Tuesday, December 15, 2020

The Andrews Labor Government is building and upgrading kindergartens across Victoria including in Cardinia and Yarra Ranges – creating thousands of new kinder places and hundreds of jobs as Victoria rolls out funded universal Three-Year-Old Kindergarten.

Member for Eastern Victoria Harriet Shing today announced the following kindergartens will receive funding to improve their learning environments.

• Lilydale Preschool Centre will receive $45,454.
• Cire Children’s Service and Kindergarten Chirnside Park will receive $49,988.
• Little Beacons Learning Centre Berwick will receive $50,000.

These are among 127 successful grant recipients to share in $46.9 million through the Building Blocks capacity building and improvement grant streams, which provide new kindergarten places and improve learning environments.

Seven new early learning facilities, five new integrated children’s centres, three modular buildings and 20 building expansions are among the projects funded. These projects will create an almost 2,200 funded kindergarten places across 32 local government areas.

More than 90 grants will share in almost $8 million under the Building Blocks improvement stream.

The Victorian Budget 2020/21 will invest a further $38.5 million into the Building Blocks grants program, which offers early childhood providers funding towards building, expanding, improving and creating more inclusive early learning facilities.

Applications are also now open for the next round of Building Blocks including major works grants of up to $500,000 – minor works of up to $50,000 – and including grants of up to $200,000 to make kinders more accessible for all children of all abilities.

Applications are open until 28 February 2021 via www.schoolbuildings.vic.gov.au

In an Australian-first, the Labor Government is investing $5 billion this decade to deliver two years of funded kindergarten for all Victorian children, with the roll-out of Three-Year-Old Kindergarten underway this year.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Early Childhood Ingrid Stitt

“Creating more places for children to attend kindergarten and ensuring they can access the best facilities across Victoria is vital to ensuring a world-class education in the early years.”

“The evidence is clear that two years are better than one when it comes to early learning, which is why we are investing millions across Victoria to ensure every child has a place.”

Quotes attributable to Member for Eastern Victoria Harriet Shing

“This investment will mean more children in Cardinia and the Yarra Ranges can access high quality kinder close to home.”

 “Investing in the early years is vital to encouraging a strong educational future and fostering a lifelong love of learning.”