It was announced last week that Dimboola is one of three towns in western Victoria to receive funding from the state government for three-year-old kindergarten.
Member for Western Victoria, Jaala Pulford, announced that the government is providing Hindmarsh Shire Council more than $43,800 to double the kindergarten room floor space at Dimboola Early Learning Centre and more than $42,500 to enclose the outdoor space at Nhill Early Learning Centre.
Stawell’s Marrang Kindergarten will also receive $98,000 to upgrade its existing outdoor space through the Children’s Facilities Capital Program.
These early learning services will be some of the first in the state to offer funded kindergarten programs for three-year-old children as part of the government’s landmark reform. The grants will increase their capacity and enable them to accommodate a higher number of enrolments for three-year-old kindergarten.
Ms Pulford said the Children’s Facilities Capital Program is designed to help Victorian providers build new facilities and increase kindergarten capacity so families can continue to access great local early childhood services.
“We’re delivering unprecedented investment in early childhood services as part of our historic $5 billion investment in delivering funded three-year-old kindergarten,” Ms Pulford said.
“I’m delighted we can support upgrades at early learning centres across Dimboola, Nhill, and Stawell to support the delivery of funded kindergarten programs for three-year-olds for the first time,” she said.
In an Australian-first, the Victorian Government is investing nearly $5 billion over the next ten years to deliver two years of funded kindergarten for all Victorian children.
By 2022, the three-year-old kindergarten program will roll out state wide, with children to have access to at least five hours of kindergarten per week.
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