A boost for Ballarat with the announcement of Girrabanya upgrade

Ballarat children and families will have greater access to kindergarten and childcare places through a $1.25 million upgrade to the Girrabanya Children’s Centre, as viewed yesterday by Victorian Minister for Education, James Merlino who visited the centre to oversee construction work.

The project includes a reconfiguration of the space, allowing for occasional care services to be incorporated into the existing site. The upgraded facility will offer increased flexibility for local parents through integrated long day care and short term care options, with construction due to finish in June.

The Ballarat upgrade represents a small component of the 1,000 new and upgraded kindergarten facilities promised by the Victorian Labor Government in the lead up to their November 2018 election victory.

Over the next ten years, $1.68 billion has been earmarked by the Victorian Government for the building of 785 new facilities and the expansion of 170 existing services, in line with the commitment to deliver 15 hours of three year old kindergarten to every Victorian child, beginning in 2020.

“Making Victoria the Education State starts with the early years, which is why we’re delivering unprecedented investment in early childhood services.” Mr Merlino said.