Early childhood education is the foundation for lifelong wellbeing and learning. The State Government is reforming early learning to give every Victorian child an extra year of kindergarten.
Evidence shows that two years are better than one when it comes to early learning. Children who start kinder at the age of three gain academic and social benefits that last into their school years and beyond.
Until now kindergarten has only been funded for children at the age of four.
The Victorian Government has committed to changing that with a $5 billion commitment over the next decade to deliver subsidised kindergarten to every three-year-old in the state.
From 2022, every three-year old will have access to at least five hours of kindergarten a week, that increases to 15 hours by 2029.
The role for the Victorian School Building Authority in these reforms is to support the building and expanding of almost 1,000 kindergartens across the state to make sure three-year-old children have the infrastructure they need to attend kindergarten. This includes ensuring that kindergartens are located on or next to all new primary schools that open from 2021 – making the transition easier for many children, and the drop-off simpler for their parents.
The 2019-20 State Budget includes $473.2 million for early childhood infrastructure. This is the largest investment in early years infrastructure in Victoria's history, and includes:
Visit the Department of Education and Training web page for further information about the expansion of early learning, including when it will be introduced in your area.