Giving youngsters the best start

CHARLEMONT Ward is home to the fastest-growing suburbs in Geelong, so it’s little wonder the proportion of toddlers living here is nearly double the regional average.

In Armstrong Creek and Mount Duneed, babies and preschoolers make up more than 10 per cent of the population, compared to 5.7 per cent across Greater Geelong.

It seems barely a week goes by without me meeting a new bub in my street!

And another 410 children four years old and under will call our part of the world home in 2026, according to population forecasts.

It’s crucial we give these youngsters the best start in life possible and support their parents in raising the next generation.

Which is why I was thrilled to visit not one but two new kindergartens in Armstrong Creek with state representatives yesterday to celebrate their opening.

Operated by not-for-profit organisation KU Children’s Services, these two kindergartens have provided high-quality, play-based early learning and care for local kids since the beginning of term one.

The first kindergarten, at Biyala Community Hub, was fast-tracked by three years through a $4.2 million Building Blocks Capacity – Modular Grant from the Victorian Government.

The City of Greater Geelong made a co-contribution of $3.5 million towards the hub, which was built off-site at a Moolap factory before being transported and reassembled in its current home.

This was a fantastic outcome for the local community, with the hub featuring a multi-purpose community room and allied health consult suites and supporting 99 kindergarten places.

The second kindergarten, just down the road on the Biyala Primary School grounds, supports up to 66 places for local kids.

Having both centres either near or at Biyala Primary School simplifies drop-offs and pick-ups and supports a smooth transition from kindergarten to primary school.

The same is true for two other new kindergartens in Charlemont Ward, Marshalltown Road Kindergarten (66 places) and Oberon Kindergarten (99 places), which are located near Grovedale Primary School and Oberon Primary School respectively.

These kindergartens offer free sessional programs for three- and four-year-old children operated by leading not-for-profit early learning provider, Gowrie Victoria.

We’re proud to work collaboratively with KU Children’s Services and Gowrie Victoria, and these four kindergartens have further strengthened our region’s early years services.

Meanwhile, across our municipality, our Family Services team of nearly 450 staff educates and cares for more than 1,300 children.

The team supports children during the most fundamental stage of their development – from birth until they head off to school.

Across 11 child and family centres, we offer kindergarten, playgroup, long day care, occasional care, maternal and child health support and individual child and family services, as well as new parent groups, a sleep and settling program and a feeding support service.

I thank our staff for their passion, commitment and professionalism in enriching the lives of some of our youngest residents.

As our community grows, so too does our responsibility to nurture and support the children who will one day lead it.

Together we are giving our littlest locals the strongest possible start, ensuring that the future of Armstrong Creek, Mount Duneed and the wider Geelong region is as vibrant and full of potential as the children who call it home.

For more information on our kindergarten and early childhood services, head to geelongaustralia.com.au/kindergarten or geelongaustralia.com.au/childcare. For expressions of interest for the Biyala kindergartens, head to ku.com.au

Cr Emma Sinclair

Charlemont Ward,

City of Greater Geelong