Jan Juc Pre School staying strong after 40 years

THE Jan Juc Preschool Centre has been an educational pillar of the Surf Coast Shire for more than 40 years and it continues to provide amazing programs for children thanks to its passionate team of teachers and coeducators at the centre.

The centre has a play-based, nature-inspired curriculum with a strong focus on sustainable practice, community engagement and embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture into their practice.

There have been numerous changes to the Jan Juc Preschool over the years. The preschool itself originally started with just a single room but has since expanded its capacity to three rooms.

It was also previously managed by a Committee of Management, made up of parents who willingly gave up their time to do so.

Five years ago, the preschool moved under the umbrella of the Surf Coast Shire council who now assumes this role. Lead teacher at the Jan Juc Preschool, Sue Gout, says they have developed an ongoing strong and positive working relationship with the shire.

“Nevertheless, parents do remain a very important part of our centre,” Ms Gout said.

“We encourage family involvement and we have a very motivated Parent Advisory Group who are so valuable to the smooth running of our preschool.”

Ms Gout said having three rooms means the centre can offer a wide variety of session times for families for both the four-year-old program and the three-year-old program.

“Children from ages three to sixyears-old attend our centre in either our three-year-old program or our four-year-old program,” she said.

“Both these programs now have government funding and this makes them more accessible to families.

“We have a room specifically set up for our ever growing three-yearold program and we are wheelchair accessible.”

Many of the parents who send their children to Jan Juc Preschool appreciate the close-knit service that is facilitated at the centre.

Emily Torney is a mother of three children, with two of them already attending the preschool and the third set to join soon.

“The kinder has a great community of parents and the teachers and educators are amazing,” Ms Torney said.

“The location is beautiful within the bush of Jan Juc. My kids love their teachers, we have been going there for three years and they love going there every day.”

The centre provides a play-based learning program for children to develop skills so necessary for not just school readiness, but readiness for life in general. The staff are always very happy to answer any questions you may have, or give you more information. Their phone number is 5261 2643.

To enrol in the centre please go to the Surf Coast Shire council’s website: surfcoast.vic.gov.au and search ‘kinder’, or alternatively phone council on 5261 0600.