The new Kyneton Kindergarten, located right next to the local primary school, has officially opened.
Early Childhood and Pre-Prep Minister Ingrid Stitt and Macedon MP Mary-Anne Thomas visited the kindergarten [last week] to mark its opening, which was decked out with modern learning facilities, administration facilities and an outdoor play space.
“It’s great to see a new kinder opening in Kyneton so local families have better access to fully funded kindergarten programs, and being next door to the primary school means transitioning from early years learning to school will easier,” Ms Thomas said.
The kindergarten was part of $283 million in capital funding provided in the Victorian Budget 2019-20, to commence delivery of an annual pipeline of kindergartens on school sites.
In a statement, the government said the investment would ensure the delivery of a number of new kindergartens on existing school sites each year to support the roll-out of three-year-old kindergarten.
Earlier this year, Star Weekly reported on the lack of childcare in the Macedon Ranges, and its classification as a ‘childcare desert’ by the Mitchell Institute because of a lack of childcare places.
The state government said its ensuring that every new Victorian primary school would have a kindergarten onsite or next door to reduce the “burden” on parents.
“The government is investing $9 billion over the next decade to transform four-year-old kindergarten to pre-prep with 30 hours of play-based learning by 2032 and build 50 government-owned childcare centres to ensure children thrive and women are supported to return to work,” the government said.
Elsie Lange
