The Andrews Labor Government is helping children in Williamstown get the best start in life by improving local kindergartens with facility upgrades and state-of-the-art technology.
Member for Williamstown Melissa Horne this week announced 3 kindergartens in Williamstown will receive grants in the latest round of the Building Blocks Improvement stream. Across the state, 49 kinders will share in more than $3.5 million to upgrade or improve the amenity of their facilities as well as funding for new IT devices.
South Kingsville Preschool, The Range Children’s Centre and Norfolk Street Child Care Centre are amongst the 49 kinders that will share in this funding. South Kingsville Preschool will receive $458,896 to upgrade their nature discovery play space and extend the occasional care room. The Range Children’s Centre will receive $265,000 to provide improved outdoor spaces and Norfolk Street Child Care Centre will receive $144,100 to upgrade some key facilities.
Building Blocks grants are available to local councils and not-for-profit organisations delivering funded kindergarten programs. In the Improvement stream, they can apply for grants of up to $300,000 to renovate and refurbish their centre or up to $50,000 for a minor improvement project, as well as up to $1,500 to upgrade IT devices.
So far in 2021, 618 kindergartens across the state have already received a Building Blocks Improvement grant, sharing in more than $4.3 million in funding.
The Building Blocks Grants program is a streamlined overarching funding scheme that supports early childhood providers with new and existing infrastructure and facilities for eligible three and four-year-old kindergarten
services.
In an Australian-first, the Labor Government is investing almost $5 billion this decade to provide three-year-old children with access to an additional year of funded kindergarten programs.
From 2022, three-year-old children across the state will have access to at least five hours of kindergarten. Services will then scale up their hours to reach the full 15-hour program by 2029.
For more information and the Building Blocks program, visit schoolbuildings.vic.gov.au.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Early Childhood Ingrid Stitt
“We’re delivering unprecedented investment in early childhood services so our children right across the state can get the most out of their great local kindergartens ─ giving them the best start in life.”
“We want to make sure all children can fully participate at their kinder, so it is crucial that we upgrade facilities and equip them with modern technology to create modern, inclusive and interactive learning environments.”
Quote attributable to Melissa Horne MP
“We’re proud to be improving early childhood services here in Williamstown – helping local families access local kinders equipped with better facilities for their children and setting them up for the rest of their lives.”
