Funding for growth at specialist kinder

THE Lake Gardens based Ballarat Specialist Kinder has received a State Government Building Blocks Capacity Grant.

Worth $1.3 million, the funding aims to support the kinder to increase its three-year-old program to 15 hours per week. It’s currently limited to two-and-a-half hours a week.

Ballarat Specialist Kinder’s programs are designed for all-abilities children and Ballarat Specialist School acting principal Sam Sheppard said the State funding will broadly benefit the local community.

“To be able to offer families additional spaces to access funded three-year-old kindergarten, and to subsequently enhance their child’s development and readiness for school is crucial,” he said.

“The opportunity to access early education is important for all children, but particularly for children with additional needs.

“We are very proud of our current kindergarten program, and these funds mean we will be able to increase our funded enrolments by 150 per cent.

“We look forward to further supporting the community with beginning their child’s educational journey.”

Member for Wendouree Juliana Addison congratulated the kinder as one of the state’s 10 successful applicants.

“This $1.3 million Building Blocks grant is great news for our littlest learners who will now be able to access 15 hours of three-year-old kinder at the Ballarat Specialist School,” she said.

“This further investment shows the Andrews Labor Government’s strong support for special needs education from the earliest age in the Ballarat community.”

Member for Buninyong Michaela Settle said the program expansion “will make a huge difference to families.”

The Ballarat Specialist School received $10 million from the State Government last year to upgrade and modernise their campuses.