Lord Howe Island could soon have its first ever community pre-school thanks to a determined group of parents and a $302,277 Community Services grant.

Independent Member for Port Macquarie, Peter Besseling, said the funding, allocated under the Pre-school Growth Initiative, would fund upgrades to the Anglican Church Hall to allow a pre-school to operate three days a week.

"The campaign for a local community pre-school required a lot of hard work and involved negotiations with several ministerial departments, but the end result is testimony to the tenacity of island residents, in particular Fiona Roberts," Mr Besseling said.

"Initially, pre-school services were only possible through a distance education curriculum out of Wagga, but the Lord Howe Island Community Pre-school Association remained resolute in its bid to give youngsters on Lord Howe the same early childhood education opportunities that families on the mainland take for granted.

"Congratulations also go to Fleur, Julie and Rebecca at Port Macquarie Community Pre-school who have offered to help establish the Lord Howe Island pre-school.

"This has been a challenging process, but I'm looking forward to visiting the pre-school once the final steps – incorporation, DA and licence – have been resolved,"
Mr Besseling said.

"An inaugural committee has been established and I wish President Rachael McFadyen and the rest of the committee all the very best for the future success of the pre-school."