WHEN it comes to our children, nothing should be too good for them.
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Not in terms of material things – those aren’t important in the grand scheme of life – but, rather, in terms of experiences and educational opportunities.
And the most important first step in this education journey is preschool.
Sadly, though, that has been undervalued by many governments, of both persuasions, over too many years.
The Leader has expressed its dismay on numerous other occasions, and it seems nothing’s changed after the handing down of the state budget last week.
While the government trumpeted a double-digit increase in early childhood education, a closer look at the budget fineprint showed they’d actually underspent by tens of millions of dollars on the previous year’s promised total.
Aside from that, this year’s total also includes funding for before- and after-school care, which hardly seems to fit the brief of “early childhood” education.
NSW parents continue to pay significantly more than their counterparts in other states to send their children to preschool, a vital first step, all the experts will tell you, as littlies prepare for their first year of school.
Now, the federal government does fund four-year-olds for a minimum of 15 hours a week of preschool, but no such funding arrangement exists for three-year-olds, except those three-year-olds considered to be from disadvantaged backgrounds or circumstances.
So, our community-based preschools, which communities put so much effort into to keep budgets topped up, are being forced to prioritise those children whose positions come with a funding subsidy.
They have to keep the doors open and need as much government funding as possible. It’s that simple.
But, as our preschools maintain, all children should be on an equal footing with an equal chance of enrolment, and at present there are kids who are missing out through no fault of their families.
Any early education expert will tell you two years of preschool before attending school is of even more benefit than just the one.
Governments must start to recognise these are the most vital years for our children and start funding early education accordingly.