January 10th, 2024New childcare centre gets green light for Clunes

The Victorian State Government expects to open a new government-owned early childhood learning centre in Clunes by 2026.

Aimed at delivering local children the best start the early learning and childcare centre has been slated to be built at the Clunes Primary Schoool site.

The Victorian Government-owned centre will provide long day care and three-and-four-year-old kindergarten programs and may also include other spaces for community use.

From 2028 in Victoria, four-year-old kindergarten will transition to pre-prep while free kindergarten hours will double from 15 to 30 hours a week for four-year-olds and triple from five to 15 hours for three-year-olds.

Building the centre at the school is expected to help some parents avoid the “double drop-off”. It makes childcare and early learning accessible and convenient for working parents and carers. It can also make the transition to school easier for some children.

The new Clunes centre is one of 50 early learning centres set to share in approximately $14 billion as part of the Victorian Government’s Best Start, Best Life reform.