NSW pledges co-located preschools, mirroring Victorian model

The NSW Labor party has pledged to build 100 public preschools co-located with government primary schools, in its first term of government if elected on 25 March, as a predetermining factor to its broader promise of universal access to preschool for four year olds before 2030. 

Under the plan, every new primary school built in NSW would have a co-located preschool, while existing underutilised schools would also have preschools added. 

Funding for the program would come from the existing proposal by the current Government, which has allocated $3.8 billion for early childhood learning initiatives.

The plan mirrors a similar proposal by the Victorian Labor Government, which has pledged to build 50 new state-run early education centres to meet early learning demands.  

The proposal has the backing of Thrive by Five, with Director Jay Weatherill saying: “Thrive by Five welcomes NSW Labor’s commitment to building or upgrading public preschools on or next to 50 non-government schools.”

“Media reports suggest these schools are situated in high-growth areas, such as Riverstone, Camden, Austral, Leppington and Schofields, where parents will need high-quality and affordable early learning centres.”

Mainstream media coverage of the announcement is available here.