Labor opposition propose five-day kindergarten for Tasmania

Labor opposition propose five-day kindergarten for TasmaniaBy state political reporter Lucy MacDonaldTopic:Early Childhood Education and Care Services4m ago4 minutes agoThu 19 Feb 2026 at 2:21amLabor leader Josh Willie wants to see kindergarten expanded to five days in all schools. (ABC News: Kate Nickels)In short:Labor leader Josh Willie has proposed extending kindergarten to five days a week in Tasmania.He says 40 per cent of Tasmanian children do not currently meet key development goals by the end of kindergarten.What's next?There's no state election planned and the Liberal government is noncommittal to the policy, with the education minister wanting to see costings and a timeline from Labor.abc.net.au/news/tas-labor-announces-five-day-kinder-policy/106362388Link copiedShareShare articleTasmania's Labor opposition has unveiled a policy to extend kindergarten to five days a week in an effort to tackle the state's underperforming education system.Tasmania's public schools currently offer part-time kindergarten at 15 hours a week — about two and a half days — for children aged four years old.It is not compulsory but is encouraged.Labor leader Josh Willie believes extending kindergarten to five days will not only help parents, but ensure children receive the skills they need early in life."We need to make sure that our kids are reaching the compulsory start of school in prep, ready to learn," Mr Willie told ABC Radio Hobart."There are four in 10 kids in Tasmania not reaching key development markers at the end of kindergarten."So if you want to improve education results in Tasmania, governments get the best bang for buck in the early years, that's evidence based."Currently, public schools offer two to three days a week of kindergarten. (ABC News: Maren Preuss)Mr Willie claimed adding the extra two days of kindergarten would only cost the state $15 million, not including capital upgrades to schools.Five WA schools begins trial of free full-time kindergarten. It'll add another five schools to the trial next year.It is spending a total of $33.8 million on the trial.WA to trial free full-time kindergarten for 2026As WA kids headed back to the classroom after summer holidays, five of the state's public schools begin a trial of free full-time kindergartenLabor's education reform plan also includes offering universal access to early learning for all three-year-olds.Mr Willie said the federal government is already doing a lot of heavy lifting and the state should "lean on that"."We can cover the gap fee, we can guarantee three days a week for three-year-old preschool so we can get more Tasmanian kids participating in early learning," he said."We know that kids who participate in early learning do better in school."'Worth a discussion,' union saysAustralian Education Union Tasmanian manager Brian Wightman said he had yet to discuss the idea with his executive but the former Labor MP said he believed it was worth considering."For kindergarten to roll out to five days I think it's worth a discussion," he said."My personal view, I think some students will absolutely thrive in this situation .. others will need a transition to go into full-time kindergarten."Pasi Sahlberg, a professor of educational leadership at the University of Melbourne, said the idea was a good one."Students who come to school with a social economic disadvantage are usually already behind the others in educational outcomes in the early years of compulsory primary school," he said."That's why it's extremely important to extend the early childhood education."It's extremely important for Tasmanians for the sake of trying to close the already existing performance gaps that children have when they start primary school."That's the main function … to try to level the playing field before kids start schooling."Government says proposal 'light on detail'Minister for Education Jo Palmer. (ABC News: Morgan Timms)Education Minister Jo Palmer welcomed "Labor's endorsement of the direction our government is taking" but she was hesitant about their plan."Very light on in detail. Unfortunately, no costings," she said."Very similar to the policy that Jeremy Rockliff, when he was education minister, put forward 10 years year ago."Which, at that point Labor, actually blocked that policy."Mr Rockliff's plan was to lower the age of kindergarten to three and a half years, rather than expand it to five days.He backflipped on the policy a year later, saying the government had listened to concerns from the childcare sector.Ms Palmer, who is up for re-election later this year, did not completely shut down Labor's idea, nor did she endorse it."Once we see the costings, the timeline for this policy, importantly the evidence that sits behind this, we would be happy to reconsider now that Labor's done a backflip on Premier Rockliff's policy from a decade ago," she sai