Champions of the West: Smithfield childcare centre director dreams of creating a wonderland for kids
DIANE Nohra wants to transform her western Sydney childcare centre from a concrete jungle into a children’s wonderland.
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DIANE Nohra wants to transform her childcare centre from a concrete jungle into a children’s wonderland.
But there are other priorities for funds at the Little Land Preschool in Smithfield she bought four months ago.
The centre has a higher than average number of children with special needs attending and Ms Nohra has spent all available funds on extra staff to provide a better ratio of carers to children.
This means money for resources such as new outdoor play equipment and synthetic grass have fallen off the agenda.
“I open my arms to all children and families from all walks of life. I don’t discriminate,” Ms Nohra said.
“But our resources are stretched paying for inclusion staff to support the regular staff and provide more of a one-on-one style of care for our children with special needs.
“Unfortunately that means we are left with little else to fix up the outdoor area or provide the resources I want inside the centre. At the moment it is pretty much all concrete outside and it’s a safety hazard for the children who could fall while playing.
“We would love to lay down some synthetic grass and use barriers to separate the babies from the older children.”
Ms Nohra said the centre has started fundraising through parents. A $10,000 grant would mean the centre can make changes a lot quicker.
She adds new sensory and visual equipment used inside the centre will help keep the 36 children focused and engaged, which will help with behaviour issues and create a more positive learning environment for all the children.
The Little Land Project is nominated in the Start Up category of The Daily and Sunday Telegraph and NewsLocal’s Champions Of The West awards, a grants competition as part of the Fair Go For The West campaign that consists of 14 categories, each offering a $10,000 grant.
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CHAMPIONS of the West rewards ordinary people doing extraordinary things in Western Sydney to the tune of $10,000 grants in multiple categories.
The 2015 grants program is expanded this year to acknowledge the achievements of Western Sydney innovators and those making a difference in their community and respective fields.
This year’s categories include small business, education, sport, and the arts.
The Sunday Telegraph, The Daily Telegraph and NewsLocal— together with corporate partners NAB, NRMA, Crown, UWS, Origin Energy, Harvey Norman, and TAFE WSi — will reward those excelling in their fields.
Are you a Champion of the West? Click on the banner above to enter!
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