood education centres, scholarships, a job board to connect employers and people wanting to get into the sector, and professional development. We are also looking at bilingual programs. I know there is Auslan taught in the kindergartens in Thomastown – (Time expired)