Ministers celebrate first term of increased hours in regional Victoria during Ararat visit 

Victorian Minister for Children Lizzie Blandthorn and Member for Ripon Martha Haylett recently visited Ararat Early Learning Centre to celebrate the first term of increased hours/Pre-Prep in regional Victoria.

Ararat Early Learning Centre is one of 37 services now providing more kinder hours in six regional areas this year, before the program expands across the state over coming years.

All kindergarten services in the local government areas of Ararat, Gannawarra, Hindmarsh, Murrindindi, Northern Grampians and Yarriambiack are delivering more kinder hours for four-year-olds, moving from a weekly 15-hour program to between 16 and 30 hours as part of Victoria’s nation-leading education reforms.

In total the efforts of the centres involved will give more than 500 four year olds the opportunity to access additional early learning in the years before school, as well as supporting parents to return to work or study.

Thanks to Free Kinder, Pre-Prep is free at participating kindergarten services.Giving children more time to learn through play before starting school has many benefits and can improve their early literacy, numeracy and emotional development.

Children living in 12 more local government areas next year will have access to the extra hours as Pre-Prep expands next year – while Aboriginal children, children from refugee backgrounds, and those who have had contact with Child Protection will also gain access to more four-year-old kindergarten hours, no matter where they live in the state.

By 2036, all children in a four-year-old program will have access to 30 hours of kindergarten each week. The phased approach allows time to grow the workforce and build the infrastructure required to support the services teaching the next generation.

Victorian children will have access to 1,800 hours of funded kindergarten before they start school once the rollout is finished, with 600 hours of three-year-old kindergarten and 1,200 hours of four-year-old kindergarten.