Revamped Kinder Delights Violet Town Kids
Renovation works valued at $250,000 will be unveiled next week at the Violet Town Kindergarten.
The upgrade has involved re-design and extension to the Kindergarten, allowing the facility to become an integrated Early Childhood Centre offering a broader range of services and programs to meet the growing needs of Violet Town and district families.
Funding of $250,000 received by Strathbogie Shire Council from the State Government's Capital Funding for Children's Centres Program (managed by Department of Human Services).
"The additional space now enables the Violet Town Kindergarten to truly become an integrated shire facility, offering new services and activities for participants and their families like parenting information sessions, school holiday activity programs, health promotion sessions, "kinder gym", counseling and fundraising events," Strathbogie Shire Councilor, Robyn Machin said this week.
"The Violet Town Community House and the Hume Corridor Community Health Outreach Service are also keen to collaborate with the Kindergarten to provide a broader range of services to the community," Cr Machin added.
The revamp is the end result of extensive consultation undertaken by council with the community, plus kindergarten staff and volunteers. A survey of current and prospective families was also conducted to determine their requirements.
"The survey results indicated overwhelming support for provision of an increased range of programs and services," Cr Machin said
"Many parents were frustrated by their inability to access sufficient child care in their own home town to enable them to work, study, attend appointments, etc. with many forced to abandon these activities or place their child/children in care outside of the town, resulting in increased travelling time and expense.
Now the centre provides a hub for community early childhood activity and increases the capacity of participants to sustain themselves, the pre-school community and the broader community through the development of networks, enhancement of skills and increase involvement in community activities," she said.
With a new-found capacity, the kindergarten can now for new partnerships to expand its services to meet demands.
"The new facilities provide an easy transition for parents and children moving between different types of care as required, instead of having to obtain care or access services from various locations, often in neighboring locations," Cr Machin said.
For more information: Robyn Saunders on 0419 137 067 - November 23, 2007
For details/interview call the Editor on (03) 5798 1858