Eaglehawk North parents keen to see Labor's early education promise come to life

In an announcement on Sunday, the Labor government promised the Bendigo suburb would be one of the first fast-tracked sites to be built if it was re-elected.

The new centre, to be built on the same site as Eaglehawk North Primary School (ENPS), would open in 2025 and include childcare, kindergarten and eventually pre-prep programs.

Mum-of-three Liz Cowling said having all services in one place would take a lot of stress off families such as hers.

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"Having those early morning starts where I have to drop two kids off at school, making sure someone is available to pick them up again and then having to do the second trip to kinder is stressful," she said.

"It's a 6am start and we literally live in Eaglehawk, so to have to do that just so I can make it in to work on time is a lot.

"It would be incredibly easy on us time wise and financially if we could have all our kids in one spot."

The Labor government said the 50 new locations - including some in the Loddon, Maryborough and Rochester - would be low-cost to families, an issue Deputy Premier Jacinta Allan said the party wanted to improve.

"You hear a lot of parents saying they can't afford to sent their children to childcare, let alone off to kinder and then school," she said.

"Labor will start the roll-out of Pre-Prep in regional Victoria, giving kids an extra year of play-based learning, getting them ready for school and giving them the best start for the best life."

Ms Cowling said her and her husband have been forced to make some tough decisions when it comes to being able to afford childcare.

"It was only recently when we had to talk about it," she said.

"Our oldest can't access after-school care because there would be just too much of a financial strain on us.

"The cost of living is so high at the moment anyway and the price of daycare is so high too, my husband and I both work, but it's just stressful at the moment.

ENPS grade three and four teacher Samantha Craig says having a number of age groups all in the one spot could really help the development of a lot of students.

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"There will be a better connectedness between kinder and school," she said.

"When you have a childcare centre located at the school, those kinder kids and groups usually travel together, so the social development and those relationships the kids build in those really early development years go with them into their time at school.

"They also learn to socialise, share and all those other skills before going to school too."

Labor has said it would have the centres - and another 20 services still to be confirmed - running by 2028 under the $584 million plan.

It is part of a wider package that includes $159 million to attract and develop early childhood educators.

Bendigo West MP Maree Edwards said it was important to not only create affordable education, but ensure there are places at these centres to begin with.

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