By ALESHA CAPONE
THREE kindergartens in Williamstown and Newport will need more support to offer 15 hours of pre-school every week from 2014.
The Federal Government has legislated that all Australian four-year-olds must have ‘universal access’ to 15 hours of kindergarten a week by June 2013.
The present requirement is 10.75 hours per four-year-old child.
A new service report from Hobsons Bay City Council said some kindergartens in the area needed more assistance to meet the universal access obligation and also retain programs such as three-year-old kindergarten and playgroups.
The council’s community services director, Peter Hunt, said the council was continuing to work with three pre-schools to help them adopt universal access beyond next year.
“The Council is providing support to The Range, Home Road and Robina Scott kindergartens as they work towards universal access by 2014,” he said.
The Range and Home Read are in Williamstown and Newport is home to the Robina Scott kindergarten service.
Mr Hunt said the council had received $40,000 in funding from the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development to help develop universal access.
“Many kindergartens have already increased session times to 15 hours per week where parents have requested longer sessions and opportunity exists to do so without displacing other sessions including three-year-old kinder programs,” he said.
“The council has been planning for universal access for some time and the steps necessary to support kindergartens in the implementation of universal access to 15 hours of kindergarten by 2013.
Of Hobsons Bay’s 20 kindergartens, 14 run three-year-old kindergarten programs.
“These kindergartens can run two to three sessions per week with an average of 23 children in each group.
“Kindergartens are adjusting three-year-old programs to accommodate the increase in four-year-old hours and will be working with the council to seek alternative venues in the event there is displacement.”
