The Andrews Labor Government is giving every Victorian child the best start in life, with unprecedented investments in early education – giving families better access to kinder and better facilities in every corner of Victoria.
The Victorian Budget 2022/23 is investing more than $217 million to make sure every family has access to a great early learning service, closer to home, including providing funded universal access to kindergarten.
To make sure every Victorian child gets the best start to their education, an investment of $131 million will keep providing quality funded kindergarten services across the state – kickstarting children’s lifelong love of learning, their social skills and confidence.
The Labor Government is working to make sure all Victorian children get a great start to their education, with $11.9 million over three years for the Building Blocks Inclusion grants program – making kindergarten buildings, playgrounds and equipment across Victoria more inclusive and accessible for every child.
The Government will keep supporting children with disability through a $16.9 million boost to the Kindergarten Inclusion Support program for kids at both three and four-year-old kindergarten – helping kinder services cater to children’s unique needs and provide opportunities that respond to their abilities and strengths.
An investment of $18.7 million will make sure vulnerable Victorian children can be identified and given extra support as early as possible, through the Early Childhood LOOKOUT and Access to Early Learning programs.
More than $2.2 million will expand the Kindergarten Fee Subsidy – giving the best start to children known to child protection and those from families of refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds with two years of free kindergarten.
The Labor Government is supporting children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds with a $4 million investment to boost their education with targeted outreach services, engagement and access to kindergarten services.
A $14.7 million investment will fund locally-made Kinder Kits for 2023 and 2024, ensuring every child starting three-year-old kinder has access to books, toys and educational materials to help them develop their love of learning at home as well as at kinder.
As they begin their education journeys, more Victorian children will have the opportunity to learn a second language through song, play and stories – with $5.5 million to continue the extraordinarily popular Early Childhood Language Program into 2023.
We will also deliver a Certificate IV in Teaching a First Nation’s Language, with $2.8 million to help increase the number of Aboriginal language teachers in Victorian kindergartens and schools.
Since 2014, the Labor Government has invested more than $3 billion in early childhood education to give Victorian children the best start in life – including the nation-leading funded three-year-old kinder program, making sure every child has access to two years of early childhood education.
As stated by Minister for Early Childhood Ingrid Stitt
“Every parent wants to give their child the best start in life. With an extra year of kinder – and all the learning and play that brings – we’ll make sure they are on track for success in the early years and at school.”
“We’re giving more support to kinders because we know kindergarten is the first building block towards a quality education.”
“No matter their background, abilities or where they’re from, we’re working to give every Victorian child the best possible start.”
