Greens call for two years of free pre-school

Monday, 29 January 2007

Greens call for two years of free pre-school

Greens MP and education spokesperson, Lee Rhiannon today pledged the Greens' support for the call by welfare groups to provide at least two days a week of free preschool to NSW families, saying that the Greens policy would give NSW children two years of universal, free pre-school education.

"The Greens strongly support the call for at least two days per week of free preschool for every child in NSW," said Ms Rhiannon.

"In fact, the Greens policy calls for every child in NSW to receive two years of universal, free public pre-school education.

"The dollars NSW is putting into preschools is declining. We now invest less than any other jurisdiction in Australia and we have the lowest participation rates.

"This means preschools are becoming less and less affordable and harder to get into.

"Increasing numbers of preschool-aged children are being forced to use child care centres, yet the majority of these are privately owned and run for profit, pricing them out of the reach of many families. Child care centres should not serve as a substitute for a universal pre-school system.

"Last year the Greens called on Premier Iemma to integrate pre-schools with public school kindergarten programs, in line with the recommendations of Professor Tony Vinson.

"Children from disadvantaged backgrounds tend to attend pre-schools less often, especially families living in rural and remote communities where there is poor transport access to preschools.

"Quality free pre-schools integrated with local public schools would ensure that all children are able to attend pre-school.

"Pre-school education brings benefits to our whole society and that is why it is worth the investment," said Ms Rhiannon.