Just two months ago young Girisha Pareek was carrying three textbooks on an hour-long bus trip with her mum to her preschool in India.

On Monday she walked with her parents to the brand new Gulyangarri Public Preschool in Liverpool, where she played in the sandpit and water station and learned about the seasons, numbers and read books.

Located at Gulyangarri Public School, the preschool is the first of 100 that the NSW Government will build by 2027.

The light and bright preschool rooms and outdoor play area were officially opened on Monday by Premier Chris Minns, Deputy Premier and Minister for Education and Early Learning Prue Car, and the Member for Liverpool, Charishma Kaliyanda.

Ms Car said public preschools co-located in NSW public schools would improve school transition and meet educational demand in areas of high population growth.

“This will be an absolute game changer for families in communities like Liverpool,” she said.

“It means your child can start in a fee-free public preschool and go seamlessly from kindergarten to Year 6 on the same site.

“It helps with the transition to kindergarten. Every single principal I speak to will say they can tell a difference between the children that have access to preschool education and those who unfortunately do not.”

Research shows that children who participate in a quality preschool education program for at least five days a fortnight in the year before school are more likely to arrive at school equipped with the social, cognitive and emotional skills they need for learning.

Girisha’s dad, Mayank Pareek, welcomed the transition experience for his five-year-old daughter who will start kindergarten at Gulyangarri Public School in 2025.

Mr Pareek has been in south-western Sydney working in the banking industry for two years on a skilled migrant visa. His wife, Poonam, and Girisha joined him permanently two months ago. He said Australian preschools were very different to the ones in his home country.

“In India Girisha went to preschool from the age of three and a half but she had to carry maths, English and Hindi books and catch the bus at 7am. It was a long day and then there was compulsory homework,” he said.

“This preschool is just so wonderful; we are in walking distance and so happy to be in the catchment area for the school.”

Big sisters and brothers

A number of the new preschoolers have siblings in the primary school and their parents are happy their children will grow with the school.

Fatima Al-Berehi said she hoped son Abbas, who is almost four, liked Gulyangarri Public Preschool as much as his sister, Rukaya, enjoyed kindergarten this year.

“Rukaya just loves school; she’s made many friends and she’s learning so much. I just want Abbas to make friends, play and have fun,” she said.

Rahel Abebe said her four-year-old son Yadiel had been attending a private early childhood centre two days a week and was “so ready” for preschool. His sister, Amen, is in kindergarten at Gulyangarri Public School.

Mrs Abebe and husband Solomon came to Australia from Ethiopia 10 years ago and moved to Liverpool five years ago, attracted by its beauty and multiculturalism.

Armann Mohammed, aged four, is excited to be attending preschool for the first time. After two weeks of orientation, dad Arif Mohammed said Armann “loves his teachers” and the experience would help his transition to school in 2025.

Mr Mohammed, who came to Australia from India 18 years ago to study, said Armann’s two younger brothers will attend the preschool and school in the future.

“The teachers at the preschool are qualified and they are already giving us feedback about our kids,” Mr Mohammed said.

“The preschool is a government favour to the parents because it’s very hard to find early childhood options and most are private that charge fees.”

P to 6 public education

Gulyangarri Public School has 180 students and is expected to grow to 1200 students to meet demand in the high-growth Liverpool area. The name Gulyangarri was chosen because it means “children” in the Darug language.

Between the Census of 2016 and 2021, the number of families in Liverpool grew almost three-fold from 22,509 to 59,471 – and the number of children aged 0-4 from 6,881 to 16,664.

The school has students from most parts of the globe, including a significant number of refugee families. In the preschool, 88 per cent of the 55 enrolled children are from a language background other than English.

The preschool has capacity to enrol 80 children a week.

Principal Ian Tapuska said the public preschool would help form strong connections between children, families and school staff and foster a sense of belonging.

“The preschoolers are part of our public education family, and we look forward to supporting a positive transition to school for our youngest learners,” he said.

“As a new school our focus is on really getting to know each other, understanding our community and creating a really welcoming preschool to Year 6 community.”

One down, 99 to go

Mr Minns said it was “fantastic to reach this milestone” of opening the first of the 100 new public preschools he promised before the 2023 election.

“It’s not easy to build this type of infrastructure but it’s long lasting and it’s exactly what growing communities in western Sydney desperately need,” he said.

The $769 million investment will double the number of public preschools across the state by 2027 and provide 9000 more children with access to fee-free high-quality early education.

Tenders to build 85 more public preschools will be released by the end of the year, with seven already out to market for preschools in the Illawarra and Shoalhaven regions.

“No matter where you decide to raise your family in New South Wales, you should have access to quality, fee-free early education for your children – and that’s exactly what we’re working to deliver,” Mr Minns said. “One down, 99 to go!”