Thousands of children in the federal electorate of Hume will benefit from a more than $400 million preschool funding boost.
Federal Member for Hume Angus Taylor said the $3.09 million for an estimated 2,453 local preschoolers in 2019 would ensure they had access to 15 hours a week of quality early learning in the year before they started school.
“The Turnbull Government wants to give our littlest learners in Hume the best start to their education,” Mr Taylor said.
“We know that a quality preschool education is essential for laying the foundations for successful learning, including transition to full-time school and future school success.
“It means children in the year before school will continue to have access to 15 hours of preschool a week (600 hours a year) in 2019,” he said.
Minister for education and training Simon Birmingham has announced that the Turnbull Government had extended the national partnership agreement on universal access to early childhood education.
“Between our $427.8 million this year and $440 million in 2019 for preschool – as well as our overhaul of the child care system and $2.5 billion extra investment – the Turnbull Government’s commitment to early childhood education and care and is clear,” he said.
“The challenge we now need to confront is that for all of the funding support, more than a quarter of children enrolled for preschool aren’t attending for the full 15 hours.
“That means some children in the earliest years of education are starting behind the pack. States must find ways to motivate the parents of educationally vulnerable pre-schoolers to both enrol and attend.
“Otherwise, we risk a lost generation of children who start school too far behind their counterparts.
“This extension of the national partnership gives us time to work through these issues and develop an enduring policy beyond 2019 that ensures children are not just enrolling, but attending and benefiting from preschool programs in readiness for school.”
