Family centre to be wound down

Umina Beachside Family Centre is to be wound down and moved to Woy Woy.

The Department of Education will only operate the service three days a week next year and will move it to Woy Woy Public School from the start of 2013.

Centre facilitator Ms Debbie Notara said the planned changes had not been well received.

"A number of parents at Umina are very unhappy about this and want to do a petition and lobby to have it stay at Umina," she said.

However, Hunter Central Coast regional director of education Ms Robyn McKerihan justified the move, saying it was critically important that the resources went to the families that needed them most.

"As communities change, so do their needs, and the agencies supporting families in those communities must keep up to date and deliver their services accordingly," said Ms McKerihan.

"That's why the Department of Education and Communities, as the lead agency in the Schools as Community Centres projects, will be re-organising arrangements from the start of next year to better meet community needs."

The changes were a result of a reassessment of Central Coast school areas by senior officers from Education and Communities, Family and Community Services, Health, school principals, and Schools as Community Centres facilitators, she said.

The reassessment included investigation into the Central Coast's socio-economic status, children's health, public housing needs, and literacy and numeracy among children.

Media Release, 12 Dec 2011 Sven Wright, DET Email, 19 Dec 2011 Debbie Notara, Beachside Family Centre