Greater Dandenong families are benefiting from more local kindergarten places, located in community hubs that also deliver family services.

Member for Dandenong Gabrielle Williams opened the two local kindergartens today, co-located with local primary schools Dandenong Primary and Dandenong West Primary.Bringing family services under the one roof, both hubs will now also include maternal and child health consulting rooms as well as doubling the number of four-year-old kinder places on offer.

The Dandenong Primary Kindergarten has increased its licensed capacity from 29 to 80 with Dandenong West Primary Kindergarten increasing from 30 to 80, allowing more children to be enrolled in kindergarten programs close to home.

Co-locating kindergartens with primary schools creates a smooth transition for children as they move into prep.The Victorian Government contributed $650,000 to each of the hubs’ redevelopment, with the City of Greater Dandenong also contributing to the projects.

The Labor Government is investing $50 million in the early childhood sector through the building and upgrading of kindergartens and children’s centres.Infrastructure projects such as these ensure local children’s services have the space and flexibility they need to deliver 15 hours of kindergarten alongside a range of other vital early years programs.

The Andrews Labor Government is also delivering up to $83.7 million over four years to support the implementation of improved educator-to-child ratios from 2016.Families are benefitting from improved staff-to-child ratios which will allow more one-on-one time for every child and boost the value they receive from time spent at kindergarten in preparation for school.