The Department of Education is expanding its State Delivered Kindergarten program to 14 new rural and remote communities.
Minister for Education, Grace Grace said the program was launched in 2016 to give more children in rural and remote parts of Queensland access to kindergartens.
She said the expansion of the program meant it would now consist of 134 kindergartens delivered at 116 rural and remote State schools.
“Some of these remote schools have multiple campuses and therefore multiple kindy programs,” Ms Grace said.
“The expansion of this program means up to 177 extra children will have the opportunity to attend a face-to face kindy program at their local State school. We expect up to 800 children will be attending State Delivered Kindergarten across Queensland during this year.”
She said the program was at no-cost for families with four-year-old children in selected rural and remote locations.
Local MP for Keppel and Assistant Minister for Education, Brittany Lauga said the program had begun with 11 State schools, but more were added off the back of its success.
“We all know how important kindy is for children’s learning and development so this is wonderful news for local families in Keppel,” Ms Lauga said.
“State Delivered Kindergarten is one of the many initiatives we have in Queensland to ensure all children have access to a kindergarten program in the year before school, regardless of where they live,” the Assistant Minister said.
