Children at Mill Park Heights Child Care Centre can look forward to a bigger play area and a new veggie patch, thanks to an $8050 grant from the state government.
The YMCA-run centre was among 87 kindergartens across the state notified on Wednesday that they will receive a share in $700,000 worth of grants designed to improve play areas and other facilities.
Northern Metropolitan Region MP Craig Ondarchie personally notified the centre last week that it had been successful in its application for a minor infrastructure grant.
YMCA Whittlesea’s children’s services and disability manager, Geny Davis, said she was ecstatic the grant had been approved.
“Our numbers have increased this year as we’ve just started four-year-old kinder,” she said.
She said the number of children at the kindergarten had risen from 49 last year to 65 at the beginning of this year.
Mr Ondarchie said the kindergarten would install a new fence to increase the play space to cater for long day care and its four-year-olds’ kindergarten program.
The centre can now also go ahead with plans to build and plant a vegetable patch and improve the landscaping.
“These are valuable projects that enhance the way families and children use and enjoy their local early-years services,” he said.
The announcement is in line with the state government’s commitment to provide $20 million as part of the children’s capital grants program.
Children and Early Childhood Development Minister Wendy Lovell said the capital grants program would deliver modern infrastructure to parts of the state where demand for early childhood education and care services is strongest.
