Preschool children from Anglicare’s NSW South & ACT Googong Early Learning Centre yesterday won the best artwork award (0-5 year category) as part of a NSW competition through the Advocate for Children and Young People, with Anglicare’s Orana preschool in Goulburn coming runner-up.
The competition was part of the roll out of the Advocate for Children and Young People’s three-year Strategic Plan which is centred around feedback from more than 4000 children and young people across NSW indicating that the qualities of a good society are “Safe, Connect, Respect, Opportunity, Wellbeing and Voice”. Competition artwork was to represent one of these qualities.
Children and young people from across the state engaged their creative side through drawing, painting or digital creation to illustrate these qualities, with outstanding entrants presented their group and individual awards at NSW Parliament House and the NSW Premier’s office yesterday.
Rose Young, Googong Early Learning Centre Director, Janelle Ballard, the ELC preschool teacher, attended the ceremony along with some of the Googong preschoolers and their parents. “Encouraging children to work together to think about a topic and produce art is an effective way to enhance learning, cognitive and emotional development, cooperation and confidence. The team and I are so pleased to see opportunities like this available to preschoolers where they can create for a genuine purpose and have their creative ‘voices’ contribute to the work of an organisation like the Advocate for Children and Young People,” said Mrs Young.
Simon Bennett, Anglicare’s Executive Manager for Early Childhood Education and Care, is thrilled with the result. “It’s a delight to see our educators encouraging children, even from the earliest ages, to explore their creativity. Investing in a child’s early years is crucial and will have flow on effects throughout their life, so to see that creativity formally rewarded is just a bonus,” said Mr Bennett.
Anglicare delivers high quality early learning education and care through flexible programs across the ACT and regional NSW and supports over 1400 children and over 1000 families.
For more information, call Amy Lanham on 6278 8410 or 0437 321 451.
