Coolah Preschool Kindergarten wins $4,487 grant to support occupational therapy

Children in Coolah will have access to important occupational therapy equipment thanks to a $4,487 Federal Government grant for Coolah Preschool Kindergarten, local MP Mark Coulton has announced.

The funding has been sourced under Round 6 of the Coalition Government’s Stronger Communities Programme (SCP) and will be used to purchase a suspension frame and crash mats for the therapy space which is known as the Engine Room. 

“The Engine Room is a multi-purpose sensory space connected to the preschool, which will be a valuable asset for the entire Coolah community when it opens next year,” Mr Coulton said. 

Coolah Preschool Director Kirsty Arnott said the Engine Room will not only benefit local preschoolers, but will help attract visiting therapists to Coolah so that families won’t have to travel out of town to access these services.

“If you build it, they will come,” Mrs Arnott said.

“We wanted to set up a space that was purpose built to provide therapeutic care for preschoolers with additional needs, also enabling the delivery of therapy services to the wider community, removing the barriers of accessing treatment due to the cost and distance of travel.”

The space will be used by preschool children, visiting therapists and as a meeting place for the community.

The SCP provides each electorate with $150,000 to fund small capital projects. An additional $28.2 million was provided in the 2021-22 Budget to extend the SCP to a seventh round, which has just closed. More information about the SCP is available here.  

Photo caption: Federal Member for Parkes Mark Coulton pictured with Coolah Preschool Kindergarten administration officer Fiona Morse, committee secretary Rebecca Cavanagh, director Kirsty Arnott and three-year-old Eloise Cavanagh, who will start preschool next year.