Children in the Macquarie Fields electorate can now access fee-free early learning as the Minns Labor Government delivers historic preschool expansion.
Local families are benefiting from high-quality, fee-free public early learning close to home as the Minns Labor Government delivers Curran Public Preschool and Sackville Street Public Preschool.
Member for Macquarie Fields, Anoulack Chanthivong MP, joined students, staff and school community to officially open the area’s newest public preschools.
Curran Public Preschool will accommodate up to 40 places per week for children in the year before school and provide dedicated preschool classrooms and outdoor play space.
Sackville Street Public Preschool will accommodate up to 60 places per week for children in the year before school and provide dedicated preschool classrooms and outdoor play space.
Both preschools are built alongside the local public school, easing the transition for local children into kindergarten and simplifying the pick-up and drop-off for families.
The Minns Labor Government’s 100 new public preschools will be staffed by fully-trained teachers and qualified educators, with New South Wales public preschools holding the highest proportion of services ‘exceeding’ the national quality standards.
Research shows children who participate in a high-quality preschool education program in the year before school are more likely to start school equipped with essential learning and social skills.
The new preschools are part of the largest expansion of public early education in New South Wales history, with the Minns Labor Government delivering 100 new, fee-free, public preschools by early 2027. This will double the number of public preschools across the state, creating places for an additional 9,000 children.
This investment will provide children with the best possible start in life and learning, and make high-quality early education more accessible and affordable for working families.
It stands in stark contrast to the former Liberal National government, which failed to build a single new public preschool during its 12 years in office. Under its watch, the number of private for-profit early learning providers increased, accompanied by some of the worst quality outcomes and highest breach rates in the early learning sector.
In addition to ensuring students have modern preschools, schools and classrooms, the Minns Labor Government has transitioned more than 25,000 teachers and school support staff from uncertain temporary contracts to permanent employment.
This follows the Minns Labor Government’s abolition of the Liberals and Nationals wages cap, delivering New South Wales teachers the biggest pay rise in a generation.
This reform is attracting teachers into public schools and helping retain those already there, with teacher vacancies at a 12-year low and the number of merged and cancelled classes in New South Wales halving since the election of the Minns Labor Government.
Families can now submit an expression of interest through the school’s website or by visiting the school office.
Curran Public Preschool: https://curran-p.schools.nsw.gov.au/preschool
Sackville Street Public Preschool: https://sackvillst-p.schools.nsw.gov.au/preschool
Member for Macquarie Fields, Anoulack Chanthivong MP, said:
"We are delighted that local families can now access a fee-free preschool in the heart of our community offering the very best of early learning.”
"We know quality early learning makes a real difference to a child as they make that important transition into kindergarten, and it also supports their success at school and even later in life.”
"The preschool on school grounds will not only help smooth children’s transition to kindergarten, but it also creates a strong sense of belonging in our school community, for both children and their families.”
Deputy Premier and Minister for Education and Early Learning Prue Car said:
“This is an historic day for families across the region, with more parents able to access a public preschool, close to home, for the first time.
“When families can drop their children off at a local public preschool, it means more flexibility and less pressure on the household budget, while their child receives a high-quality early education.
“The former government didn’t build a single new public preschool in 12 years. We’re building 100, because the Minns Labor Government is committed to providing children with the best start in life.”
