Best Start, Best Life for Kids in Eltham

A re-elected Andrews Labor Government will make sure kids in Eltham have the very best start in life with funding towards a local not-for-profit childcare centre.

We’ll invest $1.5 million to help improve Eltham Woods Childcare – helping to make sure this local service can support local families for years to come.

With 90 per cent of a child’s brain developing before the age of five, early education has a profound effect on the way children develop.

That’s why the Labor Government has introduced massive reforms to early childhood education, investing $9 billion over a decade.

We’re making kinder free for all three and four-year-olds in Victoria – saving families in Eltham up to $2,500 a year for each child on fees.

We’re creating more childcare places in the areas of highest demand by building 50 government-owned and run childcare centres in ‘childcare deserts’ – making sure more Victorian families can access high-quality education and care.

And we’ve embarked on an ambitious plan to completely change the way early childhood education is delivered in our state. Over the next ten years, the 15 hours per week program of four-year-old kinder will progressively transition into Pre-Prep.

Pre-Prep will be a free, universal, 30 hours-per week program of play-based learning – helping prepare our littlest Victorians for school and supporting working families in Eltham by lowering childcare costs.

Our Best Start, Best Life early education childcare reforms aren’t just about supporting the learning and development of Victorian kids – they will also bring massive economic benefits to our state.

Currently, lack of access to childcare takes almost 26,600 women entirely out of the workforce in Victoria and costs our economy $1.5 billion per year in lost earnings alone.

Independent analysis from Deloitte shows Best Start, Best Life will boost Victoria’s workforce by up to 24,800 FTE and increase the state’s real GSP by between $1.9 billion and $2.8 billion in 2032-33.

Labor is doing what matters by investing in our early childhood education sector, delivering better outcomes for kids and families in Eltham.

Quotes attributable to Labor Member for Eltham Vicki Ward

“Nestled in a lovely bushland setting, Eltham Woods is a wonderful not-for-profit centre which offers care and early childhood learning. We know how important it is for kids to get the best possible start in life. That’s why a re-elected Andrews Labor Government will deliver $1.5 million to improve this wonderful community-based organisation. “