Australian research shows that one in five Victorian children start school developmentally vulnerable and once behind, they tend to stay behind.

Member for Buninyong Michaela Settle and Member for Wendouree Juliana Addison today visited Phoenix Kindergarten Sebastapol to announce that early childhood services in the Ballarat region will share in over $1.156 million of Early Childhood School Readiness Funding.

This needs-based funding will reduce the impact of educational disadvantage on children’s learning and development and improve outcomes in communication, wellbeing, and access and participation.

School readiness funding will allow local kindergarten providers to use speech and occupational therapists, language and literacy professionals and child psychologists, who can then boost the capability of both parents and teachers.

Services will receive up to $200,000 in funding depending on the number of children enrolled who face educational disadvantage.

This is the first time the funding will be made available to all funded kindergartens in Victoria, with the program now a permanent feature of Victoria’s early childhood education system.

About 1,700 kindergartens in 47 local government areas will automatically receive this funding for the first time in 2021. Services delivering funded kindergarten programs for three-year-old children in 2021 will also receive this funding.

Victoria’s success as the Education State starts in the early years – so that’s why the Victorian Government has also invested $5 billion over a decade to deliver 15 hours of Three-Year-Old Kindergarten to all children.

Quote attributable to Member for Buninyong Michaela Settle

“1 in 5 children start behind at school and from there it’s hard to catch up.  This funding is targeted at those most in need so they can have the best possible support behind them.”

“Having access to the expertise of speech and occupational therapists, language and literacy professionals and child psychologists will ensure no one child is left behind.”

 Quote attributable to Member for Wendouree Juliana Addison

“We’re helping children early, so they can get the most out of kinder and start at school on track and on par with their peers.”

“This needs-based funding will improve outcomes in communication, social and emotional wellbeing, access and participation for children to learn to the best of their abilities.”

Full list of Early Childhood School Readiness Funding for Buninyong and Wendouree: