Council launches Kindergarten and Childcare Strategy
Published on 02 August 2024
To improve access to early childhood education for families in the region, Murrindindi Shire Council endorsed its Kindergarten and Childcare Strategy 2024-2029 at the July Meeting of Council.
Murrindindi Shire is experiencing challenges with increasing demand for kindergarten and childcare services. There is steady growth in the population of children aged 0-4 years and capacity issues for Three-Year-Old and Four-Year-Old kindergarten programs. Additionally, there is a shortage of educators and teachers to meet the high demand for these services and more facilities are needed to support current and future needs.
The Strategy aims to clarify Council’s role in supporting service providers and the community, as well as addressing the current and future demand for kindergarten and childcare services in Murrindindi Shire.
It provides Council with specific goals for supporting Family Day Care services, where childcare is provided in the homes of registered and qualified educators. It will help guide the future management and maintenance of buildings for early years education providers to operate from and support Council in advocating for more fit-for-purpose infrastructure and services to meet demands.
The Strategy also guides Council’s work in attracting new providers to our region, developing our local workforce, influencing policies and decisions that affect the early childhood education sector and planning for a sustainable future.
It comes as Murrindindi Shire has been announced as one of the first local government areas for the pre-prep (Four-Year-Old Kinder) roll out between 2025-2032 under the Best Start, Best Life reforms, which aims to increase kindergarten programs to 30 hours per week, up from the current 15 hours per week. This announcement follows the roll out of the free 15 hours per week Three-Year-Old Kinder, under the same reforms, which has been available in Murrindindi Shire since 2021.
Local service providers, the Department of Education, and private investors provided valuable input during the development of the Strategy, and we will continue to engage with these groups while implementing actions from the Strategy.
Read the Kindergarten and Childcare Strategy 2024-2029(PDF, 4MB) or visit our Strategies and Plans page. You can also find out more information on Children page.
Council’s Community Wellbeing and Economic Development Portfolio Councillor Sandice McAulay said “We are proud to launch our first Kindergarten and Childcare Strategy, demonstrating our commitment to supporting the early years sector and the families and children of Murrindindi Shire. With new services on the way in Alexandra and Yea, this Strategy will guide the work Council does to improve early childhood education. Together with our partners, we will ensure that kindergarten and childcare services in our Shire are accessible and affordable, and meet the needs of our community. Council will continue to advocate for improved access to services for our community.”