50 year celebration for Gloucester Pre School and Early Years Learning Centre tomorrow

Since its establishment in 1972, Gloucester Pre School and Early Years Learning Centre has been a mainstay of the community, providing a supportive and inclusive service and promoting children’s wellbeing through natural play experiences.

Tomorrow, the 50 year legacy of continual education and care will be celebrated, with anyone with a history of involvement with the centre invited to come and see the changes the facility has undergone in the intervening years.

“A lot of families who came here as children are now bringing their own children here, so there’s that intergenerational enrollment going on. And we’ve got quite a few staff who actually came here as children and now educators here as well,” Centre Director, Elizabeth Price said.

Because of its longevity, the preschool is now known as a “one stop shop” for those new to the community, often being the first place that families connect with other locals. 

“We have a really important role to connect people socially, because in rural areas they can feel isolated quite easily,” Ms Price said.

“That’s one of the good things about the preschool; being able to do that. And of course the importance of early learning in preparation for school, in developing their social and emotional skills as well.”

The preschool began as a single classroom, built on council land, built in the main by community volunteers. Since that time the Council donated the land to the preschool, and in 2012 the preschool received a grant from the NSW Early Childhood Directorate which was used to build a second preschool classroom.

Additional land was purchased in 2018, which was dedicated to a purpose built outdoor natural learning environment for the children, along with an additional two classrooms to provide long day care for children aged between birth and three years. 

The celebration will take place at the preschool tomorrow, from 2pm – 4pm. For local coverage of this story please see here.