The Community Preschools of the Tweed Shire have formed themselves into a collaborative group that will work to lobby the federal government for much needed increases in childcare funding and to avail themselves of the opportunities for cooperative cost sharing.

According to Kingscliff Mini School director, Sharon Martin, the group has come about as a response to anomalies in the federal childcare payments scheme. Parents who send their children to community run preschools rather than for-profit schools are not able to access federal childcare benefits. This has had the effect of reducing choice amongst parents, and despite an increase in the local population, no new schools have opened and in some cases, schools have closed.

At the instigation of the sitting member for Tweed, Mr Geoff Provost MP, SCU’s Office of Regional Engagement has conducted a workshop to help guide the group in its formation. Workshop facilitator Ros Derrett says the group can take advantage of a range of University and TAFE resources to assist it’s work in the future.

By providing resources such as research, management and governance training, and even student internships, the University backs up it’s interest in growing community capacity where it can. Ms Derrett believes that this model of group cooperation is applicable to all sorts of community organisations and that the University has a role to play by encouraging and supporting community development

By working cooperatively the Tweed Shire community preschool group presents a united front that allows for greater leverage when lobbying the federal government. It also presents opportunities for costs sharing of insurance, purchasing and other areas of commonality.

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