Tech boost for Bellarine kinders

KINDERGARTENS across the Bellarine will add new devices to the classroom this year, with a string of local centres receiving state funding to upgrade their technology and equipment.

Nine centres – the Allanvale, Beacon Point, Clifton Springs, Drysdale, Ocean Grove and Portarlington preschools, and the Leopold, Queenscliff and Woodlands kindergartens – will receive grants to each purchase three iPads for use across their three- and four-year-old programs.

Goodstart Early Learning Drysdale will also receive funding to buy a laptop computer to support administration, programming and funding compliance for its kindergarten programs.

The local allocations form part of the state’s 2025-26 building blocks improvement grants program, a package worth more than $6.2 million.

Bellarine MP Alison Marchant said the funding would help ensure local kindergartens had the practical resources they needed in the classroom.

“This funding will ensure our local kinders have the equipment and facilities they need to support children to learn and thrive,” she said.

“It’s about giving our educators the right tools and creating inclusive environments where every child can participate, feel supported and succeed.”

Minister for Children, Lizzie Blandthorn, said the grants were about making sure children could fully take part in kindergarten, regardless of their circumstances.

“We’re supporting kinders to meet the needs of their communities – alongside free kinder saving families up to $2,700 a year,” she said.

“Every child deserves to fully participate in kinder. These grants help services make that a reality.”

The funding comes as the state government continues its rollout of 15 hours of three-year-old kindergarten by 2029 and up to 30 hours of pre-prep by 2036 under its Best Start, Best Life reforms.