24 October

Brookton Childcare Centre Joins REED

reed wa   |   News

Brookton’s Milly Molly Mandy’s has become the latest Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) Centre to join the Regional Early Education and Development Inc (REED).

This addition follows on from Childcare Centres in Corrigin and Merredin, which joined the not-for-profit service in June and September 2019 respectively.

REED offers a new cluster model of management to provide ECEC services across the Wheatbelt, working to reduce the burden on local Committees and Shires to provide these vital community services.

Milly Molly Mandy’s is located on Williams Street Brookton, and provides a 19-place full time care service. It has been operating since 1997 and currently employs 12 staff. The Centre will now be known as REED – Brookton.

Centre Chairperson Danielle Gault said that ‘Milly Molly Mandy’s is so pleased to join REED as part of the South cluster. The centre and the Shire of Brookton have been involved in the REED project since its inception, and it’s exciting to see this project and the hard work of many individuals come to fruition. Our parents and staff look forward to working with REED to continue providing high-quality early childhood education and care in Brookton and surrounding towns’.

The Shire of Brookton were instrumental in the development and creation of REED, commissioning a scoping project in 2014, and being the funding applicant for the project to develop and assess the feasibility of a new structural and governance model for community-based ECEC services in the Wheatbelt region.  Through their support, along with Milly Molly Mandy’s, the REED model created and was officially launched by Minister Simone McGurk MLA, Minister for Child Protection; Women’s Interests; Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence; Community Services in Narrogin in March 2018.

The State Government and Lotterywest have funded REED in the establishment phase.  The head office is located in Narrogin and REED Cluster Managers service South, East and West locations in the Wheatbelt.

Additional Wheatbelt ECEC services are expected to merge with REED in coming months.