Wednesday, 30 August 2023

Nara Community Early Learning Centre

Nathan LAMBERT (Preston) (19:07): (324) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Early Childhood and Pre-Prep, and the action I seek is for the minister to visit the Nara Community Early Learning Centre to hear about some improvements they hope to make to their kindergarten and long day care service. Nara is a not-for-profit, community-focused centre that operates from the Melbourne Polytechnic campus on St Georges Road, just near Preston Market, and on an average day it cares for and educates over 60 children, from six-month-old babies to kindergarten children who are preparing to transition to school. The centre is very highly regarded locally and has achieved an ‘exceeding national quality standard’ rating. They have 22 staff there, more than half of whom have worked there for over a decade. I think that speaks volumes to the very positive culture developed by longstanding centre director Gina Lousa.

Unfortunately the centre is quite cramped in terms of its internal space, and the staffroom in particular is very small. It has no windows, and the Joeys Room for the under-twos does need some refurbishment. The team there have drawn up some plans for an extension to the building. They had done some previous extensions there that provided more space for the children, but of course an early learning centre is also a workplace. I think it is very much to their credit that this particular extension will provide staff with the space that they need and deserve for planning, meetings and taking breaks and so forth, and of course in supporting the staff and supporting their retention it will ultimately enable them to increase the number of kindergarten places they provide.

I am sure the minister, if she does get down there, will enjoy chatting to Gina, Noshin, Lauren, Christine and the whole team. They have a lot of great thoughts about this government’s Best Start, Best Life reforms – very supportive thoughts, I should add – but of course various ideas and comments that they want to contribute based on their many years of collective experience.

Turning to the minister’s other portfolio, I am sure she will also enjoy chatting to Sonol there, who does Nara’s sustainability work. Sonol is very passionate – she was actually out planting some native ground cover with us the other day on Cheddar Road along with Christine Banks and some other community members – and she might even take the chance to talk to the minister about some further support for revegetation efforts. But it is in the minister’s capacity as Minister for Early Childhood and Pre-Prep that we ask her to visit Nara, and we thank her for her consideration.