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Kinder calls for 3YO subsidy

OVERSTRETCHED parents are calling on the State Government to subsidise threeyear-old kindergarten places so all children have the same access to education.

Breakwater Preschool teacher Simone Orr said the kindergarten was forced to cut its three-year-old program five years ago because not enough parents could afford to pay for a non-funded place.

Ms Orr is one of thousands of parents and teachers supporting an Australian Education Union-led petition, calling on the State Government to subsidise 10 hours of preschool for all Victorian three-year-olds.

Victoria currently funds 15 hours a week of kindergarten for four-year-olds, but there is no “universal access” policy for three-year-olds.

Provisional data shows about 140 three-year-old children in the City of Greater Geelong are enrolled in kindergarten through the program — up from 85 last year.

But mum-of-three Ebony Shawcross believes all families should have access to funded places. She said the cost barrier was the reason she decided not to send her daughter Quinn, now 5, to kinder last year.

“I certainly would have sent her to kindergarten last year if the cost — for the amount of hours provided — was not so high,” Ms Shawcross said.

Early Childhood Education Minister Jenny Mikakos said the government was aware of the enormous benefits of three-old-kindergarten and was considering other measures to ensure children are best prepared for school.

Breakwater Kindergarten staff would “love to run” a three-year-old program that would be very popular if properly subsidised, Ms Orr said.