Kinder at Heads full until 2014

MICHELLE HERBISON
BARWON Heads Pre-school will be unable to meet demand for enrolments until 2014, according to a committee member.
Barwon Heads Kindergarten Futures Committee’s Anissa Yttrup said the kinder’s “desperately needed” new building would be unavailable for the next two years.
City of Greater Geelong this week announced land next to tennis courts at Barwon Heads’ Village Park as the preferred site for the new kinder.
A $1 million State Government grant and $3 million from council will pay for the facility.
Ms Yttrup said the wait for the new building meant some families would be unable to secure places at three and four-year-old kinder in Barwon Heads.
A Federal Government increase in hours from 10 to 15 a week in 2013 would worsen the “unfair” shortage of places.
“At the moment we have absolutely no room to move,” Ms Yttrup said.
“We’ll have to roster in an inventive way, starting some groups at 8.15am and maybe running Saturday morning classes.”
Ms Yttrup said the kinder extended opening hours this year to accommodate two four-year-old groups.
But insufficient space was available for three-year-olds, she said.
A lack of alternative childcare in the town worsened the shortage.
Ms Yttrup said studies had shown that children who went to school without kinder were more likely to repeat prep.
“They don’t develop at the rate at which the teachers would expect them to,” she said.
“Teaching little things like sitting in a group, sharing and getting their lunches out become difficult for a teacher with 20 kids to handle.”
Ms Yttrup said the council-owned land in the park was unused.
“We have to see what the community response is but council, the State Government and the kinder futures committee all agree it’s the best site. Hopefully people realise the town desperately needs a new kinder and there’ll be no objections.”
Councillor Andy Richards said the new kinder would be double the size of the existing building on Clifford Pde.
The new building would also have maternal and child health services and a multipurpose room for playgroup and community activities, he said.
South Barwon MP Andrew Katos backed the village park site.
He said the Baillieu Government would hand over the $1million after the community had given feedback.