Budget 2021: Long-term deal gets more kids into preschool

New targets for boosting preschool attendance and ensuring children are ready for school are at the centre of the government’s $1.6 billion funding offer.

About 350,000 children a year will benefit from at least 15 hours of preschool a week in the year ­before they start school.

The federal government will tip $1.6bn into preschool education over the next four years as part of a long-term deal with the states and territories designed to better prepare children for school.

The new strategic reform agreement is set to replace existing early childhood education funding arrangements, with payments ­beyond 2024 to be linked to new performance targets, including improved attendance rates.

About 350,000 children a year will benefit from at least 15 hours of preschool a week in the year ­before they start school, with the deal providing long-awaited certainly for the sector, which has recently been reliant on annual funding extensions.

It follows the previously ­announced $1.7bn boost to childcare subsidies and comes as federal funding for school education is poised to jump 11 per cent to a ­record $24.4bn next year on the back of increased support for government and non-government sectors.

According to the budget ­papers, ongoing preschool funding “will be contingent on the states and territories agreeing to a robust reform timeline focused on ­increasing participation and school readiness”.

“From 2024, payments to states and territories will be tied to ­attendance targets. A preschool outcomes measure will be developed and trialled for introduction in 2025,” the document says.

The package, which Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said would boost preschool participation rates, also includes $33.6m for enhanced preschool data collection and a new framework to support the reforms.

This includes funding to continue and improve the annual ­National Early Childhood Education and Care Collection, with a focus on attendance, as well as the development of a new method for testing the degree to which preschools achieve the outcome of getting children ready for school.

“Preschool is a vital time in a child’s development and prepares them for the educational journey ahead,” Mr Frydenberg said.

Improved preschool funding has been on the wish lists of early childhood education advocates who have expressed concerns over Australia‘s lagging participation rates. According to the Australian Education Union, 84 per cent of Australia’s three to five-year-olds are enrolled in preschool, compared to the OECD average of 88 per cent.

Advocacy group Thrive by Five recently urged the government to commit to a five-year early childhood education funding agreement, with incentives linked to improvements in quality and ­attendance for vulnerable and disadvantaged children.

Instead, the proposed four-year arrangement will see annual preschool funding provided to the states and territories rise to $523.3m a year by 2024-25. ­Beyond that, the government has committed to $589m per year in ongoing funding.

The government has also allocated $77.5m for further initiatives to support teachers, students and young Australians, including $20m over four years to continue and improve data collection on school students with disability, $16.6m next year to assist boarding school providers with a high proportion of Indigenous students to remain financially sustainable during the COVID-19 recovery period, and $4m over four years to continue and expand compulsory literacy and numeracy tests for prospective teachers.