Birchip Kindergarten has officially commenced for the year, welcoming twenty-six children into their three- and four-year-old programs, which provide fifteen hours of free kindergarten under the Victorian Government’s Best Start, Best Life reforms.

The Birchip Kindergarten has eight enrolled in the four-year-old Pelican program and 18 in the three-year-old Penguin program, and all the children attend together on Wednesdays and Thursdays for 7.5 hours each day.

The programs led by the dedicated teaching team of Tracey Bennett, Emma Bennett, and Tammy Jans Ward focuses on play-based learning, social development, and school readiness, giving children a strong foundation for their future education.

Birchip has been at the forefront of the three-year-old kindergarten program, transitioning to 15 hours per week and from 2026, Buloke will begin the transition of fouryear- old kindergarten to Pre- Prep.

In 2026, four-year-old kindergarten will increase to 20 hours per week, gradually transitioning to 30 hours per week by 2031.

It is going to be interesting to see the impact of these reforms, as the government looks for ways to ensure that every child gets the best possible start in life. 

This article appeared in The Buloke Times, 14 February 2025.