Gloucester Pre School and Learning Centre celebrates 50 year anniversary

And as part of the celebrations, they're inviting the public to stop by and take a look at the facility on Saturday September 24, from 2pm to 4pm.

With many within the community having attended the school themselves, organisers are keen for anyone with a history of involvement with the centre to come and see the changes the facility has undergone in the intervening years.

"A lot of families who came here as children are now bringing their own children here, so there's that intergenerational enrollment going on. And we've got quite a few staff who actually came here as children and now educators here as well," centre director, Elizabeth Price said.

Since its establishment in 1972, the preschool has been a mainstay of the community, providing a supportive and inclusive service and promoting children's wellbeing through natural play experiences.

However, the preschool has served a purpose beyond merely looking after young children, forming, as it does, an interpersonal connection for those new to the community.

"When new families move to Gloucester we're often the first spot where they get to meet other families. So we have a really important role to connect people socially, because in rural areas they can feel isolated quite easily," Elizabeth said.

"That's one of the good things about the preschool; being able to do that. And of course the importance of early learning in preparation for school, in developing their social and emotional skills as well."

It all began with a single classroom built on council land, constructed mostly by community volunteers. In time the council donated the land to the preschool, and then in 2012 the preschool received a grant from the NSW Early Childhood Directorate which was used to build a second preschool classroom.

This was followed by the purchase of an additional block land in 2018 which was used for a purpose-built outdoor natural learning environment for the children, along with an additional two classrooms catering for long day care for children aged birth to three years.

Not that the only type of building going on there is of the bricks and mortar variety.

The school is intent on creating an awareness for the environment the children occupy, teaching them to think about their actions and to assess consequences.

"We're in a very interesting time in a human's life and we need to create thinkers and problem solvers, and they have to think outside the box. We have to provide them with that ability from a young age to research through their project books to question and come up with new possibilities," Elizabeth said.

"We have a strong connection to sustainability, the environment, and the community here so you'll see that in the things we do. Our conversations are not to burden them, but to think creatively about what can we do."

For anyone more information regarding Gloucester Preschool and Early Years Learning Centre's 50 year anniversary, contact Robyn Beggs via accounts@gloucesterpreschool.com.au