Parliamentary Secretary for Early Childhood Education and Child Care, Maxine McKew, and Tasmanian Premier, David Bartlett today announced plans for an Early Learning and Care Centre to be located in Beaconsfield.
The new centre is part of the Australian Government’s $114.5 million commitment to have 38 Early Learning and Care Centres operating in priority areas across Australia by 2010.
The centre will provide 40 new Long Day Care places for children aged 0 to 5.
Beaconsfield was one of two priority areas identified in Tasmania, and the new centre will be co-located on the Beaconsfield Primary School site on land owned by the State Government.
The co-location of the Early Learning and Care Centre with the primary school will support the Tasmanian Government’s $12.6 million Launch into Learning initiative. This initiative, currently implemented in around 100 Tasmanian schools, aims to improve the literacy skills of young children, along with their readiness for school.
Ms McKew said the Australian Government contribution of up to $1.8 million for the new centre would help support children and families in the Tamar area.
“Investing in the early learning and development of children is a key priority of the Government. This funding will help to make child care more accessible for Beaconsfield families,’ said Ms McKew.
Mr Bartlett, who is also the Minister for Education and Skills, believes the new site will significantly boost the educational and support services available for preschool children in the region.
“Providing educational opportunities for young children and support for their families now will have long term benefits for the Tasmanian community and workforce in the future,” said Mr Bartlett.
The Beaconsfield Child and Family Centre Inc will also contribute to the project, providing the $194,000 grant received from the Tasmania Community Fund.
These centres are a part of the Rudd Government’s $2.4 billion package of initiatives, with additional funding provided through COAG agreements, to improve early childhood education and care for Australian families. These initiatives include:
- $1.6 billion over four years to help working families meet higher costs of living by increasing the Child Care Tax Rebate (CCTR) from 30% to 50% of out of pocket costs to a maximum of $7,500. The rebate will now also be paid quarterly and is not means tested.
- $970 million over five years to provide all Australian children access to 15 hours a week of early learning programs for 40 weeks a year in the year before formal schooling; and
- $126.6 million in fee relief for up to 8,000 TAFE students, an additional 1500 university places for early childhood teachers and significant reductions in HECS-HELP debt of early childhood teachers working in regional and remote areas, Indigenous communities and areas of high disadvantage.
For a range of information about early childhood education and child care, please visit www.mychild.gov.au