After waiting years, an Albury childcare centre is excited to purchase a bus to help vulnerable families access the service, after receiving $100,000 of federal government funding.
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Kiddiewinks Early Learning and Care Centre was one of more than 640 childcare providers around the country to receive part of $100 million available through the Community Child Care Fund program.
Centre manager Lisa Wiltshire said the bus would transport children to and from the service so they could access early learning.
"Some families obviously don't have reliable transport or transport at all," she said.
"So we're able to support them in transporting the children.
"It'll open up availability for more families that do have barriers in accessing early learning and preschool, so I think it's just a great thing for everyone and a lot of people can benefit from it."
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Ms Wiltshire said the centre's owner had been wanting to purchase a bus for the service, from when she first took it on six years ago.
"It's always been a goal of hers, to get transport for the centre to support those families accessing our service," she said.
"The educators were extremely excited, because they are really keen to get out and about in the community and obviously support families in coming to the service as well."
Ms Wiltshire said the centre had "made a huge turn around" to be rated as 'exceeding' National Quality Standards earlier this year, after previously being rated as 'working towards' them.
Ms Wiltshire said the bus would carry the centre's 39 children to different activities within the community.
"We run a grand-friends program with an aged care facility, so each fortnight we go into the aged care facility," she said.
"The bus will be used for transport for that program and then just other extracurricular activities, like going to the library, going bushwalking, that sort of stuff."
The Community Child Care Fund was designed to improve access to care and increase workforce participation, particularly in regional and remote communities.
Member for Farrer Sussan Ley yesterday announced the Albury Family Day Care would also receive $147,000 from the fund.
"This funding is good for working families and ultimately for each community, by allowing more local parents the opportunity to get back into work or take on additional hours if they choose," she said.
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