By Cameron Weston
THE push to rejuvenate Laverton received a major boost last week with the official opening of the $2.3 million Laverton Children’s Centre.
The Minister for Children, Lisa Neville, was on hand to cut the ribbon, opening a facility that it is hoped will fill a gap in child services in the area.
Manager Kate Kirner said the centre would be run in partnership with the Laverton Community Centre and Hobsons Bay City Council, and would offer a range of services including long day care, kindergarten programs, occasional care, play groups, consulting rooms and a toy library under one roof.
Ms Kirner said the centre was conceived as a “Children’s Hub”, combining children’s services from birth to about five years old, a first for the Western suburbs after similar centres were opened in Glen Waverley and the City of Hume.
She said that as well as providing vital services to children and young families, the new centre would also become part of the glue that held the community together.
“It means that families can remain in the community, which is really important,” Ms Kirner said.
“They don’t have to travel outside their own community to access quality services and we know that if we start in early childhood for Laverton, it’s a great start for children and the community.
“If you start in the early years, people stay in the community. Now people can get a good start in their own backyard.”
Kelly Fogarty, from Altona Meadows, enrolled her daughter Emelda at Laverton as soon as she heard about the new centre, and she was the first child through the doors.
Ms Fogarty visits the centre three days a week, and as a mother who never stopped working, the new facility has already become a valuable resource.
She said having the extra services close to home gave her more options, and she planned to use the centre throughout her daughter’s early years. And, most importantly, Emelda loves the place.
“I was quite anxious about sending her to child care but taking her there every morning, she gets really excited.
“I walk through the door with her and her legs and arms go everywhere. She gets so excited,” Ms Fogarty said.
Winner … Laverton Children’s
Centre’s childcare educator Erin Cullen, left, and centre co-ordinator Rosey Martin, with, left to right, Nicholas, Jayden, Alyssa and Surya.
Picture: LENWILLIAMS.
