Creative Kids vouchers start January 1, 2019

From January 1, parents will be able to access both vouchers, meaning a potential $200 towards the pursuits of each school-aged child.

The new voucher is for creative and cultural activities such as language, dance, drama, art, music, coding and more.

Dance Dynamics owner Michelle Riley said she thought the vouchers were “the best program the government ever brought in”.

Not only had it been good for business – she said enrolments tripled after Active Kids started – but also for family finances and for children to try something new, such as dance, drama, singing, or cheer and acro.

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“Most of my families are middle-to-low-income, so for them that is just a massive help to the budgeting, and now we’ve got Creative Kids as well, they can use both vouchers and that gives them almost six months of classes, which is brilliant,” Mrs Riley said.

“If these vouchers weren’t available, a lot of children would not have the opportunity to try all these different activities.”

Tamworth Tech Camp instructor Kimberley Nagle said Creative Kids was “fantastic: the more creativity we can foster in young kids, the better”.

She runs weekend and holiday courses in coding, Makey Makeys, digital storytelling, film making and photography, and more.

“I was really happy to find out they were including coding and digital tech … because it’s so vital for kids to be learning those skills and it is so creative – just as creative as creating a play or a picture,” she said.

“I’m hoping more people will see the value in investing in their kids’ creativity, just as they invest in their kids’ health, which is also very important – just two different aspects of health.”

The vouchers are available through Service NSW, online and in person.