ACT left in the dark on NSW and Victorian free pre-kindergarten plans

Early childhood development minister Yvette Berry said the ACT had led the nation in free access to 15 hours of preschool for four-year-olds.

She said the two most populous states did not speak to her before announcing plans to expand schools to include a full-time early education program for four-year-olds.

"Now we're in the situation where Victoria and NSW have taken a few steps ahead of us into the future," she said.

Education directorate director general Katy Haire said the other states were catching up to the 15 hours of free preschool that had been offered in the ACT since 2012.

"The announcements are very exciting to see other jurisdictions catching up to what we've had here in ACT for a long time, where the early years are the most important years in a child's education," Ms Haire said.

Ms Berry said the government hadn't committed to expanding beyond their current early childhood strategy.

"It's not a policy decision we're taking today."

READ MORE:

Ms Berry said the government was focusing on rolling out universal access to preschool for three-year-olds by 2024, starting with a targeted program for vulnerable children.

The hearing was told 553 children had been referred to the free three-year-old preschool program since 2020.

There are currently 262 children enrolled in the program, which has capacity for 500 children.

About 10 to 20 children were being referred into the program every fortnight via a warm referral system with other early childhood education and health services and family refuges.

Ms Berry said workforce consultations were underway to understand the pressures early childhood educators were facing in the ACT system.

She said there were reports of educators going into retail because of the low pay and high level of responsibility in the early childhood education and care sector.

"It's something that I'm very hopeful that the federal government will looking into."

We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.