New preschool service fills regional gap at Wallabadah

Wallabadah is the latest rural community to benefit as Ooranga Family Mobile Resource Unit (FMRU) continues in its mission to bridge early childhood education gaps across the North West. A new mobile preschool service opened last week at the Wallabadah Hall with 20 licensed places, providing local and high-quality early childhood education for children aged 3-5 years.

“We are thrilled to be welcoming preschoolers at Wallabadah this year,” said Leanne Pryor, Director at Ooranga FMRU. 

“We have made the strategic decision to operate on Thursdays and Fridays, to ease the burden on existing early childhood services in Quirindi, Werris Creek and Willow Tree. Wallabadah Preschool is an important piece of the puzzle for the Liverpool Plains community, allowing rural kids to get off waitlists and access quality education that is close to home.” 

Wallabadah Preschool will be the only dedicated early childhood education provider operating in Wallabadah itself and will complement Ooranga’s current playgroup service which operates fortnightly on Tuesdays at 10am. 

“We are continuing to see demand for early childhood education boom across the North West and as a result, Wallabadah is the third mobile preschool opened by Ooranga in less than 12 months,” said Ooranga FMRU Committee President, Georgina Simson. 

“As always, we have been considered in our approach at Wallabadah; utilisation of the Wallabadah Hall means that we’ve got access to more licensed placements, which is important both for the community in terms of access and for the preschool’s viability.”

As a not-for-profit organisation, Ooranga has been delivering early childhood services for 46 years. 

“Our focus is on supporting rural and remote communities where no other early childhood providers exist, ensuring that kids in the North West receive the same educational opportunities as their city cousins,” said Ms Simson. 

Wallabadah Preschool is now open and accepting enrolments for immediate start. It is Ooranga’s fourth service to open in the Liverpool Plains LGA, and the service’s ninth early childhood service across the Liverpool Plains, Gunnedah, Tamworth and Narrabri Local Government Areas.

For more information on Ooranga’s services or to enrol, visit www.ooranga.com.au.

The full list of approved programs is available on the Department of Education website.

Read the full information here.