The Victorian state government has announced a $112.9 million initiative to fund extracurricular activities for primary and secondary students.
The Positive Start in 2022 initiative aims to re-engage Victorian children in the extracurricular activities they participated in before COVID-19.
The initiative also plans to support students’ physical and emotional health and wellbeing.
$84.3 million will fund additional camps during school holidays and 2022 school terms, which will target 81,200 students.
The funds will be directed to government and low-fee non-government schools and students who have been affected the most by COVID-19 school closures.
Schools and students that may not otherwise be able to participate in outdoor education or camp programs will also be included in the initiative.
Every government and low-fee non-government school in Victoria will also be provided another $12.4 million to access a variety of arts, sporting and cultural experiences.
The program will deliver over 325,000 fully subsidised places for students throughout the programs.
A further $16.3 million will provide over 690,000 swimming and water safety lessons for government and Catholic primary schools students.
This funding is supplementary to the $55.2 million the state government has already granted for school swimming.
Premier Daniel Andrews said although Victorians did an incredible job looking after one another during the pandemic, this came at the cost of cancelling extracurricular activities.
“Victorian students and school communities did an amazing job helping our state slow the spread of coronavirus,” Andrews said.
“Now we’re giving back, making sure 2022 is full of adventure and fun for every child across the state.”
Minister for Education James Merlino said he understood the difficulties the pandemic presented for students.
“We know the pandemic has been challenging for many kids, missing out on the things that make our Education State so great,” Merlino said.
“This program makes up for lost time with exciting experiences for everyone.”
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