The Andrews Labor Government will upgrade and improve kindergartens across Victoria under the rollout of the latest round of the Building Blocks grant program.

Member for Eastern Victoria Harriet Shing today announced St Margaret’s Berwick Grammar Early Learning Centre and Beaconsfield Kindergarten were among the successful recipients of $10.2 million in funding to assist in infrastructure and upgrades, equipment, and inclusion initiatives.

The funding will help St Margaret’s Berwick Grammar Early Learning Centre upgrade their outdoor play areas and create more accessible and safe indoor environments – enhancing the experience for children and providing a safer workplace for staff.

The funding will also allow Beaconsfield Kindergarten to improve their O’Neil Road facility’s outdoor learning space, providing creative and varied spaces for children to learn.

Three recipients of the grants will share in more than $8 million under the Capacity stream, to help build new integrated kindergarten facilities (with maternal and child health and family services) and redevelop existing spaces.

A further 14 have collectively been awarded $1.4 million under the Improvement stream, with projects including outdoor play and shade areas, Indigenous and sensory gardens, solar panel installation and car parks.

Six recipients will share more than $842,000 under the Inclusion stream to boost safety and inclusion in learning environments and amenities.

Building Blocks helps improve kindergarten infrastructure in Victoria and is essential in the successful statewide roll-out of the Labor Government’s Three-Year-Old Kindergarten, which is a $5 billion Australian-first scheme to deliver 15 hours of funded three-year-old kindergarten programs to children by 2029.

As part of the roll-out, the Government is upgrading infrastructure through a $1.68 billion co-investment with the early childhood sector to build and expand kindergarten facilities across the state.

The Building Blocks Planning stream, which is open until 20 March, will fund planning and pre-construction work on kindergarten projects that support Three-Year-Old Kindergarten.

To find out more about the Building Blocks Grants visit www.schoolbuildings.vic.gov.au/school-building-grants-and-program.

Quotes attributable to Member for Eastern Victoria Harriet Shing

“I’m really excited to announce St Margaret’s Berwick Grammar Early Learning Centre and Beaconsfield Kindergarten among the recipients of the Building Blocks grants. These grants are funding projects which will be game-changing for families and kids in Cardinia and Casey – giving them the best start in life.”

“The Building Blocks grants will see our local early learning centres build and upgrade much needed infrastructure – creating up-to-date and accessible learning spaces and supporting the statewide roll-out of our Three-Year-Old Kindergarten program this year.”