PARENTS with students at Gloucester Preschool will save up to $900 in fees from next term.
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Preschool director Elizabeth Price said from the start of term two students turning five by July 31 next year would be eligible for a reduction in fees of up to $10 a day.
“Families with a four-year-old will save $900 in fees for the year,” Mrs Price said.
Mrs Price said the funding was part of a one-off payment from the State government through the National Partnership Agreement with the Commonwealth.
She said it would allow community preschools like Gloucester to meet the requirements of the Brennan report into early childhood, which recommends children aged four or over complete at least 15 hours of preschool each week the year before starting school.
“That means that parents who send their children for 15 hours or three days a week will receive an average weekly saving of $30 on their fees,” Mrs Price said.
“In the last few weeks I’ve had families come and tell me that they would have to reduce the number of days their child was attending due to costs - now that won’t have to happen.”
A parent at the preschool Lee-Anne Guthridge said she had been thinking of reducing her son’s hours due to the cost of fees but had reconsidered following the State government’s announcement.
“I was thinking of dropping a day for financial reasons but with the new funding arrangement we can manage to keep Marshall at preschool three days a week, which will have a positive impact on his transition to school in 2014,” she said.
Gloucester Preschool students under the age of four who will not be heading to school next year will also receive a reduction in fees.
“The preschool will fund a $5 per day reduction in fees for three year olds,” Mrs Price said.
“What we’re hoping is that the reduction in fees for four year olds will boost our number of enrolments and hence our income, which will allow us to subsidise the three year olds.”
The preschool is accredited to take up to 45 children per day.
While the funding will provide relief for parents sending their children to school in 2014, the future of community not-for-profit preschools beyond the end of this year is less certain.
The State government is due to announce a new funding model for preschools later this year, but has released little information about how it will work.
“They haven’t told us anything about the new funding model,” Mrs Price said.
“We need to employ new staff but until we know what our funding is going to be we can’t.
“Our aim is to keep our fees as low as possible to ensure as many families in our community as possible send their children to preschool.
“The funding announced by the Minister is only a one-off. Unless the new funding model increases what we are currently receiving fees will go back to their existing levels, or higher, from the start of 2014.”
Mrs Price said community preschools in NSW had the second lowest attendance rate of any State in the country at 74.3 per cent.
“I know there are families in our community that are not sending their children to preschool and that’s down to two issues; logistics and cost,” she said.
Jayne Fry, whose daughter Amy attends the preschool one day a week, said living 40km from town was a challenge.
“Amy currently attends preschool one day a week and I spend all day in town while she’s there,” Jayne said.
“I’d like to send her three days a week, but at the moment there is no way - other than me spending three days a week in town - that can happen.”
Mrs Price said she hoped the new funding model addressed difficulties faced by rural families in transporting their children to preschools.