Gowrie opens new rooms across two services

The new rooms at our Broadmeadows Valley and Carlton North services are now open to families.

For nearly twelve months, children, families and team members eagerly watched as dump trucks, excavators, bulldozers and dozens of tradesmen move onsite to build two new kindergarten rooms at Gowrie Broadmeadows Valley.

The renovation includes two new large kindergarten rooms filled with natural light, a split system and hygiene amenities, as well as new meeting rooms for team members and seating areas throughout the halls. A new beautifully landscaped outdoor space has also been constructed, with trees and rocks that were removed during the process being repurposed into the outdoor space and within the program.

‘This is a great addition to Gowrie Broadmeadows Valley’s service as we welcome children into our 2 new rooms totalling 66 places each day into our community,’ says Michelle, Early Learning Manager. ‘This means that we have doubled the capacity for children to have access to free and/or low-cost kindergarten every day.’

Meanwhile, at Carlton North, two new rooms have recently opened to families. The expansion includes two classrooms, community space, office space for educators, natural light and an upgrade to our outdoor space including verandahs.

Early Learning Manager at Carlton North, Hannah, shares her delight at the opening of the new rooms. “The expansion of the new rooms at Carlton North means we can meet the growing needs of the local community by providing more spaces for children to access high quality early education,” she says. “Our Carlton North service is full of so much rich history, being the first Gowrie service that Lady Gowrie opened in 1939, and the expansion of the new rooms means we can be proud of our history and excited for the future.”

During the construction, little windows were displayed in the fences around the construction site so that the children could watch the progress as it happens.

We asked some of the children what they like about visiting the new rooms. “The room is good because my brother is coming and I can visit him and play with him,” said Leo. Meanwhile, Lucas says he can play with the Hot Wheels, and Ivy said that she likes the babies (dolls), especially the girl ones that she will dress up.

Both constructions projects were supported by the Victorian Department of Education’s ‘Best Start, Best Life’ reforms, which provides free kindergarten to all 3- and 4-year-old Victorian children, regardless of visa status. At Broadmeadows Valley, the opening of the two new rooms will ease the financial barriers for some families who have not previously been able to enrol their children. This initiative will now allow their children to participate in free kindergarten up to 15 hours per week.