Member for Hawkesbury Dominic Perrottet and Member for Riverstone Kevin Conolly have welcomed an additional $115 million in funding to make early childhood education more affordable for local families and reduce fees by an average of 30 per cent.
Mr Perrottet said the NSW Government is committed to providing universal access to quality early childhood education. This funding will reduce preschool fees for four and five year olds and remove nearly all fees for children from Aboriginal and low-income families at preschool.
“This is fantastic news for local families with young children,” Mr Perrottet said.
“This funding boost will deliver the largest single fee reduction in NSW history, making preschool more affordable so that more children will be able to participate in 600 hours – or about 15 hours per week – of early childhood education in community preschools and long day care centres in the year before they start school.
“I know the preschools here in Hawkesbury make a big difference to the lives of our children.
“This funding boost shows the NSW Government is serious about helping more families access early childhood education, especially for children from Aboriginal or low-income backgrounds.”
Starting in 2017, community preschools across the State who enrol children for at least 600 hours in the year before school will receive increased subsidies from the NSW Government, enabling them to reduce fees for families.
“Research shows that a quality preschool education for at least 600 hours gives children a head start in their learning journey,” Mr Conolly said.
“We want all children in NSW to enjoy the benefits of a quality early education, wherever they live and whatever their background.”
Mr Conolly visited Hopscotch Kindergarten in Schofields recently to see first-hand the hard work that goes into caring and providing early education to our children before they enter the primary school system.