New public preschools at Umina Beach and Tuggerawong will be two of 100 to be delivered by the NSW Government over the next four years, with 49 of them in regional and rural communities.
The new preschools will be located in the grounds of Umina Beach Public School and Tuggerawong Public School.
Member for Gosford Liesl Tesch said it was a “fantastic announcement” for the parents of the Gosford electorate.
“I recently ran an early childhood education survey, which heard from parents across the Coast who are struggling to access early childhood education and preschool, often waiting extended periods on multiple waitlists,” she said.
“It is clear that parents are crying out for spaces on the southern end of the Central Coast.
“Following this survey, I met with Deputy Premier and Minister for Early Childhood Education, Prue Car, who shared my concerns with the availability of spaces on the southern end of the Coast.
“Early childhood education and preschool play a fundamental role in the development of our little learners, while allowing parents the economic freedom of returning to work.
“I have heard far too often that parents, particularly mothers, are unable to return to work because they don’t have a place for their little one in early childhood education.
“This is unacceptable.
“This announcement highlights that the NSW Government is listening.
“We are focused on delivering outcomes for our communities, and this is a significant step in the right direction for providing preschool places in our community.”
Member for Wyong David Harris welcomed news of a preschool at Tuggerawong.
“Locally there is a heavy demand in preschool places and having a public preschool will provide more opportunities for working parents,” he said.
Co-locating public preschools with existing schools will ensure children are ready for kindergarten and help busy working families with cost-of-living pressures, and avoid the double drop off, making the transition to school as seamless as possible, the Government said.
Sites were selected by a NSW Department of Education Panel, overseen by an independent chair and probity advisor, based on rigorous assessment criteria which considered multiple factors, including: educational need; child development and socio-economic data; projected preschool demand; infrastructure feasibility; and insights gained through consultation with industry and stakeholders.
The NSW Government has also committed up to $29.4M to expand the number of early childhood workers in NSW through a scholarship program, which has seen a record number of applications.
Minister for Education and Early Learning Prue Car said the government understood the value of public education and believed that equity in education started in the early years.
“Postcodes should not act as a barrier to accessing the best start in life and every child should have access to high quality resources from a young age, including having access to preschool,” she said.
The reason parents are unable to access childcare for their children is because the government fails to see the value in early child educators. We are losing educators everyday because we still being paid minimum wage. Therefore educators are leaving the industry.
It is so idiotic that the government still do not understand this. You can keep providing childcare centres and preschools for parents but you will not be able to staff them.