Parents petition Geelong council amid Alexander Thomson Uniting Kindergarten closure

Angry Belmont parents are asking Geelong council for a new kindergarten, deeming a 12-month battle with the church behind a program that is set to close a “lost cause”.

Parents protesting at plans to close Alexander Thomson Belmont Kinder. The Kinder has been running for about 50 years and seen generations pass through its doors. Picture: Alan Barber

Angry Belmont parents are petitioning council for a new free kinder after a church decided to close their kids’ current program.

The Belmont Uniting Church congregation will close the free sessional kindergarten Alexander Thomson Uniting Kindergarten from December 2025, which could be replaced with a paid daycare.

Geelong council’s executive director city life Anthony Basford said the city believed an additional kindergarten in Belmont was essential.

Alexander Thomson Kindergarten Committee treasurer Megan Linklater said after months asking the church to reconsider, the community turned to council asking for a fully funded kindergarten in its place.

She said with more than 50 three-year-old kinder children still enrolled at Alexander Thomson for 2025, the need was self-evident.

“Those parents know that there is not a four-year-old kinder happening in 2026,” she said.

Ms Linklater said hope the kinder would remain open was “a lost cause”.

In July the community created an online petition asking council for a new Belmont kindergarten, which garnered more than 650 signatures.

Parents protesting at plans to close Alexander Thomson Belmont Kinder. Picture: Alan Barber

On Monday the group submitted a petition in preparation for the council meeting next week.

“We’re asking for Geelong city council to provide an alternative venue in Belmont, and the department of education to try to help us find a solution, and the local councillors and MPs to listen to the community,” Ms Linklater said.

Uniting Church Victoria and Tasmania operates St Luke’s Uniting Kindergarten Highton.

But Uniting Vic. Tas general manager early learning Fiona Balsillie said no other kindergarten services it ran in Geelong were at risk of closing.

“As a not-for-profit service, our stand-alone, no-fee kindergartens rely on paying peppercorn rents to landlords, including church partners, local councils, schools or other community groups,” she said.

Ms Basford said: “While department data indicates that there is sufficient capacity in Belmont, this does not align with the feedback we are receiving from the community.”

He said council was working with the education department to address the need and understand the discrepancy between the data and anecdotal evidence.

Ms Linklater said parents had been in conversations with Gardiner Preschool in Melbourne, that was being shut by the church in 2026.

President of the management committee of Gardiner Preschool, Claire Saliba, said both the kinder communities had reached out to Uniting Church Victoria Tasmania asking them to reconsider the closures, but were “stonewalled” with generic responses.

She said the risk was that the church would continue to shut free kindergartens through selling the land or turning them into paid day cares.

“The connection for us is that it’s putting profits before children,” she said.

A Department of Education spokeswoman said it would keep working with the City of Greater Geelong and local kindergarten providers to help families in the Belmont area access a kindergarten program.

The Belmont Uniting Church owns the site and has communicated its intention to redevelop, and is considering using part of the land for a new early childhood education service.

Originally published as Parents petition Geelong council amid Alexander Thomson Uniting Kindergarten closure