Over 85 years ago, Lady Zara Gowrie had a vision to provide a holistic approach to ‘childcare’ (what we now know as ‘early childhood education and care’) with a focus on nutrition, health and wellbeing, as well as education across multiple centres across Australia. The first centre to open was the Battery Point Child Centre, now known as our Battery Point Education and Care Service.

Fast forward 85 years and we have over 40 education and care services (long day care and outside school hours care), as well as inclusion, workforce and training services, including our own Registered Training Organisation.

I thank all our families for entrusting your child’s education and care journey with us. I also thank our people for their dedication and hard work every day. Together, working in partnerships with families, we will honour Lady Zara Gowrie’s vision and continue supporting Tasmanian children, families, educators and communities.

You can find our 85th anniversary features in mainstream and social media here:

The Mercury Opinion Piece –https://edition.pagesuite.com/popovers/dynamic_article_popover

WIN News – https://www.facebook.com/share/v/y5F9nmvcyuDrfBEy/

Celebration at Battery Point – https://www.facebook.com/share/p/BeTZMNTVj3Jc1Pfw/

To learn more about Lady Gowrie’s long and interesting history please visit: https://gowrie-tas.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/LG-80th-Birthday.pdf

85 years is a significant milestone to reach, and we look forward to creating many more wonderful stories in the years to come.

EARLY YEARS STRATEGY

LGT fully supports the recent Australian Government Early Years Strategy 2024 to 2034 which sets out the Government’s vision to best support Australia’s children and their families. I proudly represented and advocated for our organisation and the Tasmanian education and care sector on various working groups involved in the development of the strategy.

Recognising how critical the early years are for children’s development and continued success over their lifetime, the strategy articulates how the Australian Government will prioritise and support child-centred policy development, and target investment in early years supports and services over the next 10 years.

To learn more about the Early Years Strategy 2024 to 2034 please visit:

https://www.dss.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/05_2024/early-years-strategy-2024-2034.pdf

CHILD SAFETY TIPS

LGT is committed to providing an environment where children feel safe, valued and heard. We will take steps to protect children from any risks that may harm their safety, welfare or wellbeing.

In recent months there have been multiple incidents impacting on child safety around schools and other community areas. It is important for families to have age-appropriate conversations with children about ‘tricky people’ and protective behaviours. I have included links below to some resources to support your conversations about stranger danger and keeping children safe in our community.

The Daniel Morcombe booklet is mostly aimed at children from preschool to Grade 6:

https://danielmorcombe.com.au/wp-ontent/uploads/2023/09/DMF_KKS_Resource_Booklet_2023_FINAL.pdf

The Safety 4 Kids website has lots of simple tips you can share with children of all ages:

https://safety4kids.com.au/safety-zone/stranger-danger

Stay safe, healthy and warm,

Mat Rowell
Chief Executive Officer