At UnitingCare Galston Early Learning Centre — a preschool in the bush-fringed suburbs past Hornsby — the staff first noticed it among the families. Children arriving who needed more help than expected with words, sounds, and sentences. Then the health professionals started saying the same thing out loud.
The centre’s response has been measured. Rather than quietly changing nothing, they went looking for answers. They found PreLit, a program built for the year before school, and they asked the local schools — Galston, Arcadia and Glenorie Public — whether it would actually help. The schools said yes.
What happens next is, refreshingly, not yet decided. The centre is consulting its community before committing, which is either admirable caution or an indictment of how slowly institutions move, depending on how long your kid’s been waiting for support. Families can send feedback to [email protected].
Centre Director Daniela Palmer is handling the process directly — (02) 9653 1475 — which at least tells you someone’s accountable.
