Concern over childcare price hikes after NSW pre-kindy plan revealed

The NSW government has vowed to safeguard and support daycare centre following fears the landmark plan to add pre-kindy to schools could cripple the sector and see fees spike.

Childcare centres will be safeguarded with future investment in the face of the biggest education revolution in a generation.

NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell yesterday pledged to help the industry as she announced the government’s $5.8b policy to create pre-kindergarten at schools over the next decade.

“We also want to work closely with the existing early childhood sector, with our community preschools, our long daycare centres, and build capacity at those services as well,” she said on Thursday.

“We need to do this in conjunction with our school sector but also with our early learning sector and this will absolutely be a partnership.”

She said trials of the new system will begin next year, with pre-kindergarten to be expanded to school sites later this year.

Day Care worker Theresa Willet with Lorenzo Rodriguez, Aleena El-Masri and Muse Zaeng in Merrylands. Picture: Jeremy Piper

The free five-day service is expected be delivered in full to around 230,000 students by 2030.

Sam Page, the CEO of Early Childhood Australia, said the move was a “recognition of the good work of early childhood teachers and educators”.

“We’re really looking forward to working with the government to build the workforce and expand the infrastructure,” she said.

NSW Minister for Education and Early Learning Sarah Mitchell. Picture: Jeremy Piper

Fears have been raised that childcare fees could soar under the NSW Government’s plan to introduce a “pre-kindergarten”, by taking a swathe of fee-paying children out of pre-school systems.

Australian Childcare Alliance NSW president Lyn Connelly raised fears the sector would have to increase fees.

“If the government intends to operate pre-kindergarten on school grounds, what they’re saying is they’ve lost faith in the educational outcomes produced by the early childhood and care service providers,” she said.

“It could have severe repercussions on child care fees for other children.”

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA -Telegraph, JUNE 16, 2022: Day Care worker Theresa Willet and Zack Hadid in Merrylands. Picture: Jeremy Piper

The $5.8b policy will result in the extra year of early education being up and running by 2030.

Ms Mitchell’s announcement came on the same day as Victoria announced it would also introduce pre-kindergarten within five years at a cost of $9b.

On why its program will start five years later than Victoria’s, NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell suggested it could be because of size.

“We are slightly bigger, we’re the biggest in the country. We’ve got 5500 early childhood services, we’ve got a lot of kids,” she said.

“It’s just a matter of making sure that we do it right.”

Both premiers hoped the changes would help parents return to work “on terms that work for them”.

Mr Perrottet called the announcement the “greatest transformation of early education in a generation.”

“Two states working together, leading the nation on revolutionary reform in our education system,” he said.