KEY POINTS:
Auckland gets the biggest share of a $10 million funding boost to help meet the shortfall of preschool places but locals are already questioning if the planned centres are in the right areas.
Education Minister Steve Maharey said yesterday that more than 500 places for children in early childhood education would be secured nationally from the funding.
Waiting lists at Auckland preschools have grown under increased pressure from the Government's 20 free hours of early childhood education plan, launched this week.
Official figures show that around a third of centres in the Auckland area could not cope with the boom.
The bulk of the money, $8.7 million, goes in capital grants to 11 centres around the country to either build preschools or expand existing ones.
Five are in Auckland - three in Mangere and two in the West.
In Mangere, $1.9 million has been awarded to Child Life Centre, $1.5 million to the Living and Learning Foundation to set up new services, and $1 million to Nukutukulea Aoga Niue to expand.
In West Auckland, $468,747 goes to Ko te Kura Hononga to set up a new service and $458,292 to Leataata O Tupulaga O La Pasefika to expand.
The other recipients include kohanga reo in Northland and Wanganui and centres in Gisborne, Wairarapa, Kaikoura and Westport.
Mr Maharey said that in addition to the capital grants, another 19 centres had been given planning or establishment grants as part of an ongoing programme to expand early childhood education places.
"A child who attends early childhood education has a much better chance of succeeding in school and later in life, and cost should not stand in the way of families accessing quality early education," said Mr Maharey.
The grants were allocated to boost participation, he said, particularly for children from poor and isolated communities.
But Mangere East Family Services Centre director Peter Sykes said the focus on Mangere seemed bizarre.
He said the two new and one growing centre in the area were likely to struggle to sustain rolls and find qualified staff.
"There are lots of children [in Mangere]," said Mr Sykes, "but the groups that in the past have been funded to get kids involved in preschools haven't always met the target numbers."
National Party early childhood spokeswoman Paula Bennett said acknowledging capacity problems would not turn around the low uptake of the free hours scheme in Auckland.
Top-up
* Auckland will get the biggest share of $10 million funding to ease the shortfall in preschool places.
* A third of Auckland centres cannot meet demand for enrolments.
* Five preschool organisations will get funding to build new centres or expand existing ones.
