Drought-affected families experiencing hardship in regional NSW will benefit from a $3 million support package for community preschools across the state.
The new package for drought-affected preschools will reduce fees, allow more flexibility with travel arrangements and future-proof services so they are better equipped to cope when challenging circumstances arise.
Funding will be allocated to services based on their enrolment numbers and location, and will be scaled according to the level of drought intensity.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the 2018 Drought Relief Payments will ensure early childhood education services can continue to operate during the tough times associated with the drought period.
“We understand there are numerous social and economic flow-on effects from the drought, which affect businesses in every town and small community,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“Our goal is to help alleviate some of the pressure on families by supporting early childhood services where attendance may have dropped due to financial pressures, and also to boost support for service operators coping with additional challenges due to drought.”
Minister for Early Childhood Education Sarah Mitchell said it is crucial to support families to ensure children always have access to top quality early childhood education, no matter where they live or what their circumstances are.
“Services can use this funding to assist families and children in a range of ways, including transport arrangements to maintain preschool participation, crisis planning or fee subsidies to further support families,” Ms Mitchell said.
Find out more about the NSW Government's Drought Relief Package.