2026 Early Education Regeneration Project
Project goals: to develop an expanded kindergarten service on the church land currently occupied by the kinder, former church, and tennis courts, that will:
- increase the available number of free kinder placements
- offer off-street parking for kinder drop-offs and pick-ups
- fully comply with accessibility requirements
- meet required new building codes
- be self-sustaining in terms of building maintenance
- offer a range of services to meet community needs
- be committed to long-term provision of services (up to 45 years)
History: The Alexander Thomson Pre-school was built and established in 1959 by the former Belmont Presbyterian Church (now Belmont Uniting Church). For around 30 years, the congregation directly ran and managed the kinder. Around 1992-93, management of the kinder was transferred to the Geelong Kindergarten Association, with the building and grounds being leased from the Church under a peppercorn-rent arrangement. Around 2018 the Uniting Church in Australia community services agency Uniting took over the management of the kinder from the Geelong Kindergarten Association.
The present: In 2021 the Belmont Uniting Church became aware that the now 65-year-old kinder building was nearing the end of its useful life, and that it was no longer feasible to extend its life with only minor repairs.
During 2022 and 2023 the congregation began exploring options for the use of the church-owned land currently occupied by the former church and the tennis courts. One strong option identified was the possibility of making this larger site available for use as a kinder/early education centre, including off-street parking to support growing community need for more availability of kindergarten placements.
Arrangements continue to ensure that those children enrolled in the 3-year-old program in 2024 can complete their 4-year-old program in 2025.
The future: The Belmont Uniting Church is engaging expressions of interest from early childhood services to redevelop the kindergarten to create a facility that will provide more free kinder placements than are currently available. The new building must be self-sustaining in the mission of the church to create a long-term provision of early education services.
The proposal is consistent with the Department of Education and Training aim of increasing the availability of free kinder placements. The City of Greater Geelong has also been advised of the proposal.
Proposed community information sessions: The Belmont Uniting Church will offer information sessions about the proposed redevelopment for the new kindergarten. The date of these sessions will be posted on the Belmont Uniting Church website. There will be two information sessions, one daytime and one evening, to accommodate families. If you would like to attend one of these information sessions, we welcome your registration by emailing the Belmont Uniting Church at: buc8@bigpond.com
All enquiries may be directed to Belmont Uniting Church: buc8@bigpond.com
Community update newsletter - July 2024: Belmont Uniting Church - Community Update July 2024