THE Lightning Reef YMCA Early Learning Centre will receive $104,478 as part of the State Government’s $28 million Building Blocks Program.<\/p>\n
The grant will allow staff to set up five new shade zones, an indigenous plant garden and a yarning circle.<\/p>\n
Yarning circles are seen as somewhere people can talk, share and educate each other, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have used them for thousands of years.<\/p>\n
Other kindergartens in the region have also been allocated funds, including Shine Bright Marong Kindergarten for various improvement works.<\/p>\n
The latest round of grants will see more than 1248 kindergartens across Victoria share in $28 million to upgrade facilities and buy equipment.<\/p>\n
“Every child deserves a safe and inviting learning environment, that’s why the Allan Labor Government continues to invest in local kindergartens,” said Member for Bendigo West Maree Edwards.<\/p>\n
“I look forward to seeing these projects across Bendigo West get started.”<\/p>\n
Since the State Government launched the Building Blocks Program in 2020, more than $200 million has been spent to build new childhood services across Victoria and upgrade existing ones.<\/p>\n
The program comes under the umbrella of the State’s $14 billion Best Start, Best Life reforms, which are claimed to be “the biggest changes to Victoria’s early childhood education sector in a generation.”<\/p>\n
The reforms include free kinder for Victorian three and four year-old children at participating services, plus increased investment to attract, upskill and retain early childhood teachers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE Lightning Reef YMCA Early Learning Centre will receive $104,478 as part of the State Government’s $28 million Building Blocks Program. The grant will allow staff to set up five new shade zones, an indigenous plant garden and a yarning circle. Yarning circles are seen as somewhere people can talk, share and educate each other, […]<\/p>\n