Pre-prep and kinder giving local kids best start

REGIONAL Victorian children and kids experiencing disadvantage will be the first to benefit from 30 hours of free Pre-Prep each week.

Minister for Early Childhood and Pre-Prep Ingrid Stitt last week announced the roll-out schedule for Pre-Prep, which will begin in selected areas from 2025, before expanding across the state to all LGAs.

Vulnerable children and Aboriginal children living outside the early roll-out areas will also be eligible for 30 hours of Pre-Prep every week from 2026, while children experiencing disadvantage will be eligible from 2028.

Pre-Prep programs will be delivered through sessional kindergartens and long day-care centres, creating a high-quality, universal program that gives 4-year-old children greater opportunities to socialise, learn through play and best prepare them for their formal educational journey.

The staged roll-out of Pre-Prep follows the successful launch of Free Kinder, which is now saving every family in Victoria up to $2,500 in fees per child each year.

Hundreds of Victorian children will be learning at brand new local kindergartens in Term 1, making early childhood education more accessible and helping families avoid the dreaded double drop-off.

Regional areas are also well served, with new kindergartens opening at Newhaven Primary School and Wonthaggi Primary School.

Up to 140,000 children and families will benefit from Free Kinder this year under the $270 million initiative, children enrolled in 3-Year-Old Kindergarten will receive between 5 and 15 hours of funded learning each week, and those in 4-Year-Old Kindergarten will receive 15 hours per week.

Free Kinder programs are available at 97 per cent of funded kindergarten services across the state, including sessional services and long day-care centres with funding directly from the government, so families are not out-of-pocket.

Pre-Prep roll-out schedule:

2027- 16 to 30 hours per week for 40 weeks of the year

LGAs: Alpine Shire, Central Goldfields Shire, Colac Otway Shire, Glenelg Shire, Indigo Shire, Moira Shire, Moorabool Shire, Moyne Shire, South Gippsland Shire, Southern Grampians Shire, Swan Hill Rural City, West Wimmera Shire

2028 - 16 to 30 hours per week for 40 weeks of the year

LGAs: Bass Coast Shire, Baw Baw Shire, Campaspe Shire, Golden Plains Shire, Greater Shepparton City, Hepburn Shire, Latrobe City, Macedon Ranges Shire, Mildura Rural City, Mount Alexander Shire, Queenscliffe Borough, Surf Coast Shire, Towong Shire, Warrnambool City, Wellington Shire
State-wide: Roll-out to children experiencing disadvantage

2032 - 30 hours per week for 40 weeks of the year - All of Victoria