New preschool for Cessnock thanks to significant funding boost from NSW Government

Cessnock Multipurpose Children’s Centre Ltd (CMCC) has been given $3,143,747 from the New South Wales Government’s Major Works Capital Fund to build a facility on land it currently owns at the corner of Wollombi Road and Lochinvar Street in Bellbird Heights. 

Once the new build is completed, an additional 44 licensed places for preschool children in the region will be available, continuing the good works of CMCC, a community-based not-for-profit organisation which has been operating for six decades in the Cessnock electorate.

Cessnock Multipurpose Children’s Centre Chair Barbara Rodham welcomed the news, saying she is “thrilled” by the grant.

“We’ve been providing quality education and care to the families of Cessnock for more than 60 years, so to be given the funds to build a purpose-built pre-school on our land at Bellbird Heights is very exciting,” she shared with Newcastle Weekly.

Cessnock is classified as a low socio-economic region, and rated 89 out of 93 state electorates for “people with the highest level of school completed being Year 12”.

These statistics are why the latest funding, from the Start Strong Capital Works Grants Program, “brought a smile” to Cessnock MP Clayton Barr’s face.

“For our children to thrive, we need to invest in education, starting at very early childhood 0-to-five years,” he said.

“That’s when most of the really important and fundamental brain development takes place.The importance of early childhood education cannot be underestimated…it provides the foundation of education as they progress throughout their school careers.

To access the original coverage of this story, please see here.