CLIPPER Road Children’s Centre’s new $100,000 playground area has been officially opened.
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Students, staff, parents, community members and a number of special guests gathered to celebrate the official opening.
The new playground includes an outback style creek bed area, complete with a recyclable water feature, a meeting area with stunning Aboriginal totems made by local community members, a stage, bike track, a refurbished sandpit complete with a kitchen area and an extension to the baby playground area.
The upgrade has been funded by Illawarra Area Child Care (IACC), the centre’s governing body which has 11 centres in the Illawarra and South Coast.
IACC CEO Jan Langtry said the work took around 12 weeks to complete.
“We are a not for profit organisation and funds from students’ fees goes back into the service, to provide upgraded facilities,” she said.
“There are so many wonderful new spaces the children can utilise and learn in.
“The staff did a fantastic job in ensuring the centre continued to operate and children were still provided with valuable educational opportunities despite the work going on.”
Ms Langtry said in the last 12 months there had been considerable improvements at the Nowra centre.
“As well as upgrading the playground, we have completely refurbished the inside of the centre,” she said.
“We are also employing a child and family practitioner, a new service which supports the children, families and educators.
“The aim is to support the staff, children and families and connect them to services they may need and strengthen links with other services within the community.”
Clipper Road Children’s Centre can cater for 40 children from birth to five years and as of July will extend its hours from 7am to 6pm to meet community demands.