Three-year-olds in Walcha and communities like Werris Creek, Manilla, Bendemeer, Nundle, Barraba, Tamworth and Gunnedah and across the rest of the Electorate will be among the first to benefit from Government subsidised preschool education.
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Member for Tamworth Kevin Anderson said as part of the NSW Government’s $197 million investment in the 2018-19 Budget includes the Start Strong program.
“The Budget is more than building roads and developing our services, it’s about putting our families in the best position possible for our future.”
Mr Anderson said the funding will mean more children in our region will be able to attend preschool and it will also improve affordability for families through a reduction of fees.
“Early childhood education has a significant impact on a child’s future, and this new funding will ensure children in our great region have a head start in literacy development, better results in PISA and NAPLAN, increased likelihood of university attendance and better health outcomes,” he said.
“Future doctors, teachers and agronomists are being shaped in our early childhood services as we speak, so this announcement means more children are getting the best possible start to their educational journeys.”
Walcha Council community services manager Karen Kermode said the funding was a great outcome for the early childhood education and care sector, who have been fighting hard to have funding for all three-year-olds reinstated.
“Until I see the details of the proposed funding I won’t know the full impact on the Walcha Preschool, but I expect the daily fee for three-year-olds will be reduced from 2019 onwards,” she said.
“Currently our three-year-old room is full and has a waiting list, but we will be well placed to deal with the increased demand for preschool places once the new building with a much higher capacity is completed next year.”
Walcha Preschool has allowed three-year-olds to attend preschool, however as they were not funded by the State Government they were charged a higher daily fee.
Mr Anderson claims that the funding will reduce average daily fees for three-year-olds in community preschools. “Fees are expected to drop from an average of $51 to $36, saving families up to $1,557 by 2023,” he said.
“I know how important these savings are and I am excited to welcome the first cohort of subsidised three-year-olds in February 2019,” Mr Anderson concluded.
The NSW Government’s Start Strong program was introduced in 2016 and has already seen significant success for children attending preschool for 600 hours in the year before school – a reduction in average daily fees by 25 per cent and an increase in enrolments by 40 per cent.
