Early childhood facilities improved for Ouyen families

Families in the Victorian town of Ouyen will soon have access to “bigger and better” early years facilities thanks to funding from the Victorian Government.

Victorian Parliamentary Secretary for Early Childhood Education Sonya Kilkenny visited Mallee Minors Childcare Centre in Ouyen yesterday to officially open its $178,779 upgrade.

The upgrade included an extension of the building to co-locate a three-year-old Kindergarten program, provide an additional reception and multipurpose area, and give families access to a wider range services such as Maternal and Child Health and speech pathology services.

The centre has also been refurbished to provide children with “a nicer learning environment to enjoy so they can get the most out of their time at kindergarten,” a spokesperson said. 

More than $157,000 was provided to the Mallee Track Health and Community Service, which operates Mallee Minors, through a Children’s Facilities Capital Program grant.

The upgrade forms part of the state’s “biggest early education build” which will continue over the coming years, with the Victorian Government to invest more than $1.68 billion over the next decade to build or upgrade approximately 1,000 kinders as part of a broader $5 billion commitment to deliver a full 15 hours of three-year-old kinder to every Victorian child over the next decade.

More information about the Victorian Government’s investment in three-year-old kindergarten and the broader early childhood sector in the 2019/20 Budget can be found here.