Nichols Point Kindergarten Consultation

Mildura Rural City Council has received a planning grant to explore options to establish a Kindergarten Facility in Nichols Point.

This planning process includes draft building plans for the kindergarten, which is proposed to be located on the old school site, adjacent to the old school building and rotunda.

Council recently sought community input regarding this project and the surrounding public open space. The proposed project is in the planning phase, with construction subject to successful state government funding.

Consultation on this stage of the project has now closed. Stay tuned for further updates

Timeline

Timeline item 1 - complete

Consultation

This consultation is open for contributions.
Consultation closed 31 October 2023.
Timeline item 2 - active

Feedback review

Contributions to this consultation are closed for evaluation and review. The project team will report back on key outcomes.
Timeline item 3 - incomplete

Application for Funding
Timeline item 4 - incomplete

Advise community of the funding outcome

Document Library

Draft Nichols Point Kindergarten Facility
PDF (3.61 MB)

Contact Us

Have questions or want to learn more about a project, contact us below:

Name	Kealey Lush - MRCC Acting Manager Community Care
Phone	0350188100
Email	mrcc@mildura.vic.gov.au

FAQs

Up until now kindergartens in locations very close to the Nichols Point community have been able to accommodate this demand. The Victorian Government’s Early Years Reforms were only very recently announced, representing a significant increase in demand for kinder places.

This year almost 20 per cent of the children attending Irymple Kindergarten have a Nichols Point postcode. We also have children from Nichols Point attending kindergartens in Mildura. The Victorian Government reforms will impact current supply and demand for kindergarten spaces in existing services – a local Nichols Point kindergarten will help ease pressure on existing services.

The purpose of the new facility will be to deliver a kindergarten program. We are also looking at incorporating a Maternal Child Health consultation space to complement the kindergarten facility, pending the future development of the old school building.

The Victorian Government’s Early Years Reforms include:

Free kinder for all three and four-year-olds from the start of 2023
Four-year-old kindergarten will transition to 30-hours a week of ‘pre-prep’ over the next decade. This is a staged transition that will roll-out in Mildura LGA in 2028.

Nichols Point is a growing community and, combined with the Victorian Government reforms there has been increased demand on kindergarten places in the Mildura LGA to accommodate this growth.

At this point, children from the Nichols Point community attend kinder at other locations including Irymple, which is putting additional pressure on these facilities. Recognising the increased growth in Nichols Point and the Victorian Government’s Early Years Reforms, we identified a need to establish a kindergarten in Nichols Point and started investigating potential options. Previous feedback from the Nichols Point community has indicated support for a kindergarten at the old Nichols Point Primary School site.

We will be considering the future use of the old school building in the planning phase of this project. The development of the old school building will not be included in the kindergarten construction phase. Our priority is to provide a new kindergarten but consideration will be given to the future use of the old building, with the intention of this site becoming an Early Years/family precinct. The existing buildings (school and rotunda) are impacted by a heritage overlay, which will be considered as part of this planning phase.

This project is subject to a successful Building Blocks Grant – Capacity Building application, to fully fund the proposed kindergarten.

This will be determined through development of plans for the site, consultation with the community and successful government grant funding.

Nichols Point Kindergarten Consultation

Nichols Point Kindergarten Consultation

Sign up to hear more