Member for Cootamundra Steph Cooke visited Gumnut Grove Child Care Centre on Friday and found out how a $30,954 grant is making life easier for staff and children, as well as boosting the local economy.
A new installation of cupboards and lockers was provided by a Stronger Communities Fund grant as part of the Hilltops Council amalgamation funding.
“It was such fun to see how these little learners were using their new lockers in the classroom to store all their treasures in, along with their coats and bags,” Ms Cooke said.
“It’s so important that the children can have somewhere which they can know is their own space, and which makes organising the mornings easier.
“Forming positive habits is all part of the learning journey, so it’s wonderful to see that the staff at Gumnut can help the children get into some excellent routines and have some fun at the same time.
“The installation was done by local tradies who worked at weekends room by room so as not to disrupt the centre’s activities.
“This is what NSW Government funding is all about – making our communities better and giving a boost to local economies.”
Donna Reeves, a member of the Gumnut Grove staff, said the funding has made running the centre more efficient.
“A lot of the cupboards that we had were very old, because the centre is fairly old, so it’s great to have these new storage lockers for the kids,” Ms Reeves said.
“The lockers are in the room with the children, which makes it easier for them to get their hats or access their bags.
“We’ve got a heap of storage now, in our laundry and baby change room, and we’ve got new sinks and storage where we clean up craft activities.
“It’s definitely making things easier for staff, and it’s also improved things for when the children need to put things away.
“We used to have a locker room which often made it difficult to make sure children were not unattended, but now all the lockers are out in the open and we can see the children at all times.”
