Regional boost for parents of preschoolers affected by fires

The Minister for Education and Early Childhood Learning Sarah Mitchell today announced the grants today that go to everything from fee relief to new programs and resources.

"We know many communities have been hit hard by these fires, which is why the NSW Government will make a one-off payment of $10,000 to community preschools and mobile preschools to provide fee relief for impacted families," Ms Mitchell said.

"Many services have suffered both direct and indirect impacts from the fires and some families are under a great deal of pressure financially."

"These payments will help relieve some of that pressure, allowing services to provide fee relief and other additional supports for their communities."

The Government said the payments can be used for a range of activities including fee relief for families, staff wages, counselling support, and rectifying fire damage and fire preparedness.

"Payments will be made from the end of this week and paid automatically to eligible services; no application is required," Ms Mitchell said.

All early childhood education and care services will also have the opportunity to access a series of emergency preparedness workshops being rolled out across the State in the first half of 2020.

"Education and care services are fundamental to the communities they serve and will play a critical role in the recovery process," said Minister Mitchell.

Commonwealth funded services that are eligible for Child Care Subsidy can apply for grants through the Community Child Care Fund and families suffering financial hardship can access fee relief through the Additional Child Care Subsidy.