New Kerang kindergarten facilities completed

Published on 28 January 2022

Children undertaking three and four-year-old kindergarten programs at Kerang’s Gannawarra Shire Children’s Centre will benefit from new facilities from next week.

The extension of the Murray Street facility, which began in mid-2021, has been completed in time for the start of the 2022 education year, commencing on Monday.

“The start of the kindergarten year is an exciting time for children and their families, with the completion of the extension of the Gannawarra’s largest child and early education facility adding to this excitement,” Council Chief Executive Officer, Tom O’Reilly said.

“The completion of this extension will provide larger facilities for our four-year-old kindergarten educators, as well as fulfilling the State Government’s goal of providing three-year-old kindergarten to all children living in the Gannawarra.”

Work completed so far has increased the number of rooms within the centre to five, with the centre now featuring a commercial grade kitchen.

“Once fully operational, the Gannawarra Shire Children’s Centre will be able to provide in-house cooked meals for children attending long-day care, which will benefit families who rely on this important day care service,” Mr O’Reilly said.

“The extension has also increased the capacity of long-day care places within the Centre from 95 to 133, which will benefit more families now and into the future.”

Work is continuing on-site, with improvements occurring to the centre’s Maternal and Child Health hub, including the creation of a third Maternal and Child Health consultation room.

“Alternative arrangements for Maternal and Child Health and childhood immunisation appointments remain in place at this time, with details confirmed when bookings are made,” Mr O’Reilly said.

“Council thanks families for their understanding whilst these works are occurring and look forward to celebrating the completion of this important project at a later date.”

The Gannawarra Shire Children’s Centre extension is supported by a $600,000 contribution from the State Government’s Victorian Schools Building Authority.