NSW Nationals pledge to accelerate free Kindergarten if elected

The New South Wales Nationals party have pledged to accelerate the rollout of its $5.8 billion one-year free pre-Kindergarten program should they be re-elected on Saturday 25 March 2023. 

The commitment will bring forward $1 billion to commence construction on the first of the new preschools in the second half of this year, with the first 500 on public school sites to be completed within four years. Under the plan by 2030, every child in NSW will have access to a full year of free, play-based learning in the year before school.

A re-elected Government would also legislate the right to one-year free pre-Kindergarten in the next term of government.

“The bush is leading the charge on this major education reform, with 34 of the universal pre-Kindergarten pilot sites and more than half of the first 500 universal pre-Kindergarten schools being in regional communities – helping kids from Kempsey to Coonamble take the first steps to a brighter future,” Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW Paul Toole said.

Nationals’ Minister for Education and Early Learning Sarah Mitchell said she was pleased to be able to unveil the first 500 schools that will have purpose-built infrastructure for universal pre-Kindergarten.

“Universal pre-Kindergarten will require 100,000 places for our youngest learners, and we will deliver 50,000 in the next four years on public school sites alone,” Ms Mitchell said.

The NSW Government has made a number of investments in early learning, allocating more than $15.9 billion to early childhood which includes the introduction of universal pre-Kindergarten, the Brighter Beginnings initiatives, a workforce package for early childhood educators and the Affordable Preschool fee relief scheme.