Delays opening Weymouth Preschool concerns parents

 A story about an early childhood centre in Weymouth with no children featured on Campbell Live last night.

 

Every morning Sango walks four of her children to Weymouth primary school

The two older ones go to the primary school, and it would be very convenient if she could drop the two younger ones off at the preschool that's been built right on the school grounds.

The preschool was finished last October - and has sat empty ever since - with weeds where the playground should be, and a sign with no name.

Last year Sango filled in a questionnaire, telling the school she would enrol her one and four year olds as soon as it was open.

"[It's a] perfect location, it's in the school grounds, primary school grounds, we're just waiting to find out when we can take our children," she said.

"It's the only preschool in the entire Weymouth area, that's why it was so perfect and it's smack bang in the middle of the community."

And she's not the only one who thought so.

Tania and her daughter Kinese appeared in the Manakau Courier paper in July 2009 when the new preschool was announced.

At the time, the Education Minister promised work to start within three months of that date.

"We were all excited when they announced it, and then just to have a building just sitting there without any kids, you know, they're missing out," Tania said.

Her daughter was 14 months old then - and now she's three, and still hasn't had any pre-school education.

"It's sad and frustrating for the kids, and it's not just her - there's alot of kids in the area who are waiting to go to the school who have to wait."

Tania didn't enrol Kinese elsewhere because, like Sango, she was waiting for the Weymouth preschool to open

And there are waiting lists at other schools.

In the meantime Tania has been doing her best to teach her child at home.

"Each time we go drop the kids off to school and pick them up, we're like "that's your school and you're going to be going to school”, and she's all excited, but to hear that it's going to be delayed for no reason, we don't even know the specific reason for the delay, what do you tell your kids?"

The brand new centre cost nearly a million dollars to build and has been sitting perfectly finished but empty for more than six months. They don't even know who's going to run it yet, the school has applied to manage it, but has to go through a tender process which could take at least another couple of months.

Campbell Live asked the Ministry of Education what's going on with the Weymouth pre-school.

In a statement today, they said the centre was due to open at the end of last year - but was delayed because of planning and construction issues.

Hang on – planning and construction? The building was completed months ago.

Opposition MP Sue Moroney said the building should have been buzzing with the noise of children by now

"There's been no communication between the government and the community, so all the community can see is a brand new custom built building sitting empty, while their children sit at home and they don't know why."

And the ministry itself is quoted as saying there was a good reason to build it here

Participation in early childhood in Weymouth east is around 80 percent - the ministry describes that as "significantly lower than the national average of 95 percent".

In Sango's household mornings have to be very organised.

There are six children, that's six breakfasts, six lunches every day.

The two youngest could be heading out with their sisters. Instead they spend the day at home with their Grandad while Mum goes to work fulltime

"I never would have expected at all for my father to be a stay at home Dad, or stay at home Grandpa, but unfortunately that's what happens when life throws you a little curve ball," she said.

Sue Moroney can't understand why the tender process to manage the centre has been delayed.

"They've notified those that have put forward a tender that they have cancelled it and that it won't be starting again until June, but they haven't put any reason forward as to why they've postponed it yet again," she said.

The parents Campbell Live have spoken to are worried the delay will end up harming their educational development.

"It's a shame, they miss out and then what are our options? Enrol them in another preschool? That takes another four to six months to be on another waiting list," Tania said.

"Whoever has the power to open it, we would like it open, as soon as possible, tomorrow would be great and then we can continue on and do whatever it is we're meant to do as parents," Sango said.

"At the end it's the children, my children and all the other children in this area that are really missing out."

So far they've been given no explanation as to what the hold-up is, but a short time ago the ministry told Campbell Live the centre will be operational by August