Free Kindy is now in full swing in Queensland and is already easing the pressure on young families.
As announced by the Miles Government at the end of last year, Queensland families can now receive 15 hours per week, 40 weeks per year of free Kindy.
In the last year, there were about 14,000 kindy aged children who had not been enrolled in their local kindergarten.
In Rockhampton, C&K Gundanoo Imbambee Community Childcare Centre has a lot to offer in terms of giving CQ children a good start to their educational journey.
Member for Keppel and Assistant Minister for Health and Regional Health Infrastructure Brittany Lauga said this initiative will allow more children in Queensland to be better prepared for when they start school as well as ease some financial pressure on parents.
“It’s incredibly important to women and parents to be able to enrol in some study or to take on some part-time or full-time work.
“This has benefits not only for children, but also for our local economy, and for productivity,” Ms Lauga said.
“I think it’s a win-win-win; It’s great for children, it’s great for the families’ budget, and it’s also great for our economy, as well.”
With this free Kindy initiative, parents can now enrol their children in their nearest Kindy without having to worry about financial constraints.
Kindy mum and paediatric speech pathologist, Alice O’Sullivan said there is a significant difference in the development of children who have attended kindy before starting school.
“As a busy working mum in today’s society and with the cost of living just increasing, having that opportunity for free kindy is just amazing,” Ms O’Sullivan said.
“As a paediatric speech pathologist, similar to the teachers, when I see children who have been through kindy they just have this amazing set of skills that set them up for success at school.
“I couldn’t be a bigger advocate for Kindy as there are so many benefits for children, their learning, their oral language, social skills and just preparing for school life.”
