{"id":33142,"date":"2025-06-13T00:45:28","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T14:45:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=33142"},"modified":"2025-06-13T00:45:28","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T14:45:28","slug":"young-hunter-families-to-benefit-from-creation-of-1000-new-free-public-preschool-places","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2025\/06\/13\/young-hunter-families-to-benefit-from-creation-of-1000-new-free-public-preschool-places\/","title":{"rendered":"Young Hunter families to benefit from creation of 1,000 new free public preschool places"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Hundreds of families in the Hunter are closer to accessing free early learning, as contracts to deliver 12 new public preschools are awarded as part of the Minns Labor Government\u2019s historic program to build 100 new public preschools across NSW.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 12 new Hunter public preschools will offer free places for up to 1,000 children every week, providing quality, play-based educational preschool programs, ensuring our youngest learners are given the best start in life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Construction on all 12 public preschools is expected to begin later this year, with each public preschool set to be delivered by early 2027, co-located with public primary schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>New public preschools to be built in the Hunter at:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Booragul Public School<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cessnock Public School<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ellalong Public School<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Gillieston Public School<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Kearsley Public School<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Kurri Kurri Public School<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Maryland Public School<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Nulkaba Public School<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Shortland Public School<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tenambit Public School<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Teralba Public School<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Weston Public School.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The new public preschools are part of the Minns Labor Government\u2019s record investment into early education, which will double the number of public preschools in NSW, boosting the overall number of public preschool placements by up to 9,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of the 100 new public preschools, 49 are in regional NSW, and another 48 will be delivered in growing Sydney\u2019s West, North-West and South-West located in communities identified as most in need following a rigorous selection process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is part of the Minns Labor Government\u2019s record investment to rapidly expand the provision of public preschool in NSW, funded by our record investment in the 2024-25 Budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Acting Minister for Education and Early Learning Courtney Houssos said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAccess to preschool can be difficult for young families, particularly in regional areas, which is why the Minns Labor Government is delivering new public preschools across the Hunter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOnce complete, these 12 new public preschools will provide 1,000 new, free preschool placements for Hunter families every week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThese public preschools will make a real difference to young working families across the Hunter, and will help ensure every child in NSW can access a high-quality early education, no matter their postcode.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Minister for the Hunter Yasmin Catley said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEvery kid deserves a great start, no matter where they\u2019re from. These new preschools mean families in the Hunter won\u2019t have to fight for a spot &#8211; they\u2019ll know their child\u2019s future is being taken seriously from day one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe all know the early years are everything. It\u2019s where kids find their confidence, their voice and their love for learning. That\u2019s why this matters so much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFor too long, families in the Hunter have been left behind. We&#8217;re changing that &#8211; because investing in our kids now means a stronger future for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Member for Maitland Jenny Aitchison said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe new public preschools for our Tenambit and Gillieston Heights communities are much needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThese public preschools for Gillieston Heights and Tenambit will be well-loved assets for our young families and set our children up for future success at big school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAccess to preschool is so important for young families, and I am proud to be part of a Labor Government that is delivering for regional communities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Member for Cessnock Clayton Barr said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe Cessnock area will benefit greatly from our new public preschools, where the cost-of-living crisis continues to affect many local families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAccess to high-quality, reliable public preschool for free will make a world of difference to our community, and I look forward to seeing construction begin.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Member for Lake Macquarie Greg Piper said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cNew public preschools at Booragul and Teralba will provide access to early learning for families with young children and establish a smooth transition into schooling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m sure this news will be welcomed by the community and form a great foundation for future growth in the area.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hundreds of families in the Hunter are closer to accessing free early learning, as contracts to deliver 12 new public preschools are awarded as part of the Minns Labor Government\u2019s historic program to build 100 new public preschools across NSW. The 12 new Hunter public preschools will offer free places for up to 1,000 children &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2025\/06\/13\/young-hunter-families-to-benefit-from-creation-of-1000-new-free-public-preschool-places\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Young Hunter families to benefit from creation of 1,000 new free public preschool places&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-newcastle","category-nswnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33142"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33142\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33143,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33142\/revisions\/33143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}