Wednesday, 6 March 2024

Ministers statements: early childhood education

Lizzie BLANDTHORN (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Children, Minister for Disability) (12:49): I rise to update the house on the Allan Labor government’s investments which are delivering more kinders on school sites. Last week I announced 13 new kinders on school sites that will be opening in 2026 alongside the member for Cranbourne in the other place. It was fantastic to meet with the inspiring staff and students at Cranbourne Primary School and hear about the interconnected services that are already being delivered on their school campus. These young people spoke so positively about the community that they have built at Cranbourne Primary School and how excited they were to know that their school would have a kinder on the school site.

These 13 new kinders across the state will provide almost 1000 extra places for local children, helping to meet demand for three- and four-year-old kinder in our Victorian communities. This investment continues our massive program of building, modernising and expanding kinders across the state. It is the next step in our nation-leading reforms for early learning. We are already delivering two years of free kinder for every Victorian child, and kindergartens are an incredibly important part of the child’s lifelong education. It is where children begin to learn the skills they need to succeed in school and life, and it is where parents can begin to build communities around their children.

Having the kinder and the school together can make that important transition between kinder and school easier for children. It can make it easier for staff to share resources and ideas to benefit children, and it can make life easier for parents with kids at kinder and at school by allowing them to avoid the dreaded double drop-off. All of these benefits will make a great big difference for families from Cranbourne to Horsham, and it is why since 2021 our government has delivered 39 kindergartens on school sites, creating 79 rooms and an extra 2607 licensed places. I cannot wait to visit our new kinders on school sites across the state in 2026.