Member for Barwon Kevin Humphries has welcomed the funding, which was awarded to three Barwon preschools. 

“Nyngan Pre School will put the funding towards a sensory garden, including different ground surfaces, vertical music boards, plants the children touch and smell as well as wind chimes.

“I am proud that these preschools are showing an ongoing commitment to ensuring children in Barwon have access to top quality early childhood education,” Mr Humphries said.

Minister for Early Childhood Education Sarah Mitchell said she is extremely proud of the Quality Learning Environments fund and the response from the sector has been overwhelmingly positive.

“Not only will this funding improve the quality of the learning environment for children right across the state, parents can also rest assured that their children are having the best start to their educational journeys as possible,” Ms Mitchell said.

“Preschools will be able to use this funding to cover items like shade cloths so children can play safely outdoors, kitchen gardens to teach children where their food comes from, or an outdoor jungle gym to encourage a child’s hand-eye coordination,” she said.

Other Barwon preschools included Dunedoo Preschool awarded $5500 and the Connect Five Children’s Service were granted $14,262. 

The Quality Learning Environments program was introduced in 2018 and is part of the NSW Government’s $332 million Start Strong Program which was introduced in 2016 and has been extended to 2021.