Childcare highlights school upgrade needs

The current Country Buddies Childcare and Kindergarten Centre service which is situated on Derry Drive caters for 119 children with the Goodstart Early Learning Child Care Centre on Telford Street being a 65-place centre.

In terms of the next stage of schooling, Yarrawonga College P-12 are in desperate need of funding to complete their stage two capital works with $18 million promised in October 2022 if the Liberal National Victorian Government had won the state government election. However as the opposition, this has unfortunately not transpired.

Member for Ovens Valley Tim McCurdy said that investment had to come now in order to stay ahead of enrolments.

“With a boom in childcare, Yarrawonga is only two or three years away from seeing those children enter primary school,” Mr McCurdy said.

“Investment into the long overdue stage two works at the P-12 College will ensure that the public school system is able to cope with the increased demands, as well as provide a high-quality learning environment.

“When it comes to investing in our children’s future, $18 million is a small ask that will reap significant rewards.”

Mr McCurdy has been advocating for the much-needed funds and is disappointed the Victorian Government has not provided the money required.

“I am extremely disappointed that the government don’t seem to know where Yarrawonga is,” Mr McCurdy said.

“I say to the Minister for Education (Natalie Hutchins), if not now, then when?”

Yarrawonga College P-12 Campus Principal Damien Keel said the college needs additional facilities as Yarrawonga has been identified as a town to run the ‘Kindergartens in Schools’ program by the Victorian School Building Authority in the past.

“There will be population growth. There are 2000+ residential houseblocks that will be built on in the coming years and according to the developer, these are selling faster than expected,” Mr Keel said.

“The college is working with the Department of Education on the next stage of capital works and we are very excited about and desperately require additional facilities.”

Yarrawonga College P-12 School Council President Carolyn O’Dwyer said that stage two is shovel ready with the land and underlying services in place while highlighting the adjacent Glanmire Park residential estate as an example of the community’s unprecedented growth and the subsequent pressure it places on local education.

“You only have to look out the back of the school at Glanmire Park. There is potentially hundreds of new families coming to town but just because we’re regional and not a marginal seat they are not interested that Yarrawonga is growing at quite a good rate and there is just not the money for the infrastructure behind that,” Mrs O’Dwyer said.

“It is extremely disappointing that the state government doesn’t value the students of Yarrawonga and surrounds enough to provide us with facilities that the children deserve.

“We just can’t get that political push across the line unfortunately.

“I have to reiterate that it doesn’t affect what happens inside the four walls, we still run a really good program and always have the welfare and educational pursuits of the students at the forefront. It would just be really nice for them to have appropriate facilities for that to happen.”

With several childcare centres providing between 250 and 300 spaces for young children and housing development also booming in Yarrawonga, Mulwala and surrounds leading to more families living in the area, Ms O’Dwyer said the school is in dire need for their proposed upgrades as the current buildings are nowhere near standard and simply can’t fit any more students.

“Yarrawonga College P-12 was identified in 2021as a school needing additional three-year-old facilities which went to further authorities but nothing happened,” Ms O’Dwyer said.

“We are certainly in a very positive position in terms of enrolments and programs and we know we are a priority within the education department, however they can prioritise as much as they like but if they can’t get the funding to finish existing re-development projects, it all becomes political unfortunately.

“That’s really disappointing that people are prepared to play politics with our children’s future.

“You can put a bandaid on things as much as you possibly can but our current buildings for the 7-12 area of the college are dilapidated, are nowhere near standard and simply can’t fit any more students.

“It is certainly not the environment for 21st century learning that our children should be entitled to.

“We have just been quite neglected with the lack of attention and funding that we are getting from our current government.”