More than 2000 Wyndham children have been guaranteed access to 15 hours of kindergarten next year, after the federal government pledged to provide kinder funding for four-year-olds for another 12 months.
In April, councils were told that the government could discontinue the funding in 2015, meaning they either had to find the money themselves or reduce the number of hours children could attend kindergarten.
Last week, assistant Education Minister Sussan Ley announced the government would commit to providing $406 million for another year.
The state government already funds 10-hours of kindergarten education each week for four-year-olds.
Wyndham councillor Heather Marcus said kindergarten fees would have increased from $1460 a year to $2128 had the government not committed the funding.
Cr Marcus said the federal government’s decision recognised the importance of children having a good start in life.
“We are committed to ensuring that every child has access to kindergartens in Wyndham.
“It’s essential that the federal and state governments continue their investment in kindergarten services given the evidence linking preschool attendance to improved student results in numeracy, reading and spelling.”
The council has already made offers for 2032 children to attend kindergarten next year. Up to 75 per cent of offers were for children to attend a kindergarten of their first preference.
The council expects 2300 children will start kindergarten at the municipality’s 23 centres in 2015.
Ms Ley said the federal government was reviewing its kindergarten funding partnerships with state governments for 2016 to ensure that as many children as possible had access to kindergarten.
Cr Marcus said the council would continue to advocate for federal government funding for kindergartens beyond 2015.
