New early childhood hub will support families in Merbein to thrive

A new $2.73 million integrated Generations Early Learning Centre located at Chaffey Aged Care was recently opened by Member for Northern Victoria, Mark Gepp.

The facility was funded through major grants provided as part of the Children’s Facilities Capital Grants and Building Blocks program, plus co-funding from Chaffey Aged Care Inc and the Federal Government.

The facility provides a total of 72 three- and four-year-old kinder places as well as a new early learning centre, alongside an aged-care residence, with the service providing care for children from six weeks to six years of age.

Generations Early Learning was constructed with sustainability in mind. The facility has a 106 kw solar array on the roof which meets all the energy needs of the centre and exports additional energy to support Chaffey Aged Care.

The centre integrates its program with the aged care home and allows for interactions between the aged care residents and the children. This not only provides new experiences to the children but also improves the health and wellbeing of the aged residents.

GSD Architects was appointed to design the project, and King Construction Group was contracted to build the project which was completed in November 2020.

 “We know the positive benefits of intergenerational relationships – they build social, communication and emotional skills for children, and improve the health and wellbeing of elderly residents,” Mr Gepp said.

More information about the project is available on the Generations website, here.