Helping kinder kids be ready for school and for life

An Australian-first initiative will mean Victorian kindergartens will benefit from more funding so children reach school developmentally on track and ready to take full advantage of opportunities to learn.

School readiness funding, a $58.1 million initiative, will be delivered to all services that run a state-funded kindergarten over the next three years.

The funding will be rolled out in stages. Starting next year kindergartens in 25 local government areas will receive funding, with all kindergartens receiving the boost from 2021.

All kinder services run by Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations will be included in the first stage of roll out in 2019.

Minister for Early Childhood Education Jenny Mikakos announced the funding, saying it will allow kindergartens to access a range of supports and evidence-based resources. This includes engaging with professionals, such as speech therapists and language and literacy experts, who can work directly with children and build the capability of families and educators.

"This initiative will provide kindergartens with extra support to make sure they can help the children who need it the most," Minister Mikakos said.

One in five Victorian children starts school 'developmentally vulnerable', according to the 2015 Australian Early Development Census.

The Department of Education and Training is currently developing a 'menu' of evidence-based approaches to support children's learning and development in three priority areas: communication (language development); wellbeing (social and emotional self-regulation); and access and participation (creating inclusive learning environments and improving community outreach). 

As CEO of the early years provider and the operator of the Cheshire School, Bestchance, Kevin Feeney has a unique perspective on how increasing support in kindergarten can have positive effects in later years.

"We're acutely aware of the critical impact a young person's social and emotional development has on their overall ability," Mr Feeney said. "We really welcome this funding and are looking forward to seeing the effect this will have."

This funding is an added level of support for children in kindergarten, complementing existing programs. Similar to needs-based funding in schools, it will based on parents' occupation and education and targeted where there is the greatest level of need.

School readiness funding will become a permanent part of the Victorian kindergarten system and when fully implemented will boost the total amount of funding to kindergartens by about 10 per cent.

The funding is part of the $202.1 million Education State Early Childhood Reform Plan: Ready for kinder, ready for school, ready for life, which recognises the importance of providing families with strong support in early childhood.

For information about school readiness funding, see:

School Readiness Funding

Kinder Information Management (KIM) system

Helping Children to be Ready for School, Ready for Life