Last year the NSW Government committed to boost access to public preschool education across the state.

This commitment includes delivering 100 new public preschools and ensuring all new primary schools have a co-located public preschool, helping more children access a preschool program before starting school.

Member for Monaro, Steve Whan, said he is delighted Jindabyne was selected as one of the 100 public preschools being built by the Minns’ Labor Government. “Preschool education gives children the best possible start to their education, and it is vital that we break down the barriers that stop some families being able to afford to give their kids this vital introduction to education,” Mr Whan said.

“The Jindabyne preschool will be free and it will service generations of preschoolers to come, having the preschool on the school site helps with the transition to school and has been clearly shown to be beneficial.”

As part of this project, the NSW Depart of Education expanded play space for Jindabyne Public School over the April 2026 school holidays, preparing almost 8000m2 of new play space for Jindabyne Public School.

During term 1 the NSW Department of Education responded to school community feedback and has included installing new fencing and closing fencing gaps, new posts to delineate biodiversity land from the existing school play space, building new stairs and mowing land behind the sports court.

From the beginning of term 2, students will be able to use new expanded play space to run, play and connect with nature.

The school will decide operationally how and when the space is used as play space, subject to conditions of how the land can be used.

Mr Whan said as part of the process of planning for the preschool he asked the education department to consult with staff and the P&C from Jindabyne Public School.

“That consultation has involved several face-to-face meetings including at one, the head of Schools Infrastructure coming to Jindabyne to hear directly from the school community,” he said.

“My understanding is that these meetings went through school capacity, playground space, design, construction and parking, I have also met with the department several times prior to and after the meetings at the school.

“I have been very pleased with the department’s responses to questions raised by the school community, they have addressed and acted on the questions raised and as a result we will get a public preschool open by day one of term one 2027.”

Construction of the preschool is expected to start in May or June, subject to final construction approvals.

Mr Whan said the preschool will be located in existing classrooms.

“This is a sensible option as current projections show that by 2036 the public school will have around 400 students rather than the 515 it has been built for,” he said.

“That means the two classrooms allocated to the preschool will otherwise not be fully utilised over the next decade.

“The school community has been consulted over elements of the design of the fit out for the preschool including the fencing of the preschool play area. The consultation did raise the amount of playground space available for primary school children. Even though the available space did comply with requirements, the education department decided to investigate whether more of the area of school land could be made available as play space and as a result a major expansion of the play area has been delivered.”

Marking the project as one that Mr Whan is proud to deliver to the Jindabyne community, he said it’s also a great outcome for local children.

“Preschool education is a really important part of giving our kids the best educational outcomes for the long term and I am sure generations of Jindabyne families will appreciate the huge boost to equity of opportunity that this Minns Labor Government commitment will make to the community,” Mr Whan said.

He acknowledged parking was a major cause of concern for many parents.

“Parking is also being considered, and the department has looked at options for additional spaces close to the entrance to the public school and the preschool,” Mr Whan said.

“As a result of previous work, I have done with the department the site does have enough parking overall, as I understand it there are around 120 parking spaces available,” Mr Whan said.

“Once the preschool is operational it is possible for the school to look at the best ways of managing drop off and pick up times – for example staggering the start times for the school and preschool.”