WHILE the subject may have gone a little quiet over the past few months, Gannawarra Shire Council continues to advocate for support to establish an early childhood education and care centre in Cohuna.
Council’s Exploring Care and Education in Cohuna final report, based off community surveys completed a year ago, was released in February.
A key finding from the report found the centre, proposed to be created at Cohuna Consolidated School, should ensure children in the area were able to access three-year-old kindergarten and the new pre-Prep program, set to replace the current four-year-old kindergarten structure in 2025.
Since the release of the report, Gannawarra Shire Council had been working with the Victorian Department of Education and the Victorian Schools Building Authority to update the municipality’s Kindergarten Infrastructure and Services Plan.
“The (plan) is an important document, as it outlines the current demand for funded kindergarten in the area, forecast future demand for these services and expectations for how this demand will be accommodated for,” council chief executive Geoff Rollinson said.
“The Gannawarra Urban Growth Strategy, which was recently adopted by council, identifies that the Gannawarra will experience population growth during the next two decades.
“A new early learning centre at Cohuna is critical to catering for this growth, which is something we continue to raise with the State Government.”
Mr Rollinson said the council was also working to prepare for the increase in staff required to care for children attending the centre, updating their Workforce Strategy with requirements to address the demand for early childhood educators.
Cohuna mum Tenielle Edge, who co-ordinated a community-led campaign for improving childcare availability in her town, welcomed the council’s ongoing advocacy for the project.
“I couldn’t be happier with the work Gannawarra Shire Council has undertaken to continue to see this project through,” Ms Edge said.
“It is a frustratingly slow process, however, everyone working on this project are doing all that they can and I feel that because of them, this project will come to life.
“I encourage our community to continue to support our project and to hang in there – we are so close.”
