Maitland Family Centre officially opens on Yorke Peninsula

A new centre has opened on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula, following a long push from central and southern Yorke Peninsula families. 

The Maitland Family Centre officially opened in late May, and has been met with strong enrolments, reflecting demand in the region. 

“The community needs it,” Assistant Director Dani Redman said. “There’s nothing below Kadina really, so people have been shouting out for it – not only for the education or care side of it, but also for children being involved with others their own age,” she told Yorke Peninsula Country Times.  

Ms Redman has a background both in health care and early childhood, and said children are settling well into the service. 

“All the children love being here and while it’s new for them, they’re enjoying it,” she said.

“Obviously some of the kids are getting used to being away from their parents, but there’s a lot of explorers; they love being outside.” 

Staff are also settling into the service, she continued. “We have some educators who are trainees coming in, some with over 10 years’ experience and obviously working with the children, we’re working on the rapport with them.”

Community Services Manager James Wagner said the centre would offer much more than just early learning.

“We’ve got that holistic support we’ll be offering to families and the community,” he said.

“We’re still doing research about what that looks like, identifying community needs.”

One example is offering first aid training in the Yorke Peninsula to avoid people needing to drive to Adelaide.

“We know there are needs in this community and people could benefit from that additional support and we are looking forward to doing it,” Mr Wagner said. 

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