Nearly 100 new kindergarten and childcare spots will become available when an early learning centre opens at the Deakin University campus in 2028.
What’s going on: The state government said the 130-place centre will replace Warrnambool City Council’s 35-place Sherwood Park Early Learning Centre and provide long day care and three- and four-year-old kindergarten programs.
Training alongside care: The centre will provide training and observation spaces for students at Deakin and South West TAFE studying early childhood education.
Head of Deakin’s School of Education, Professor Damian Blake, said the university is launching its new Bachelor of Early Childhood Education course to help address teacher shortages in the region.
“Deakin early childhood education students complete at least 80 days of professional placements … so having a co-located facility gives our students a ‘living classroom’ to get hands-on learning from experienced local early childhood teachers,” he said in a statement.