Kindergarten funding
Dr BACH (Eastern Metropolitan) (12:05): My question is to the Minister for Early Childhood and Pre-Prep. Minister, standalone kindergartens are threatening to opt out of your early childhood programs next year due to what they call the ‘untenable funding structure’. They say their program quality will be stripped back, and one kindergarten, for example, is predicting to run at a $70 000 loss trying to cover senior staff wages and other running costs. How will you prevent kindergartens from closing their doors?
Ms STITT (Western Metropolitan—Minister for Workplace Safety, Minister for Early Childhood and Pre-Prep) (12:05): I thank Dr Bach for his question, and I can think of about 9 billion reasons why I will be assisting kindergartens in Victoria over the next decade to absolutely thrive. This is unprecedented investment in the sector and a signal to our kindergartens, including our sessional kindergartens, that our government will invest in them and back in the incredibly important work that they do setting children in Victoria up for the very best start in life. Dr Bach, you would be aware that there have been funding guidelines issued to the sector in the last week or so, and what that indicates is that the average sessional kindergarten fee structure for parents in Victoria sits at around $1900 per child per year. The Andrews Labor government will be providing $2500 per child per year to sessional kindergartens. In the vast majority of cases this will actually result in increased funding being available for sessional kindergartens, including our community kindergartens, and I must say as I travel around the state and visit many of these services they are absolutely rapt with the support that this will deliver their local communities. It will mean that they will be able to invest in not just providing parents with cost-of-living relief—and we know how important that is—but also providing additional support and quality kindergarten offerings through their services.
It is important to note also, Dr Bach, that the government already pays a supplement to experienced teachers in our kindergarten system so that kindergartens can continue to employ experienced teachers to lead our programs, and the $2500 to kindergartens in lieu of parent fees is on top of all of the other funding that is available and will continue to be available. We will continue to drive these reforms because we know what a difference access to universal kindergarten will make for children not just in the early years but for their schooling throughout their life. It will set them up on a fantastic trajectory of learning, quality education and success in life. I can also indicate, Dr Bach, that my department is working closely with a number of kindergarten services to work through some of these issues, including transitional support around our reforms.
Dr BACH (Eastern Metropolitan) (12:08): I thank the minister. Minister, you have stated previously that the program that you recently announced was designed at least in part to eliminate gap fees, and I thank you for the information you have provided to the house about kindergartens that you say will be better off under this program. There are many kindergartens, however, as I am sure you and other members of the government would admit, that will be worse off under this program. Recently, for example, Katie McNeill from a kindergarten in Glen Iris, along with many others, has made comments about how difficult it will be for them under this program and specifically about staff in these kindergartens, who understand the current offering from the government very well, to pay them due respect, but nonetheless mount the argument that they will be worse off and that there is an issue about staff. So what solution will you be offering these kindergartens that will have to replace experienced and senior staff to survive under your funding model?
Ms STITT (Western Metropolitan—Minister for Workplace Safety, Minister for Early Childhood and Pre-Prep) (12:09): I thank Dr Bach for his supplementary question, which he just got in in time. What I can indicate is that Dr Bach is conveniently cherrypicking aspects of our reform and our support for both parents and kindergartens. The reality is that 98 per cent of sessional kindergartens signed up to our free kinder offering in 2021 when we introduced that year of free kinder. We have taken the considered approach in Victoria to not allow gap fees to be charged, because we want to ensure that this is about parents getting cost-of-living relief as well as the benefits that will come from their children being in a quality kindergarten program. I urge Dr Bach to give me the details of where he says this is not the case, and I will follow it up with the department.