The O'Farrell Liberal Government is forcing Mascot Public School to cap the number of hours children can attend per week – in a disgraceful move that will see some 40 children have to cut down on their days at preschool.
From next year, government run preschools which currently offer 30 hours of preschool per week will have to cap children's attendance to just 15 hours per week.
This comes as the Premier is slashing $1.7 billion from education over the next four years, and underspent the allocated budget in early childhood services by $40 million last year.
This is just in breach of the spirit of the National Partnship with the Federal Government.
This is just in breach of the spirit of the National Partnship with the Federal Government.
Mr O'Farrell has used the National Partnership Agreement on Early Childhood Education – which sets a minimum of 15 hours of preschool in the year before school - as an excuse to cap the hours children can attend government preschools to 15 hours instead. Fifteen hours was the minimum determined because of the importance in the development of childrens learning.
Fifteen hours at preschool per week is the recognised minimum for a child in the year before school, but Barry O'Farrell is making it the maximum.
Limiting children to only spending 15 hours per week at Mascot preschool is a lazy and mean attempt to cut even more education spending. What the Government should be doing is using the funding they have been given to increase capacity.
Parents are understandably furious about this decision to cut back preschool hours for their children.
I've been contacted by parents who changed their working hours and cancelled other arrangements so their child could attend preschool next year, only now to be told they have been capped to 15 hours per week.
Parents are already stuggling because O'Farrell Government doubled the fees imposed on parents, and these caps on attendance will cause considerable difficulty with parents who enrolled their children at Mascot Public School because of a Preschool that has been operating successfully between 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday for decades.
Fifteen hours at preschool per week is the recognised minimum for a child in the year before school, but Barry O'Farrell is making it the maximum.
Limiting children to only spending 15 hours per week at Mascot preschool is a lazy and mean attempt to cut even more education spending. What the Government should be doing is using the funding they have been given to increase capacity.
Parents are understandably furious about this decision to cut back preschool hours for their children.
I've been contacted by parents who changed their working hours and cancelled other arrangements so their child could attend preschool next year, only now to be told they have been capped to 15 hours per week.
Parents are already stuggling because O'Farrell Government doubled the fees imposed on parents, and these caps on attendance will cause considerable difficulty with parents who enrolled their children at Mascot Public School because of a Preschool that has been operating successfully between 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday for decades.
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