The Andrews Labor Government is saving more parents time and money with six new kindergartens on school sites eliminating the dreaded double drop-off for more families, while making kinder more accessible.
Minister for Early Childhood & Pre-Prep Ingrid Stitt today announced new kindergartens would open at St Albans Meadows, Willmott Park, Roxburgh Park, Korumburra and Napoleons primary schools and Kyabram P-12 College in 2024, creating 495 new kindergarten places for local kids.
Two-room centres opening to outdoor learning and play spaces will be built at St Albans Meadows, Korumburra and Napoleons primary schools and Kyabram P-12 College, with each offering 66 kindergarten places.
Willmott Park Primary School in Craigieburn will provide 99 kindergarten places thanks to a new three-room centre that opens to an outdoor learning and play space.
A new four-room centre that also opens to an outdoor learning and play space at Roxburgh Park Primary School will provide a further 132 kindergarten places.
The new kindergartens are sharing in $371 million provided in the Victorian Budget 2019/20 for Three-Year-Old Kindergarten funding.
Built with modular construction to expedite delivery and minimise disruption for the school and local community, the technique delivers new high-quality learning environments more quickly, supporting 42 jobs during construction and 164 in associated industries.
Kindergartens on-site or next door to primary schools ensure kindergarten programs are easier to access, drop-off time is simpler and more convenient for parents and provide a smoother transition from kindergarten to school for local children.
Since 2021 the Labor Government has delivered a kindergarten on-site or next door to every new school that has opened, ensuring families have better access to the services they need.
As part of our Best Start, Best Life reform, we're making kinder free across the state, creating 50 government-owned and operated early learning centres and establishing Pre-Prep, an extra year of play-based learning that is saving families money and helping more women back into work.
As stated by Minister for Early Childhood and Pre-Prep Ingrid Stitt
"We're delivering unprecedented investment in the first years of our children's education, while making the transition to school that much easier for our little ones, ensuring every Victorian child gets the best start."
"Any family knows mornings can be the busiest time of day, that's why we're making school drop off faster and easier with more kinders on school sites right across the state."