FOUR kindergartens in the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges have received over $45,000 in funding grants from the State Government to improve their building and IT infrastructure. State Minister for Families and Children Jenny Mikakos said over 350 kindergartens would share in $2.6 million worth of grants to improve their services and facilities. These upgrades will create better playrooms, as well as giving our youngest Victorians access to technology that will form part of their education for years to come, she said. All Saints Preschool in Yarra Junction, the Woori Yallock Preschool, Marysville and District Kindergarten, and Talaskia Child Care Centre in Upper Ferntree Gully were awarded the grant money announced on Tuesday 13 October. Kindergartens who have been awarded grant money have received up to $25,000 for minor expansion works, up to $10,000 for minor refurbishment works and up to $1500 in IT grants. In a written statement, Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes said these grants would improve early childhood education and lead to more effective learning. As a parent of two young children, I know the importance parents place on our local kinders needing to be up to speed with the latest technology so our kids have opportunities to try different ways of learning, she said. These grants form part of the Labor Governments $50 million investment in the early childhood sector through the building and upgrading of kindergartens and childrens centres across Victoria.