Beaconsfield parents Tania Parmley (front) and Cherylle Hampton with kids Kyra and TJ Parmley and Joyce (back).
By Sarah Schwager and Sarah Thompson
CASEY’S three-year-olds are missing out and need to be included in council-managed preschool programs, according to a Casey councillor.
Balla Balla Ward councillor Colin Butler said at this stage, only four and five-year-old kinder groups were managed under council’s group-employment model.
He said the model, which sees council take on all the operations of the preschool programs, including paying teachers, superannuation, booking kids in, was one of the best in the state and other councils were viewing the model.
“They do this for all four and five-year-olds, but not three-year-olds,” Cr Butler said.
He said of the 30 council-managed preschools in Casey, only a few ran three-year-old programs.
He said most had phased it out as they could not afford to keep running the program.
“They have to employ teachers of three-year-old and so on but they also have to pay insurance as well,” Cr Butler said.
“Preschool committees want to keep three-year-old kinder but are finding it very hard to run.”
Cr Butler said there were around 20,000 zero to four-year-olds in Casey.
“The most important thing is to get kids ready for four and five-year-old kinder. We are supposed to be encouraging things like early intervention and getting the kids on the right track,” he said.
Last week parents of Beaconsfield preschoolers launched a statewide petition to improve the state of Victoria’s preschool system.
They hope to beat the Victorian record of 65,000 signatures in an appeal to move the preschool system from the Department of Human Services to the Department of Education and Training.
The petition was launched during a forum held last Thursday night, that discussed the situation of preschools in Victoria.
“As society changes and the demands on our time change, we must remember the critical needs our children have for the best start in education to improve their life chances,” Parents for Preschool Education (PFPE) spokeswoman Cherylle Hampton said.
Mrs Hampton said studies had shown that preschool was the most critical first step in education, and without it children could spend many years trying to catch up in the school system.
Tim Mitchell, spokesman for Education and Training Minister Lynne Kosky, said the State Government was firm on its decision that preschools would stay in the Department of Human Services.
“This has been a debate going on for some time. Government made a decision that preschool is exactly that,” Mr Mitchell said.
For further information about the petition, residents can email PFPE at osella@optusnet.com.au.
