Boorowa Public Preschool opens its doors to local families

Eleven children have enrolled at Boorowa Public Preschool since it opened, with more expressions of interest being processed for 2026 and 2027, according to Boorowa Central School principal Graham Jones. The preschool operates within the school, on the same days and hours as the wider school, with capacity for 40 children a day across two rooms of 20. Mr. Jones expects the service to reach capacity within about five years. "As I see it at the moment, there would not be an opportunity to grow our service beyond the 2 classrooms," he said. "If this were required, this would be in partnership with the BEE Centre and family day care providers to determine the best approach at a community level. "I believe that through strong partnerships, Boorowa will be well positioned to provide all children pre-schooling for the foreseeable future ' The push began in 2024, when the state government invited applications for its new 100 Preschools program. Mr. Jones said he was "acutely aware of the need for additional early childcare" locally and worked with BEE Centre director Shauny Murray on the case for a second preschool to benefit Boorowa families. The school has worked towards the preschool since early 2025. The service is staffed by two permanent preschool-trained teachers, Emily Friend and Meg Batt, a part-time teacher, Maddi Corkery, and SLSO Clair Apps. Mr. Jones said the preschool was closely linked with the school, with preschool children using the library, agriculture farm and food technology room, and kindergarten and year 5 buddies joining preschoolers for play. "Having a public preschool means that all children, from all backgrounds, can access five days a fortnight of free public preschool, as well as using their Start Strong funding elsewhere," he said. "It's a win-win for the families of Boorowa." Children can enrol from the start of the school year if they turn four before 31 July, with no local intake boundary. Families must submit an expression of interest to the office; doing so does not guarantee a place.