The member for Campbelltown and parliamentary secretary for education and early learning Greg Warren says community preschools are the heart of early education and investing in them means backing trusted, high quality care for working families.
His comments were part of his thumbs up for a $100 million Minns Government investment to help community preschools expand their hours and cater for more children, giving working families better access to quality early education.
“This investment is a game changer for families in Campbelltown and across NSW – it means more hours, more places, and more support for our youngest learners,’’ he said.
“Our Campbelltown families deserve access to early education that’s local, flexible, and built on trust.
“That’s exactly what this program delivers,” said Mr Warren, who is pictured above.
The State Government says this next stage of its early learning reforms will lift the quality of childcare by supporting not-for-profit providers to open longer and serve more families.
It forms part of the Government’s commitment to rebalance a sector increasingly dominated by for-profit providers, which have grown by 90 per cent in the past decade and now account for 58 per cent of NSW’s 6,300 services.
Community preschools will be encouraged to extend their operating hours, open more days, and expand the age range of children they serve, making it easier for working families to access trusted, quality care.
With strong community roots, and an excellent record of quality service, these not-for-profits are widely regarded as among the best providers in NSW.
Through the new Expanding Quality Access program, community preschools will be supported to extend beyond current 9am – 3pm hours and cater for children from birth through to school age.
A strong uptake could see thousands of children gain access to services prioritising early learning.
This announcement follows the government’s landmark legislation introduced last week to prioritise the safety and wellbeing of children and restore parents’ trust in early childhood education and care.
The bill delivers 30 reforms to the Children (Education and Care Services National Law Application) Act 2010, including:
- Enshrining in law the principle that the rights and best interests of children come first.
- A 300 per cent increase in fines for non-compliant services, and a 900 per cent increase for large providers operating 25 or more services.
- A new requirement for providers to display their compliance history and details of any current investigations.
Together, these initiatives build on the Minns Labor Government’s record investment in early education, including the commitment to build 100 new public preschools – the largest ever by a state government.
This will double the number of public preschools in NSW and deliver up to 9,000 new preschool places.
The $100 million investment will support eligible preschools over two years to upgrade their facilities, improve IT and administration, and build workforce capability to support expanded services.
Applications for the Expanding Quality Access program open November, with providers encouraged to apply.