STAFF at Muswellbrook Pre-school Kindergarten (MPK) will have a good reason to pat themselves on the back today, following a highly-positive visit from MLC Sarah Mitchell on Monday.
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The minister for Early Childhood Education, minister for Aboriginal Affairs, and assistant minister for Education was there to see what the school had done with their government grant – and was not disappointed.
The educational institution recently received two sums of money from the Department of Education and Communication — one for $15,000 and the next for $23,000 — and have put it to good use.
They utilised the first set of funding, dubbed the Equality Learning Environment grant, to improve safety by building a fence as well as purchase bikes, and the second lot, the Drought Relief grant, to buy artificial turf and drought resistant plants.
The turf was used as part of their new playground, which received many plaudits from the minister, who even stated she wished her preschool had similar facilities when she was younger.
Flanked by Upper Hunter MP Michael Johnsen, she also took time to look at the feature wall in the play area, which is made up of dozens of different designs, and said it was an incredible piece of architecture.
“I’m very impressed, I think they’ve done a lot,” Ms Mitchell said.
“So, full credit to the staff and the families.
“I think it’s the best playground upgrade I’ve seen.
“And, I visit a lot of pre-schools.
“I think the innovative nature of what they want to do here is exciting and it’s great for the children so it’s a win-win.”
The director of MPK, Kelly Constable, said the grant was extremely helpful in upgrading and modernising their play area.
“Without money like this, programs can’t run at community-based pre-schools so we’re very fortunate and very lucky,” she said.
There will be a further round of funds coming, with the government pledging another $11,770 to help MPK build a “sensory path”.