What we heard
Our partners said that planning for a reform of this scale is complex and they need more support, including current information on when and where more kindergarten capacity is needed.
Sector partners told us that KISPs, which have been developed with all local governments, have been a useful planning tool.
These now need to be updated with Pre-Prep demand and other inputs.
We heard that the KISPs would be more useful if they could be updated more frequently.
Local governments said that local data and knowledge is critical to the KISPs. The perspectives of local providers would provide a more in-depth illustration of early childhood education and care needs of each LGA.
What we’re doing
We’re updating our jointly agreed planning documents – Kindergarten Infrastructure and Services Plans (KISPs) to reflect Pre- Prep demand and local data.
In 2023, we’ve been working with local governments to update KISPs to reflect Pre-Prep demand and incorporate updated data, such as population estimates and new kindergarten supply.
We know that local data and intelligence improves KISPs and in addition to including local government data, we will include local providers in the KISP update process.
We will work with the sector to understand their feedback in more detail and then improve the way we share KISP estimates so they are accessible and user-friendly.
What we heard
Our partners also told us they need additional support to do the planning work necessary to prepare for each infrastructure project.
What we’re doing
We are expanding and investing more in planning grants. They are now open year-round to allow partners to apply for planning support when they need it.
These give local governments and service providers much-needed capacity to complete planning and pre-construction work.
What’s a KISP?
To support Three-Year-Old Kindergarten, all 79 local governments worked with the Victorian Government to develop Kindergarten Infrastructure Services Plans (KISPs).
KISPs support planning for services and future capital works, with detailed information about:
- current capacity and demand for funded kindergarten
- capacity to be delivered by planned infrastructure projects and future demand for kindergarten
- forecast ‘unmet demand’ for kindergarten – that is, the kindergarten places needed that cannot be met by current or planned capacity
- information specific to each local government area and its early childhood education and care landscape.
They present a state-wide picture of kindergarten supply and demand over the life of the reforms.
KISPs are not funding documents and do not commit either the state or local governments to meeting the projected unmet demand. However, local governments and not-for-profit kindergarten providers applying for Building Blocks Capacity Building Grants need to refer to, and align their proposed project with, unmet demand identified in the KISP.
Updated