Kiewa Valley Kindergarten has been offered a lifeline, with the news that the Government has had a change of heart and guaranteed their funding for Terms Two and Three.

In January this year, Jane, Tamara and Hayley Elkington, took over management of the centre and their stand-alone, dedicated kindergarten service educates 58 children across
4-year-old and 3-year-old programs. The locally-owned and run kindergarten service in Tangambalanga was under threat of closure after a loophole saw them overlooked for the Victorian Government’s much publicised ‘free kinder’ funding.

Once the kindergarten received the disappointing news, they contacted Ms Maxwell’s office, where by action was taken to raise the issue directly with the Minister for Education, Mr Merlino.

The ‘free kinder’ funding, announced in April this year, allocated $45 million to support sessional kindergarten providers and their families through Term 2 lockdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic.  In August, the Premier announced an extension of the funding for Term 3.

The Elkington family started a petition, which was co-sponsored by Ms Maxwell, and had 252 signatures from local families before news of the reprieve came through.

Ms Maxwell said that without the change of heart the kindergarten would likely have closed and left Tangambalanga without this valuable service, and that she was pleased the Government had finally listened to reason.

Quotes by Tania Maxwell MP

“Small towns like Tangambalanga and the Elkington family work hard to provide a necessary service for their community and I was more than happy to advocate on their behalf  to receive the same funding support as metropolitan kindergartens.”

“This news is a huge relief to this small community and will be warmly welcomed by parents.”