BEGINNING this year, Victoria’s kinder age children and their families will benefit from free kindergarten as a result of the state government’s once-in-a-generation kindergarten reforms.
The $270M, Best Start, Best Life program will provide children in Three-Year-Old Kindergarten between five and 15 hours of funded learning each week while those in Four-Year-Old Kindergarten will receive 15 hours per week.
With 97 percent of Victoria’s kindergarten providers having opted-in to free kinder, including sessional kinder and long day-care centres, the financial and educational advantages of the program are life changing.
The free kinder program will save families up to $2,500 in fees per child each year while also enabling greater flexibility for parents, the majority of whom are women, to return to work, if they choose.
Ensuring all of Victoria’s youngest learners get the very best start to early learning is not only critical, but life changing, as Kialla Children’s Centre, co-ordinator Nicole Short said, “The Best Start, Best Life program for three- and four-year-old kinder will mean that all children will be able to access two years of kindergarten before they commence school.
“Early childhood education has been shown to provide children with greater outcomes for their learning, especially for supporting children’s social and emotional development.
“Children in a kindergarten setting have the opportunity through play-based learning to develop and practice skills as well time to develop those important social skills for life,” Nicole said.
