Early Childcare Centre For The Point?

Murrumbidgee Council Mayor, Ruth McRae has called on residents of Darlington Point to get involved in the Early Childcare Centre project and help make the proposal a reality.

Mayor McRae said to capture interest in the project, Council will host a community meeting on Tuesday, December 6 at 6 pm at the Darlington Point Sports Club.

“At the meeting, we will give an update on the project and also form a committee to pursue the project,” Mayor McRae said.

“We know there’s a lot of interest and demand for the facility, so we’re calling on the community to support the project and push it along.

“We’ve seen how successful projects like this can be with the state of the art Jerilderie Early Learning Centre now operating and we’d like to see the same happen in both Darlington Point and Coleambally.”

The community meeting follows the Feasibility Study into the demand for local childcare in Darlignton Point, conducted by Julia Ham from ECQ Services on behalf of Council in March this year.

In the report, it stated there was a need and want for local childcare catering for children under the ages of three years and a desire for five day a week early education and care.

Included in the investigations was a community survey, with almost 100 per cent of respondents stating theyw ould use childcare services if available in Darlington Point, with long day care and before/after school care being the preferred options.

Preschool and family day care were also popular choices.

The report listed numerous economic benefits from an early childcare centre, including supporting and growing the local workforce and job opportunities, direct employment and reducing travel and fuel costs for families.

Families currently have access to two days per week at the Darlington Point Preschool, a mobile service operated by the Riverina Children’s Activity Van.

Other than that they must travel to neighbouring towns or larger centres for childcare.

Coleambally has also been surveyed about the demand for childcare services and is in the process of forming a committee to pursue the concept there.

• Topics:

• Childcare
• Living and Lifestyle