Kindergartens across Tarneit have shared in more than $50,000 worth of grants as part of the Building Blocks Program.
Member for Tarneit Sarah Connolly today announced that ten kindergartens in Tarneit have received a total of $58,451.73, including $9,000 in IT grants across six kindergartens, and $49,451.73 in Inclusive Grants across six kindergartens. Two services were fortunate enough to receive grants from both streams.
The latest round of Building Blocks Inclusion Grants is worth almost $2.4 million ─ supporting 242 kindergartens upgrade their facilities or purchase equipment to provide a safe and inclusive learning environment for children of all needs and abilities. Upgrades include infrastructure in playgrounds to make kinder activities more accessible as well as moveable inclusive education equipment like mobility stools and sensory equipment to support learning programs.
Almost 570 kindergarten services operating a funded kindergarten program have received IT grants of up to $1,500 from the latest round of the Building Blocks Improvement Grants funding, sharing more than $796,000 in total for technology support. These IT grants will help pay for new equipment such as computers, iPads and interactive TV aids that can be used for administration or to help deliver learning programs.
Building Blocks Grants 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. To find out more about Building Blocks Grants, visit: schoolbuildings.vic.gov.au/Pages/Building-Blocks.
In an Australian-first, the 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.
As part of the Three-Year-Old Kindergarten roll-out, the Victorian Budget 2021/22 has co-invested $1.68 billion with the early childhood sector to build and expand kindergarten facilities across the state over this decade.
Quotes attributable to Member for Tarneit Sarah Connolly
“It is vital that our early childhood services are equipped with modern technology to make sure that children in Tarneit get a great start in life.”
“We are excited to improve kindergarten infrastructure in Wyndham and make sure they are inclusive for all children ─ this will also be critical to ensuring the success of the state-wide roll-out of Three-Year-Old Kindergarten next year.”
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 to life.”
“We want to ensure that all children can participate fully at kindergarten so it is crucial that we upgrade facilities and buy the specialist equipment needed to create safe and inclusive learning environments.”
